SUN RISE ABOVE: “Every Day I Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of Capitalism”

Sun Rise Above, also known as Sun R. A., is a hip-hop artist, notable for his leftist political views and corresponding lyrics. Sun Rise Above calls his form of music hiphopraganda and has been compared to acts like Public Enemy and the Wu-Tang Clan. Sun Rise Above has been in the underground hip hop scene for some time, but finally debuted in 2003 with the album “Global Warning.” In 2005, Sun Rise Above signed-up with Guerrilla Funk and shortly after, appeared on the song “Throwyahandzup” with Dead prez and T-K.A.S.H., on the Guerrilla Funk release “Paris Presents: Hard Truth Soldiers Vol. 1.”

Sun Rise Above‘s solo album “Prisoners of War” was originally scheduled for release through Guerrilla Funk, but was released independently in 2009. A single from the album, “Free Your Mind,” was released on vinyl by Finnish record label Traveller Records.

Two years later, the album “Every Day I Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of Capitalism” was released.

There was a time when the name Wu-Tang got the average hip-hop head hyped, just thinking about the amazing lyrics and weight that the group brought to hip-hop. For many, “36 Chambers” was the start of a new beginning in hip hop. Wu followers waited for the next influential album to drop, however the group diversified, millions were made, and Wu Tang rocked the world coast to coast and shore to shore. This team of fiery, ferocious rappers created an original style of hip hop never again to be savored until today.

The album from “Every Day I Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of Capitalism” by Sun Rise Above is a beacon of hope to all ex-Wu fans world-wide. From gritty, raw, uncut samples, to beats with drum machines and synthesizers, you’ll discover shining tracks packed with ill loops, twisted melodies, angry bass lines and deep lyrics.

I’m not gonna pretend like a know a whole lot about the history of Hip-Hop and rap music. All I do know is what I like; tight beats, creative mixes and sharp lyrics, and this album is a classic because it excels in all those areas. I’m not into most newer “Hip-Hop” that is played on the radio or on MTV, as most of it all sounds the same, and its pretty weak.

As a reviewer, I listen to a whole lot of music and am aware of how albums get stale real quick. Some albums, you can only listen to for a few days, and then they sit dormant for months before you go back to them. But “Every Day I Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of Capitalism” stays icy-fresh when you turn up the volume dial. It’s everything hip-hop should be: raw beats, simple hooks and evocative samples intertwined with unique styles, all of which come together to build a 21-track assault on the body and mind.

Wherever there is artistic monotony and social immobility, there will always be the ingenuity and bravery, that breaks away from false images and dead end lyrics. Most rap artists today seem to have forgotten their roots filled with discrimination, random assaults and life’s short end of the stick. Rap was once proudly, the only exhalation in a suffocating environment of urban life. Sun Rise Above proves on this album that he haven’t forgotten his roots, or lost the will to denounce life’s inequities.

The are just too many highlights on this twenty one track album, to try and single out any one track, but standouts certainly include; “The Ashes Of Eagles,” “Stockhold Syndrome,” “Love Hate Relationship,” “Prelude To A Revolution,” “Kamikaze,” “Obomba,” and “Surrender.”

If you have even a passing interest in hardcore East Coast Rap or real social awareness, you owe it to yourself, at the very least, to give “Every Day I Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of Capitalism” a serious listen.