McKinley Dixon – For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
There are four rap records in my top ten. All meant something different to me. All that to be said, this is a hard one to rank so low in my top 10. Some days it was number five, some days it was number six, but no matter the ranking I think it is a significant rap record. The lure here for me is the kind of memories it brings out. When I hear this I also hear other artists in my head. Tribe, DJ Quik, Roots, Del the Funky Homosapien, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Norman Brown, Philadelphia Experiment, Drakeo the Ruler, Kamasi Washington. I am not saying that is who McKinley sounds like. The diversity of this record pulled all of those musical memories out of me. The future is bright for this guy’s ability to create passionate, blunt lyrics over captivating jazz. He recently went on tour with Tank and the Bangas and I’m kicking myself for not going.
The other rap records on my list take a different kind of ear. They are either beats based or fit the experimental/abstract rap realm. McKinley is definitely the most accessible of those records. I mentioned Karl Denson and this kind of feels like a rap rendition of a Tiny Universe record. Peep out this Karl Denson classic and then return to McKinley’s For My Mama record and sense the chaotic resemblance, especially in relation to “Chain Sooo Heavy”.
Now, “Chain Sooo Heavy”
When I speak of the diversity on this album I am talking about how each song has its own personality. It doesn’t flow like one whole story album as much as it is a chapter book of several stories. But all of it seems like a journey of songwriting for a personal healing.