by Edward Miskie
It’s refreshing to listen to an R&B/Rap artist who very openly and proudly lives a sober life and incorporates that narrative into their work. It’s almost like listening to a “Christian Rock” artist singing about having sex and doing drugs and encouraging you to do the same. It catches you off guard and makes you pay extra attention to what they’re saying. Johnny Ciggs may be the first artist of any genre I’ve heard do this, and furthermore, do it well without sacrificing the genre or structure of their writing. Ciggs’ 90’s R&B with an early 2000’s pop-sample sound grabs you with the beat and slaps you with the message.
In my view, the best example off of Paradise is The Truce; a confrontation with his former life on the bottle, and the pivot he’s made to recovery. This old-school Philadelphia hip-hop truth dropper hooks the narrative of a new life stating “They say ‘one day at a time’, hit your knees to pray… when you live the grimy life you reap what you sow.” As someone who has experienced the chaos dependency can bring to a person, their family, their friends, this album hits home on a personal level. For anyone else that has been touched by a soured relationship with substance utilization Paradise is the 9-track encouragement-therapy storyline you may need.
Listen to The “Truce” and other songs from Paradise by Johnny Ciggs from Gritty City Records below:
After AFI DOCS’s departure, the capital city once again has a documentary festival.
Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
