Transcending to Mastery - II

Adil Omar, by this time, has moved on to his next album, Mastery, which is scheduled to release in 2020. In the meantime, he has released one track from the album.

But what we see in the single and hear is, in some ways, connected to Transcendence, the singles and the film (or ten music videos) which he shot in less than a month and released in 2018.

A hip-hop and rapper though he may be, Adil considers himself a student of music so he will listen to everything from Eminem to Marilyn Manson and it shows on the record, Transcendence.

Adil is vulnerable on this album and his journey so far has been encapsulated in one song called ‘We Need To Talk About Adil’.

His lyrics tell us, “Synesthesia, seeing sounds, seeing colors/Lights bright, thoughts loud and my speech stutter/Survived the kinda darkness I don’t need to utter/Rhymes cutting like a knife, like the beat is butter/Before I could speak, you’d never catch me dead singing/Till I heard ‘em Ring Ding Dong’in/“Keep Their Heads Ringing”/I was 8 when I became obsessed/Knew that I would be the greatest but there came a test/And my story begins with rap’s cardinal sin/Of being born into money/Even though we lost it all when I was 12/By the time I was 10, I was torn into 20/Dad’s dead body in the TV room/A couple thousand people at his funeral/Seven months pass, another long knife/Me and my sister had to save our mom’s life/Frothing at the mouth, mid seizure/Encephalitis, epilepsy and amnesia/I had only turned 11…”. Sonically and visually, it highlights the highs and lows, the ebbs and the flow. This song, if you read the full lyrics showcases not just Adil Omar’ strength but what he has overcome.

On ‘Testosterone Tears’, the story turns again. Stylistically a homage to old school hip hop like Cypress Hill and House of Pain, both of whom Adil has worked with and come up under when starting his career, its cheeky, full of swagger and has video game vibes running through.

‘Revelations’, with which our journey into Adil Omar’s Transcendence comes to an end is taking a cue from disco, pop and features Adil Omar x Elliphant featuring Shaman Durek and SNKM as well. If the rest of the record is alpha or ultra-masculine, ‘Revelations’ is androgynous, in spirit and revolves around the themes of spirituality, forgiveness, love, inner peace, love, killing inner demons through meditation and spiritual practice and exploring consciousness. Call it reconciliation with himself, the song is inspired by Adil Omar’s mother and features her voice at the end. A masterpiece from Paki Rambo, it bodes well, for his future and ours where rappers are polite in person and take out savagery in their work, as is the case with Adil Omar.