The plight of a person of color scorned by hateful rhetoric in the U.S. is still as strong (if not stronger) as it was at the height of the Civil rights Movement of the 1960s. However, motivational artists like Young RJ aren’t here to sugarcoat reality for the next generation. Months after dropping off his critically acclaimed album Blaq Royalty, the Slum Village wordsmith follows up his Joyner Lucas assisted banger with his semi-controversial single “I Know.”
“‘I Know’ discusses the issues arising from Black Men being products of their environment,” Young RJ said about the record in a press release. “Due to the intricate economic systems put in place, Black men have been set up to fail from the womb (or beginning). Many feel this is a controversial topic, with a lot of truth behind it. A particular verse that stands out is, “wanna see a ni*ga fail, they wanna see me dead or in jail.”
RJ enlists fellow Detroit natives Guilty Simpson and Phat Kat to help him illustrate his ideas. All three MCs take turns spitting about the trials and tribulations they went through coming up in Motor City. The socially woke banger serves as the first offering from RJ’s upcoming album The Detroit Project, which is set to drop very soon.
Listen to Young RJ, Guilty Simpson and Phat Kat speak up for the streets in “I Know.”