The state of Mississippi is a musical Mecca, having produced some of the most well known and well respected artists in the world: Robert Johnson, B.B King, Malaco Records, Trumpet Records, and the Mississippi Mass Choir are just a few of the names that put Mississippi music on the map.
Yet, when it comes to hip hop, the state has had relatively few representatives in the mainstream. Of course, David Banner immediately comes to mind, especially his album with Kamikaze, Grey Skies that introduced the world to the soulful yet hard-edged Mississippi sound. More recently, Big K.R.I.T., from Meridian, has thrust himself into the popular consciousness with his blend of dusty, sample-based beats and southern-twanged braggadocio rhymes.
Beyond Banner, Kamikaze, and K.R.I.T., however, Mississippi suffers from stereotyping by many hip hop fans that says music from the state must be club ready, gangster-dance pop that appeals to the lowest common denominator. And, sometimes stereotypes are true, as a sizeable amount of the hip hop music produced in the state falls within these parameters, as some artists make concerted efforts to play into stereotypes in an effort to please listeners, and, more importantly, it seems, the people, like record executives and A&R reps, that can make careers.
Breaking the mold of these stereotypes is a group of artists from Jackson, the capitol of Mississippi. The city boasts an eclectic mix of hip hop artists that are more a throwback to the days of heady production, heavy rhyme skills, and socially conscious edge. Leading this charge is 5th Child, Jackson’s premiere double-threat producer/MC. On May 13, 5th Child released his fifth album, the self-titled “5th Child.”
“5th Child” is the third concept album in a trilogy, which includes his previous two efforts “Behind the Music” and “Pianos in the Dark.” “Behind the Music” was a complex examination and critique of the music industry, and found 5th in a “celebratory” mood, with college graduation looming. “Pianos in the Dark,” with its gloomier soundscapes and darker subject matter, represented 5th’s “transition into adulthood, where you learn that most things you were taught about the future were not true,” he says. His inspiration for the title was a vision he had of a black pianist alone in a white jazz bar at the end of the night who knew “he was getting played.” 5th began to question his role in the hip-hop game, wondering what it all meant and where he even fit in anymore.
“5th Child,” the album, provides answers to the existential questions he faced. “The new album is about self-actualization and not trying to find explanations for everything anymore. It is about realizing and accepting who I am wholeheartedly,” he says. “I finally learned how to be 5th Child.”
On the record’s opening track, “Introducing,” 5th says to the listener, over an intentionally “epic” swath of horns, synths, and haunting atmospherics, “One might say this is the moment you’ve been waiting for, but for me, more than that, it’s the moment I’ve been living for.” From this point forward, the listener is taken on a journey down 5th’s path of “self-acceptance. I’m ready to be that dude,” he says.
“Feeling Good” is one of only five tracks that 5th Child did not produce himself. 5th’s mentor and “big brother” from New Orleans, Dappa, made the beat and offers a verse. On the hook, 5th declares, “I’m feeling good/Cause finally I made it/My gas tank is full/And my life is so amazing.” If, as 5th says, he is “trying to pull himself back up with this album,” then he seems right off the start to be comfortable with his newfound happiness.
5th produced “Run,” the soulful first single off the record that represents the journey he has taken to get to now. “Run” features singing from Houston-native Cello. “I originally sang on it. It sounded bad,” 5th says. “As a producer, I know what I’m looking for, but I am not entirely sure until I hear it. When I got a tape of Cello singing, I knew that was exactly what I wanted.”
5th’s production has progressed to be less sample based, as he is becoming more familiar and comfortable with crafting his own beats and melodies. On “Gifted,” though, he samples pianos, horns, and a breakbeat to put underneath his playfully braggadocious rhymes. Similarly, 5th borrows from Memphis Bleek for the hook of “I Wanna Be,” saying, “I got to sleep with a picture of a Porsche on my wall, man I’m trying to come up on ya’ll.”
“Franchise,” which features a well-placed verse from fellow Jacksonian Rashad Street, is an homage to the ladies. “Now that I’ve been playing more shows, I make songs to be performed live,” he says of the inspiration for the song. The banger “Stand For” might sound a but out of place, but 5th has a perfectly good explanation: “I do one ridiculously hood song on every album. I came up listening to conscious, underground music, but I’m still from Jackson.” The song features a verse from his show DJ and close friend, DJ PM.
“Relax,” produced by Cincinnati Monster and featuring Trumpcard, is the smoothest track on the album, coming across as the music in a chill room somewhere in outer space. It is part of 5th’s effort to “hit all of my character traits” on the album. The sample-heavy “I’m Ready” finds 5th Child in “stream of consciousness” mode, stringing together “random punch lines” to explain all the ways he is “ready to be that guy.”
With “Bedtime Story,” 5th takes his biggest risk on the album. “This song is really close to my heart, because I don’t normally do many story songs,” he says. In “Bedtime Story,” 5th is faced with tough decisions about what to do to help a friend that is involved in darker sides of the game. “I thought, ‘what if I die in it.’ It happens in the movies and is always cool,” he says. 5th went to great lengths to make the song “sound perfect sonically” and to continue the cinematic theme he began in the beginning of the record. As such, “Bedtime Story” serves as the sonic climax of the album, where all the themes and progressions in 5th’s sound come together.
“8 ft.” was written after 5th heard the beat produced Jackson’s Donche. “I heard it and thought, ‘I need that beat.’ It’s always easier to write to a beat someone else did for me,” he says. “Chapter 2” is 5th’s most self-reflective moment on the album. He made the dark, stirring beat then let it tell him what the song should be about. “Chapter 2” centers on a friend who “lost his podna about a week ago,” allowing 5th to examine his own reaction to loss and sadness as a reflection of his own self-absorption that causes him to be an absent friend.
The guitar heavy “My Culture” shows 5th ready to stake his claim. He raps, “Big K.R.I.T killin ‘em, Banner went platinum/So I’m gonna take it over as soon as I get a crack at ‘em.” With “Breaking Point,” 5th delves into his “issues with society.” He wrote the song around the time of the situation in Egypt, which influenced both the lyrics of the song and his decision to experiment with drum patterns that are outside his normal comfort zone.
“Free,” produced by C Donche and featuring the second apperance of Cello, is a spiritual song, as God is always an important topic for 5th. Further, “Free” is for 5th a chance to get “into the next phase and become a better song-writer and using my voice as an instrument.” 5th rides the beat, changing up his cadence for a fresh sound that offers a glimpse of where his rapping might be headed in the future.
“5th Child” ends with “Anything,” which features a verse from Jackson. 5th raps, “I gotta keep it moving/For the first time in my life/I’m not afraid of what I’m doing/I’m never looking back never looking at obstacles/I Know nothing’s impossible.” For 5th, the song “sums up the entire album. It’s my Simba moment: Yes I am the King. It’s like when Bruce Leroy got the glow,” he says laughing.
And in all seriousness, it is refreshing to see such honesty from a hip hop artist these days. While many have no problem telling you they are the best, very few give you a look at the struggles it takes to get there, including the self-doubt, personal questioning, and casting off of demons that 5th Child went through to accept himself. In the end, this is what makes “5th Child” even greater than the sum of its parts: the rare glimpse inside of the mind of an up and coming artists who is not afraid to turn himself over to the listener.
This album is already a classic.
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