This album was created during the first few months of the COVID lockdown. Sampling artists from genres such as jazz, funk, soul, and prog rock, I wanted to make an emotional soundscape for the solitude of life under quarantine. Two tracks, Kenneth's Transition and Homegoing (Betty's Outro), pay homage to my grandparents who passed away in 2020 and 2021, along with many other loved ones in those years.

I am currently crafting an open-world VR experience to house these tracks. Once this project is complete you can find it on my website: jameelamman.com/projects/.

Homegoing (Betty's Outro)

Last Laugh

Uzuri

Monkey's Mind

Microdose

The Ecstatic

Rainy Day

Tarika Lounge

Idris Strut

Intro

If my last album, Solitude, was a conceptual beat-tape, this album is a thesis statement. 

I recorded, produced, and mixed this album over the past two years as a means of communicating with my ancestors through sound and story. 

The album cover I created for this project is a portrait of my paternal grandparents, Betty and Ernest Paulin; both of whom were active members of Marcus Garvey's UNIA. My grandmother, a lifelong intellectual and book collector, always taught me the importance of knowing my people's history. My grandfather, a noted jazz musician and leader of the Traditional New Orleans jazz sound, represents my love for black music and culture. He was a culture-keeper, a djali who kept the stories of liberated Africans alive through music and ritual. 

This album is a love letter to my grandparents, my aunties, my uncle, and cousins who've made transition. The title is an affirmation that forever lives in my heart because of the love that my ancestors poured into me; a love for African people that I intend to share through my work.

Black Labor (interlude)

There is no place you cannot go, Messenger of God, there is no place you cannot take me.

Black Labor (interlude)

Jameel

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