Mentalist - Make You Proud

Woaaaah, this album surprised me! Great vibes, endless positivity, consciousness, black pride, family responsibility, social responsibility, fresh flows and ‘golden era’-style beats overflowing with soul. And it’s a free download! Massive respect to Mentalist for this (and hats off to his producers – Mentalist has brought in some of the best in the game, including Loudmouth Melvin and Knite 13).

‘All Rise’ is definitely one of the standout tracks of the album – a heartfelt message from a conscious Afrikan man to his brothers and sisters to overcome 500 years of physical and psychological enslavement:

Growing up, I didn’t know enough
The school system never taught me what the f***ing world has owed to us
Slavery’s barely mentioned
Amazed me when I see mainly blacks up in detention
So I did my research
Heard King’s words
Apartheid made my heart cry, how the beast work
I’m filled with sadness that they hit us with the sickest lashes
They think we’re savages to take us through the middle passage
But we were kings once
We need to fix up
So I always keep my right arm fist up

On ‘Sacrifice’, Mentalist gives a refreshingly honest take on the life of an unsigned rapper who chooses to put his family first:

See I’m struggling to make it into work on time
Knowing that I’ve got to work, I’d rather work on rhymes
Cos rent’s going up and food prices is rising
To help out me doing my music, I be grinding
I’d rather work three jobs, keep my family living
Or they label me a slob and live off the handouts they giving
And for me, shotting would never ever be my decision
Could never pump this poison to these women and these children

This album is straight onto my playlist, and I’m definitely hoping to see videos to some of these tracks soon!

Download the whole album for free here
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Follow Knite 13 on Twitter