BlackLiq, Mopes - Time Is The Price
Strange Famous Records is proud to present BLACKLIQ x MOPES!
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Dark and driving, grounded in the crates buried beneath folding tables in flea market fields and filled with head-nod narratives for a generation too often locked in their own heads, “Time Is The Price” is an unflinching debut from a pair of veterans revitalized by their first full-length collaboration.
Richmond, VA emcee BlackLiq is unafraid to stare point-blank into the deepest, most reflective sectors of the abyss while holding his head high and rearranging his reflection into whatever form the future demands - he remains true to self while never allowing that allegiance to stunt growth. A long-time independent force, Black has filled the roles of radio host, promoter, journalist, mentor, and TEDtalk speaker, among many others. Respected as an emcee throughout the underground and above, he most recently appeared on indie rap juggernaut Atmosphere’s latest album, “WORD?” Relentlessly kinetic and persistently willing to impart the life lessons that have led him to his hard-won place in the industry, he places all facets on display: “I’m not your enemy - I’m your worst best friend.”
Fresh off of his game-changing name change and self-titled reintroduction EP, Providence, RI producer Mopes (formerly Prolyphic) has crafted 8 rock-solid backdrops perfect for propping up Black’s cataclysmic commentary. “All of the songs are written from Black’s perspective and get very personal. They deal with his childhood, his relationship with his parents, coping with trauma, the criminal justice system,” Mopes explains. “I tried to provide a landscape of peaks-and-valleys for Black to roller-coaster-ride on emotionally. The beats are based in a grimey, boom-bap foundation, but I made an effort to have them feel fresh, relevant and not sound dated. Nothing about this album is soft.”
Indeed, the story that unfolds within is no surprise - rather, it’s told in the titles of the tracks: “Don’t Ask Me,” “I’m Not Right,” “Dumb.” BlackLiq provides no easy answers, no simple instructions for deconstructing the debris and rebuilding a road forward. He tells it like it is, but doesn’t rule out what could be. Nowhere is this more stark than in the hyper-personal track “Guilty,” a boldly-told story about Black’s father. “‘Guilty’ is a song that I am still living, that I can see everytime I hear it. It all happened and is still happening, which is why sharing it with people allows me to see the cage that it describes as a frame for the picture I’m painting.”
“This album was written in the middle of what I would describe as a personal shitstorm,” Black continues. “It’s the result of removing layers of ego while watching society come to terms with the loss of its entitlements, and the realization that we were all socially distanced before social distancing. It was uncomfortable, hilarious, and liberating, because writing these songs required that I stopped caring. No rules, no “I shouldn’t say that”… I wanted people to hear my story in the most simple, honest, unobstructed form, so that they could absorb the weight of it, and hopefully lighten their load, get a laugh or two, and then say, ‘I wanna hear that again.’”
Raps by BlackLiq
Beats by Mopes
Cuts by Buddy Peace
Mixed & mastered by ALXNDRBRWN
Guitar on “Endtro” & “Guilty” by Alan Hague
Artwork by Pat Jensen
“Endtro” video by Folie