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Connected in the '80s and '90s to Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu Nation and Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate, and in the 2000s one-third of Sa-Ra, Shafiq Husayn releases his first solo album following an excellent vinyl-only beat suite EP for Poo-Bah. Issued just a little over three months after Sa-Ra's Nuclear Evolution, Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka is a sonically sprawling album in which the balance between spirituality/ancient Egyptian roots and Hollywood perversions -- the Sa-Ra lyrical dichotomy, more or less -- swings all the way to the former. (The album cover's resemblance to that of Eddie Kendricks' People...Hold On, with Husayn sitting proudly with a spear directed skyward, doesn't seem like mere coincidence.) Although this is largely the work of the multi-instrumentalist, producer, vocalist, and occasional MC, a dozen featured collaborations give the album the feel of an informal and relaxed studio session, not unlike a Sa-Ra album. And there is plenty of the expected: advanced mutations of hip-hop, soul, and jazz, with synthesizers emitting funked-up chunks as often as space vapor and grimace-inducing beats that resemble early-'70s Sly & the Family Stone in some kind of star-bound spin cycle. During the album's back half, however, Husayn throws in quite a bit of the unexpected. He touches upon droning Krautrock, harmony-rich dream pop, tropical quiet storm, and dubby psychedelia, and the finale is gorgeous and defiant, with thrumming bass frequencies and singing strings dancing together as a chorus repeats "Devil man's tryin' to hold ya/Break away, rebel soldier." A stimulating, complex, yet loose extension of his stellar contributions to Erykah Badu's New Amerykah, Pt. 1, Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka eclipses Nuclear Evolution, if only slightly, and that's saying a whole lot.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, T. Griffen, K. Stewart, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, B. Oliver, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, F. Bramme Sey, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, J. Smith, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, N. Limar, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, A. Edwards, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, O. Coates, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, K. Barrientos, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, A. Edwards, O. Keith, S. Bruner, B. Davis, K. Talbert, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, S. Bruner, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, I. Gayle, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, J. Williams, K. Ansari, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)Copyright Control
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Shafiq Husayn, Main Artist, Composer - S. Husayn, Lyricist - Ruff Edge Music (ASCAP)
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
Album review
Connected in the '80s and '90s to Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu Nation and Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate, and in the 2000s one-third of Sa-Ra, Shafiq Husayn releases his first solo album following an excellent vinyl-only beat suite EP for Poo-Bah. Issued just a little over three months after Sa-Ra's Nuclear Evolution, Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka is a sonically sprawling album in which the balance between spirituality/ancient Egyptian roots and Hollywood perversions -- the Sa-Ra lyrical dichotomy, more or less -- swings all the way to the former. (The album cover's resemblance to that of Eddie Kendricks' People...Hold On, with Husayn sitting proudly with a spear directed skyward, doesn't seem like mere coincidence.) Although this is largely the work of the multi-instrumentalist, producer, vocalist, and occasional MC, a dozen featured collaborations give the album the feel of an informal and relaxed studio session, not unlike a Sa-Ra album. And there is plenty of the expected: advanced mutations of hip-hop, soul, and jazz, with synthesizers emitting funked-up chunks as often as space vapor and grimace-inducing beats that resemble early-'70s Sly & the Family Stone in some kind of star-bound spin cycle. During the album's back half, however, Husayn throws in quite a bit of the unexpected. He touches upon droning Krautrock, harmony-rich dream pop, tropical quiet storm, and dubby psychedelia, and the finale is gorgeous and defiant, with thrumming bass frequencies and singing strings dancing together as a chorus repeats "Devil man's tryin' to hold ya/Break away, rebel soldier." A stimulating, complex, yet loose extension of his stellar contributions to Erykah Badu's New Amerykah, Pt. 1, Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka eclipses Nuclear Evolution, if only slightly, and that's saying a whole lot.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:36
- Main artists: Shafiq Husayn
- Composer: Shafiq Husayn
- Label: Rapster Records
- Genre: Electronic
2009 Rapster Records 2009 Rapster Records
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