Song Review: "Those Nights" by King Boo

One of the biggest misconceptions about organic hip-hop music that comes straight from the type of neighborhoods where the genre originated is that the songs don't have a meaning.

Radio stations and other mainstream media music distribution outlets will add to these misconceptions by refusing to promote such music because of the curse words in the song lyrics or due to the fear of political backlash.

In American music history, hip-hop solo artists like Ice T and rap groups like NWA were relegated by corporate entities off the strength of songs like "Cop Killer" and "F**k the Police." The aforementioned rap songs didn't become widely popular without causing a national uproar, which essentially divided people who came from two sides of American society.

One of those sides was made up of the sensors and would-be sensors who did not believe that the personal stories of the inhabitants living within America's urban subculture needed to be told on a national platform. These kinds of human components, which make up America's elite political class love to preserve and promote a perception that catalyzes the myth, which pretends as if there is no one living inside of America dealing with any form of systematic and institutionalized oppression. As the age-old and fickle adage suggests, perception is reality.

However, there are people living on the opposite societal side of those who spread this false perception who just "don't give a f**k." These societal inhabitants know for a fact that neighborhoods ravaged by criminal activity that are awash in illegal drugs literally exist. People who dwell in such environments also see and experience the full weight of what it feels like to be politically abandoned by the ruling establishment, which is at the least responsible for making an attempt toward advocating socio-economic equality.

Mubarak "King Boo" Hisham is a 28-year-old hip-hopper and Kansas City, Missouri native who exists as a product of the decaying slice of American pie that so many people want to pretend doesn't exist. However, Hisham serves as his own artistic advocate to ensure that the stories of those who are living within a severely isolated fragment of American society are accurately being told. His first spontaneously organized single is titled "Those Nights" and it has what most underground rap songs don't have: A preventative message.

This message has to be decoded, however. The insider's view of America's gutter that King Boo is interpreting in his song is very evident in the first verse. Lyrics like "stretch marks on my life" are a testament to how easy it is to inherit growing pains that will have a lasting effect on a person living the street life. A person who just absorbs the beat and song video might think King Boo's track glorifies such a life. But it doesn't. If anything, "Those Nights" is a sobering trip down a former street hustler's memory lane that should prevent him from stumbling down that path again.

Fast cash is one of the biggest lures for people who live in distressed communities that are looking for a way out. In King Boo's video to his rap song, copious amounts of cash are being thrown around. However, those who can truly understand his life experience without even listening to the song are going to be more receptive to the lyrics to the song rather than the cinematic images that illustrate it. However, the quality of the video is good, courtesy of Kg Da King. The guest verse by King Boo's partner Spizzy PM also helps to further solidify the entire song.

To hear more of King Boo's music, visit his streaming conduit on Spotify.