Selasi - Keep On

Having spent his childhood traveling all over the continent of Africa, Ghana-born singer/producer Selasi is more qualified than most to comment on the struggle to rise above poverty and hardship. On his first feature, making its world premiere right here at DJBooth.net, the up-and-comer gives a conflicted account of inner-city life, urging those trapped in the ‘hood to Keep On grinding but acknowledging that no amount of money can protect one from the hand of fate. While the headliner’s philosophy is equal parts positivity and gritty realism, guest emcee Raekwon paints a bleaker picture in his opening and closing bars; over Selasi’s slow-burning synth instrumental, the Wu-Tang emcee tells the stories of a man locked up for decades and ultimately driven to suicide after inadvertently shooting a woman and child, and a Red Lobster-loving cabbie stabbed to death by his own wife. It all adds up to one of the darkest street anthems I’ve heard in… well, pretty much ever. Listeners can hear more from this multi-talented up-and-comer on his Coming to America mixtape, which has yet to receive a solid release date – keep it locked for the latest!