Though Brother of Moses is also a denizen of the Waldo-to-Westport circuit, his sophomore solo effort is a million miles from C.E.S.' boisterous rhyme slaying and kling-klang choruses. A doggedly conscious MC, Bro Mo includes no song titles or credits on Land Mind, keeping the focus squarely on the music -- and even more intently on the message. Tall Tale's atmospheric soundtracks provide a sublime setting for Bro Mo's complex poetics, which vivisect everything from crass materialism to domestic abuse to the real terrorists in our own government. Known for his work with Seven Fold Symphony and fellow hip-hop addict Negro Sco, Bro Mo has never been one to resort to commercial measures to score head-bob points. Uncle Sam drives a Humvee and rocks diamonds/Keep on strivin', he raps on the sixth track, which ends with him crooning, My country is a thief to the familiar my country, 'tis of thee melody of "America." A two-man Communist Manifesto for the hip-hop underground, Land Mind's proletarian prose probably won't be fingered for major-label distribution anytime soon, but revolutions of this sort always begin at the grassroots level.
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