Here's Seattle emcee's latest track "The Return" produced by Jake One off D.Black's upcoming album "Ali'Yah." Hebrew for "ascending," the word is traditionally used in reference to being called up to perform a spiritual duty, which perfectly fits D.Black's intentions. According to Black, this is his last album - "Giving up rap is hard. But it's God's decision, not mine. It's like he's saying to me, 'By you leaving the thing that you love the most, that would be the greatest testimony, because it shows that you're being obedient to me.' It was tough on me. At first I shed tears, but I'm ready to move on." But before he leaves, Black has some things he's got to say. His first album was full of rap star intentions, but his second attempt has real purpose, "I wanted to challenge the community," he says, "I'm talking about rappers, preachers, pastors, rabbis, sheiks, whoever is up to take the challenge, and put forth better thoughts. On Ali'yah there's a whole lot of 'we,' as opposed to just 'I.' I want to speak in terms of community." It seems that D.Black's ascension from hip hop and his spiritual quest through Christianity and Judaism have helped him, giving him a reason to rhyme. "What [Ali'yah] has that D.Black's first record lacks is focus. Primarily produced by Vitamin D, Jake One, and B.Brown, Ali'Yah does not contain a variety of tracks with a variety of motives—one that should produce a hit, one that should maintain or reinforce street credibility, one that's just right for the club. Instead, it is unified by D.Black's singular concern with the substance/meaning of his life—a life that is in the mode of hiphop and made up of very close relationships with his friends, family, and community."
D.Black attends synagogue and follows many Jewish traditions such as the traditional headcovering, the kippah, undergarments, tzitzit, and sabbath from Friday at sundown to Saturday night - yet does not identify himself as Jewish. This is because he still believes in Jesus as the messiah, but was inspired to delve deep into the Hebraic roots of Christianity on his own spiritual journey. Now, D.Black runs a small ministry out of his apartment building in Seattle's South End. Personally, I'm planning to someday attend one of his Friday night services; if and when I do I'll be sure to post. The above image is from The Stranger article about D.Black, The Outsider. The quotes from this article are from Jonathan Cunningham's article in the Seattle Weekly.
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