Louverture
Sorg & Napoleon Maddox
Hip Hop Jazz Manifesto to a World in Chains
“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.“
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau
So what does that mean to good people living in the world of today?
Dude! Pay attention! Everything!
“Do not afflict others with anything that you yourself would not wish to suffer. if you would not like to be a slave, make sure no one is your slave. If you have slaves, you yourself are the greatest slave, for just as freedom is incompatible with slavery, so goodness is incompatible with hypocrisy.”
“Do not afflict others with anything that you yourself would not wish to suffer. if you would not like to be a slave, make sure no one is your slave. If you have slaves, you yourself are the greatest slave, for just as freedom is incompatible with slavery, so goodness is incompatible with hypocrisy.”
—Epictetus (a former slave)
The music on this album has been written, arranged and produced by Sorg. I know Mr. Maddox from Cincinnati and his earlier band IsWhat?!, but I only know Sorg from his sound. Oh my! Boy Howdy! Sorg reminds me of the sweet innovative jazz landscape of a bygone era a la Lester Young or Chet Baker hovering over a bassy back beat that serves as a danceable hook. I am a huge fan of the chaotic mixtures of Marion Brown on his Geechee Reflections album and especially the song "Once Upon A Time, A Children's Tale." My comparison here is limited to the freedom of the soloists in that song to play in collective, simultaneous but differing melodic lines to form a magnificent cloud of song. Harmonies would require it all to sync up, but it means more to weave the individual, differing voices into the sonic fabric. Add to that Sorg never steps on the lyric, but leaves room in the music for the sound to support the story, rather than the story acting as an accessory to the sound. I like this guy very much, though I have never met him. He is my kind of musician: He serves the song. Please check out the credits for the names of the horn players and guest rap artists, because they are dead bang perfect and fit like they were born for this music. Vive la France!
What I find most remarkable about this album is its focus and unflinching dedication to the story of Louverture with its continuing analog message to the listener. The story is never abandoned, but its meaning deepens with each song. It may be that Louverture is the story, but the protagonist of this "novel of self-awareness" is always the listener. In the end, Napoleon even goes so far as to address this protagonist/listener directly in deep emotional and philosophical terms.
There is no escaping the gentle challenge of Napoleon's narrative, and he even addresses prospective objections in the song "Wha Dey Wan." This manifesto is a call to collective reflection-turned-into-action like the old school challenge: "You are either on the bus or you ain't on the bus!" which served as the rallying cry to come to the Martin Luther King original million man march. "We on the wrong track, man, but we on a track!" is cunning and chilling, don't you think? And so are the questions: "Can I do it in a lifetime? Is it really a mission?" Oh man, there are some sundry background voices questioning what those black people want. It makes me laugh and cry and feel religious, which is an axiom for any great song or successful sermon, I truly believe.
"UJFP" repeats the message but this time there is no metaphor. We are in bon-mots territory now. The challenge goes directly to the listener. It is shocking like poet Theodore Roethke's earth-shaking line in his villanelle The Waking: "Of these so close beside me, which are you?" The listener is addressed as someone "trying to get your life right." Yep, that's same as what Epitetus, Frederick Douglass, and Louverture — each former slaves — were known for in their direct, unclouded address to any who would listen.
The finale "History's Page" is a ballad about life right now in the light of history's pull, power and judgment. It might be a lament, but I take it as a challenge. Napoleon never ever writes anything that isn't about personal responsibility — not in several albums that I have heard, or even in conversation at Baba Boudin's Restaurant before it burned down in Cincinnati. "Just print our names on history's page, and we never make the same mistake, but yesterday I learned a names of those I hurt, and mamed, and turned away." Who does that? Dude! This Napoleon Maddox and Sorg magnum opus right here is asking for a little humanity in a world gone mad. Better listen! History is watching! The last word is chilling and personal: "Who is it I have turned away?" I ask myself: "Who who who?" Forget who let the dogs out, that don't matter so much.
The question here is a challenge to get human and help, or get out the way!
"Just print our names on history's page, and we never make the same mistake, but yesterday I learned the names of those I hurt, and mamed, and turned away."
—Napoleon Maddox from the song “History’s Page” on Louverture
All politics is local. The revolution will not be supervised. It is up to YOU!
* * *
The credits:
(lifted from SoundCloud exactly as they appear there)
Music written, produced and mixed by Sorg
Texts written by Napoleon Maddox except :
Jowee Omicil « Trayizon » & « Papa Di Wi »
Boogie Bang « Hard Terrain »
Marc Nammour « Bones »
Saxophones & Cornett in « Louverture », « Trayizon », « Tiré Machèt » & « Bones » by Jowee Omicil
Trombone in « Louverture » by Constantin Meyer
Keyboards in « The Letter », « Sugarcane » & « History’s Page » by Carl-Henri Morisset
Mastered by Thomas Fournier
Artwork by Brian Greer
Designed by ease
℗ & © 2022 Sans Sucre Records
The Music of Sorg & Napoleon Maddox can be heard at at:
PLEASE NOTE: I have chosen to post this review prior to receiving answers from hip hop master and author Napoleon Maddox about this album and more. That interview will be posted as a separate page or posting, and it will appear as soon as it arrives and gets formatted. I look forward as much to Napoleon's answers as you do, I am sure. Watch this space!
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