October 29, 2022

Noah Lindsay

[Please note that there are some violent topics discussed throughout this article.]

For black history month, I’d like to introduce to you one of the things that got me so interested in this topic the first place. Music. It emits such raw emotion that textbooks and Wikipedia articles just couldn’t compare for me. There’s a specific artist I want to talk about – one of my favorite artists of all time. The one man who I believe is one of the most talented musicians coming out of this new generation of mostly formulaic and bland hits is the one and only, Pink Siifu.

Livingson Matthews, also known as Pink Siifu, is an underground artist that incorporates many themes of black excellence and love into his music. His use of chopped jazzy instrumentals and inspiration/samples from various forms of black art pay homage to the community he was raised in, and the flow, delivery, and cadence in his voice are reminiscent of many artists in his community before his time. The topics he wrestles with in his music are mostly based on his love for black people and their culture. By listening to Pink Siifu’s music, you get an authentic representation of the trials and tribulations black people face, but also the love and pride that stems from that. Two of his albums stand out to me as some of the most bold and genre-defying music I’ve ever heard.

Pink Siifu’s love for the community he was raised in has always been outspoken. He’s had multiple tracks in the past such as “Black Everything”, “melanin”, “pops tired”, and “Dead White Faces” where he expresses the struggles of being black, but also how he’ll never be ashamed of it and would die before he gives up his identity. This theme is amplified to a massive degree in his 2020 album titled “NEGRO” that he released after the death of George Floyd. This album is a distorted, haunting, and beautiful sound collage hip-hop project inspired by hardcore punk and jazz. Sonically, it’s very harsh. There’s some freakishly violent noises to be heard all throughout this entire album. There’s a few softer moments that serve as a reprieve, but for the most part you’ll be getting a very jarring experience throughout this 20-track-long, 37-minute project. There’s samples littered all throughout this thing and there’s never really a concrete structure to most of these songs. In fact, some of them are skits of people talking.

This project is not something you’ll be strolling down the park listening to in the morning. This is something that you’ll want to down with and dissect bit for bit. It’s polarizing. The first track is a bunch of distorted noises and some pounding. It’s just meant to set the mood and transition into the next track titled “SMD”. This stands for “suck my d***”, and whilst yes it sounds very vulgar, there is a very emotional undertone. Here, Siifu talks about a white man trying to take black culture – something that he is so very proud and protective of, as an independent black man growing up in this oppressive country. He is filled with this rage because he feels as though some of the white people he’s known feel entitled to take something that his people made and transform it into a bland and meaningless reincarnation that they proceed to rebrand as theirs. This could be said about the genre of music that this project is based on. He feels as though white people has taken this black art and soullessly turned it into something that they can profit off of. The other part of this track he talks about a white man trying to physically harm him. This is where the title of the track comes in. Siifu was raised in a violent community. He was born in it and while he’s not trying glorify violence, he’s saying that if a white man tries to harm him because of the color of his skin, it’ll be the last thing he’ll ever do. This carries on into the next track “FK”, but then gets cut after a minute and transitions into a softer, more lo-fi song. In this part, Siifu talks about selling marijuana just to get by. He feels as though the cops or the ”pigs” would do much more for these communities by actually trying to reduce the violence in these communities rather than trying to lock up an honest black man just trying to survive by selling weed. The next track, “we need mo color” is nothing short of straight-up haunting. Though the message is not as direct and as bold as the message on some other tracks on here, the vocal performance and instrumental make it still seem threatening somehow. The message is as described in the title. He feels as though there should be more diversity throughout the entirety of America and not just let it be dominated by white folk – who decide what is right and what is wrong. In “BLACK!”, a 20-second interlude, Siifu repeatedly says that black be the god. This is something he says throughout many of his songs and could be interpreted in a myriad of ways. “Adam x Jalen, eye luv u” is one of the tracks where Pink Siifu takes a clip of his friends talking and place it in the middle of tracks to provide some significance. This is just a humorous little snippet of two of his black friends talking about a fight. It serves as a sort of break. The next track “ameriKKKa, try no pork” starts off with multiple haunting samples of news reports of black people being killed by the police. There is then a woman telling a story. The audio is very distorted, but presumably it’s a story of someone she knows getting wrongfully gunned down by police officers while she was eight months pregnant. They showed no mercy whatsoever. This track is meant to show that many police officers instead of trying to protect the community make these racially-charged decisions that end up getting many black people killed. This fuels the entire point of this album. This unjust group of racist people that are supposed to enforce justice are doing nothing but harming the black community. Notice how there’s three Ks in the title of this track. This stands for the Ku Klux Klan, a racist organization. From what I know, Siifu is not saying that the KKK is running America. Far from that. He’s trying to say that it’s scary how it feels as though they are, with all of these innocent black people being murdered just for the color of their skin. I feel as though now the concepts have been explored for the most part, but my favorite track on this album “ON FIRE, PRAY!” I feel like I’m obligated to explain. The first minute of this track is like most of the other parts of this album. He’s mad that people hate the color of his skin and is willing to fight anyone and everyone who dares contest the fact that he loves where he comes from. Then it transitions to this beautiful and (I’m tired of saying haunting but it really is) HAUNTING slow, lo-fi part. Here he’s singing about there being blood on his body and blood on his face, then proceeding to remark that his mother told him to pray. This could be interpreted in one of multiple ways. One is him being wrongfully shot by the police. He can’t do anything about it, hence his mother telling him that the only way to cope is prayer. The other way is him harming the police for trying to wrongfully hurt him. He feels no remorse even though he’ll be prosecuted for it. Just because the color of his skin he does not deserve to be treated differently. I’m not very equipped to interpret this however, so I’ll leave it up to you. I believe that Siifu makes his lyrics very vague for a purpose and that’s really the fun of it all.

The first time I heard this album I was scared. I believe that’s what Siifu is trying to invoke in the listener, though. The same type (but obviously not nearly to the extent) of fear that he as a black man has to face in America due to violence. The raw authenticity of his lyrics and relentlessly grating sounds is one of the reasons that this album has been on my mind for so long. I definitely recommend anyone with the guts and the time to give it a thorough listen.

Now for his other project, “GUMBO’!”. I’ve been waiting on a physical release of this album for so long because it’s become one of my top five favorite albums of all time. Released in 2021, “GUMBO’!” is a celebration of black culture. Gumbo is a food that is made often in black communities. Much like how gumbo is soul food, the album is filled with soul: the genre and the passion. It starts off with a group of black people singing. Very light-hearted and smooth introduction. Then, as rap legend Big Rube narrates the introduction to the album, you can hear a faint distortion. Then KABLAM the next track thunderously rolls in and keeps that enthralling momentum for its 2-minute duration. Titled “Wayans Bros.”, a tribute to the Wayan brothers, an American sitcom about a black family, Pink Siifu and his featured guest Peso Gordon are riding the beat like it’s nothing. Then the next track, “Roscoe’!”, is a grimy bass-filled track where Pink Siifu talks about growing up in the projects. It’s yet again a bit aggressive but that’s quickly shifted into this soft, jazzy, and colorful sound palette on “Fk u mean/hold me dwn”. Here he talks about the support of his family holding him down and keeping him sane during all the hardships of his life. Soulful indeed. Then it transitions into the next track, “Bussin’ (cold)” that almost sounds ethereal. It’s spacey, atmospheric, and definitely a vibe. Him and his featured guest have great chemistry and it’s very reminiscent of some earlier hip-hop from the southside. I’m not going to describe the sonic qualities as much anymore because I feel it’s most exciting when you go into it blind. Anyways, one of the reasons I love this album so much is that it radiates culture. You can feel it vibrating through your headphones. The use of samples, the vocal and instrumental mixes, all of it just combines into this concoction that is infectious and blooming with energy and passion. He doesn’t say as much on this album but he lets the music speak for itself – and that’s one of the rawest ways to express something. Give this project a listen if you want something different but equally as entertaining and consistent. Listen to Pink Siifu’s whole discography if you want some of the most accurate representations of modern struggles of black people in modern day society.