Sole: No Wising Up No Settling Down (Black Canyon Music, 5/1/13)
Sole doesn’t stand still. His 2012 album, A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing, was one of our favorites from last year, and this May, barely six months later, the activist MC is dropping yet another solo endeavor, No Wising Up, No Settling Down.
The new album is political but also “honest and lighthearted,” focusing on society as a whole and reminding listeners that it’s people — not just movements like Occupy — who make change in the world. And this album is full of individuals, with Goldpanda, Skyrider, Sean Bonette of Andrew Jackson Jihad, and more showing up to pack the record full of ear-crunching goodness.
Previously in his “I Think I’m…” series, Sole has seen himself as political critic and economist, as both Noam Chomsky and Ben Bernanke. Now he’s embodying anarchist philosopher Emma Goldman over the series’ dramatic choral music and a beat from DJ Pain 1. The video features Sole, in motherly wig and shadowy spectacles, invading a collage of found footage dealing with war, freedom, and income inequality. Watch it below and then hear another collaboration with Pain 1, titled “Insurgent Rap,” from the forthcoming album.
Sick ENVEIGH AT ALL COST!…