This week we welcome Raquib Abdal-Khabir, an artist who uses both music and visual media to communicate his ideas, allowing them to cross pollinate each other at times.
“My form of expression goes from one to three dimensions, and is both audio and visual,” he says. That quote speaks to his powerful lyricism, which is on display in the song Shadows, just released by his band Smartbombmusic.
Shadows has the distinct cadence of a “boom bap” Hip Hop production, a punchy style that hearkens back to the early 90’s. It was a time of socially conscious East Coast Hip Hop that some call the golden age. Indeed, his crew has collaborated with notable 90’s icons Non Phixion, Big Shug, and members of Brooklyn’s Boot Camp Clik, among others.
Production by The Arcitype on Shadows lends the track a gravity that reinforces the themes of coming to terms with trauma, racism, societal pressure, homelessness, addiction and recovery. For Khabir, creativity and healing are strongly linked.
His music influences include Public Enemy, The Roots, RZA, Bob Marley, and Bad Brains, a legendary Black punk rock band from D.C.
Khabir mentions “spirit guides” in his verse, a direct reference to a series of his art works. In Khabir’s visual practice, collage becomes a powerful vehicle for social commentary combined with striking palettes and compositions. His collages of Black faces overlaid with the American flag and the inscription “R U O K ?” have a palpable pathos. He’s inspired by Romare Bearden, Ben Shahn, and especially Nelson Stevens, who was part of the AfriCOBRA Collective and was one of his professors at the Department of Afro-American Studies at UMass Amherst.
Khabir wants to give a shout out to the other members of Smartbomb: XL the Beast and Christopher Bruce Barnes. Listen to Shadows here and check out more of Khabir visuals here.
