The album hits it’s first bump pretty early on with “EPMD.” Nas and Hit-Boy reunite on the track as the titular duo to create a record riddled with mafia references that make it more appropriate for a gangster flick rather than a movie about the Black Panther Party. H.E.R.’s extra clean modern R&B vocals lure you into the 1970s themed soundscape populated by a groovy bass line and bongos. The Golden Globe-nominated single, “Fight For You,” follows right after to complete a promising opening one-two.
Opening with the command “Heads up, eyes open and fists clenched,” his track “Cointelpro/Dec 4” is half history lesson, half rallying cry and prepares the listener to digest some revolutionary, pro-Black art throughout the project. The album opens with the impassioned spoken-word of Chairman Fred Hampton’s son, Fred Jr. Rappers such as Lupe Fiasco, Common and Twista could have helped to build that aesthetic with ease, as each of their respective discographies already lean in the direction of relatively woke. Instead, with Hit-Boy doing the executive producing on Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album, the project gives more Billboard 200 rap album curated by Black Hollywood elites, when it could be giving radical Black art inspired by a Chicago freedom fighter. 20th century artists such as Mahalia Jackson, the Staple Singers, Muddy Waters and Curtis Mayfield, along with hip-hop contemporaries including Vic Mensa, Chance the Rapper, Bella Bahhs and Ric Wilson, are all a part of that Chicago tradition. Since the advent of Chicago gospel and blues, Chicago has been a hub for the evolution of Black music, especially Black music that speaks to the Black American consciousness. Not only does the album do a bare minimum to invoke the messaging of the film or the politics of Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party, but its sparse use of Chicago-based talent leaves much to be desired. Why wouldn’t Noname - the unashamed anti-capitalist Chicago rapper - not want to rap on an album about Fred Hampton? In Noname’s own words: “Most of his politics were stripped from that film.” The album turned out to be a 22-track realization of Noname’s exact concern. When Chicago rapper Noname decided not to hop on the album once she saw the film- after initially expressing interest in joining the album’s roster- many of us raised a collective eyebrow on social media. Unfortunately, not sounding good next to each other is a theme that lasts throughout the album itself, which was released on Friday, Feb. When telling the story of an anti-capitalist revolutionary like Hampton, those two things don’t sound good next to each other. Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album is a rough attempt at using popular music to market a multi-million dollar movie about him. Fred Hampton was a 21-year-old, pro-Black socialist, West Side Chicagoan, and chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party.
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