“Revolution” reminds me of just that, the chanting of “Go save this burning earth” continues as the rhythmic bongos play along to the artists powerful messages that not only shift to pollution but to hypocrisy. As the track comes to a close, Raury goes into a flow of rapping where he addresses how (unfortunately) money is a huge benefactor in a society to the point where it masks other needs.
That build up soon dies down to include the vocals of Raury alongside crisp acoustics and the repetitive line/chorus, “Who can save the world, my friend?/ I’m telling you all we need is love.” The perfect intro and a depiction of the overall message. The album starts off with the title track “All We Need”, the quirky electronic build up will remind you of the THX sound effect heard at the beginning of several movies. This guy is more conscientious than any 19 year old I know.Īllow me to dive into the complex and powerful “new age” rap/R&B you’ll find on All We Need. “I’m never super-keen when people say, ‘I’m an artist here to save the world.’ But since I have these gifts to make music, I’m obligated to use them to cause some kind of shift in the minds of listeners, that will, hopefully, domino into people living better for themselves and everyone around them.” All I seem to hear anymore is lyrics about having sex or doing drugs…it gets to be repetitive and annoying after a while. Not many artists embrace this mindset, especially in Rap music. It’s not cool to always be talking about: ‘Oh, this week I fucked 14 girls and I’ve $50,000 in my back pocket.’ That shit is lame to me.” PC: BILLBOARD “I remember when Chance tweeted: ‘ I can’t wait until it’s cool to be a good person again.’All of a sudden it’s strange that I love life, that I want to be loved. In an interview with The Guardian‘s Harriet Gibsone, Raury talks about his “hippy”-like philosophy and the message behind his music. You wouldn’t think a 19 year old would preach messages of loving the earth and loving eachother, but the Georgia-based musician sure does stick to the theme that matches the title of his debut record, All We Need. From The Neighbourhood’s “Warm” to the artist’s own “Devil’s Whisper”, the 19 year old artist captivated me with complex melodies about the earth, society, love, and other topics that may coincide with various situations occurring in our society today. Then, Raury finishes the verse: "I met you in the high school hall, when I was going through withdrawals.I had heard the name ‘Raury’ pop up in many different songs in the past year. He keeps playing the guitar and we hear a sniffle. Raury, a pucker in his delicate voice, croons "I met you in the high school hall," before he stops singing. Out of all the songs on the album, the emotion on "Willow"-a tart regret-is most palpable. It's not hard to picture him soulfully belting out highlights like "Rubi" and "Leviathan" on a cold Autumn evening among the trees.įervent most potently captures this fundamental, anti–capitalist earthiness on its penultimate track, "Willow," a sorrowful, guitar–picked ballad addressed to an ex–lover. Raury is creating-through his aesthetic and self–presentation-a modern–day Woodstock revival, more concerned with community than profit.
There, he plays stripped down versions of his discography with just a guitar and his voice, nothing between himself and the audience. Now, he invites his fans to "COME TO THE WOODS," as his promotional posters blare. His concerts nowadays are rarely onstage. The artist may love the fans, but the management and label don't," he said, "So the relationship between the fan and artist is built like god and worshipper when it should be artist serving the people." In an interview from last year, Raury bemoaned the lack of true connection between the artist and the fans when record labels intervene as the middle man.