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Photo: Santino McNaughton

As of this year, Juneteenth finally been established as a federal holiday - the first since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1983. To celebrate this historic occasion, New Jersey-based rapper Kwame Adu and LA-producer ZAY have united to form the duo KWAMZAY and release their collaborative effort Motherland!. The project's five tracks are packed with poetic sample-heavy hip-hop bangers that evoke comparisons to the likes of Ohbliv, Madlib, and The Alchemist.

If you've ever taken a deep dive into Knxwledge's Bandcamp, then KWAMZAY's "Motherland!" should feel familiar. What sets this tape apart, however, is ZAY's eclectic production and Adu's signature rap stylistics. The project opener ,"feel me freestyle," feels optimistic and celebratory, with Adu's carefree confidence so infectious you may just feel it seeping out of your headphones. Giving Adu the perfect foundation to express his signature flow, ZAY's affinity for sampling on tracks like "how do you say goodbye" and "untitled" goes from admirable to enviable in the blink of an eye.  

The project's final and eponymous track, "motherland," was the only one not produced by ZAY, but by Adu himself. Delivering the listener some tropical calypso vibes that are sure to be kept in rotation this summer, Adu ends the project just as quickly as it began. Whether providing their fans with chill instrumental tracks or high-energy vaporwave-flavored bangers like "nightlife", KWAMZAY is hopefully the beginning of a long collaborative friendship.

Though only five tracks, Motherland! is a polished entry into both Adu and Zay's already decorated discography. As KWAMZAY, the two artists flow seamlessly over bars and samples that showcase some of the most promising talent from both coasts. While we listen to Motherland! on this newly recognized holiday,   there still remains much work to be done both locally and nationally in the fight for universal systemic equity. Whether we spend today serving our immediate or global communities, we must treat Juneteenth as the harbinger of a more altruistic and postcolonial mindset rather than one singular day of empathy.  

Listen to Motherland!  below: