Raury - Fly ft. Malik Shakur

Raury’s unwillingness to be pigeonholed is startling. Whether he’s channelling ‘Jesus Walks’ era Kanye or the lyricism of peak Marvin Gaye, he shows a craft that’s, at the risk of condescendence, startling for a man of his age. Of course, it’s an uncomfortable premise as any sort of “journalist” to judge a musician in their teens by some arbitrary lower standard by virtue of the years, but it bears repeating that Raury’s musicianship is incongruous for a man that’s a few years away from being able to buy a beer in the US.

It’s with ‘Fly’, a collaboration with Malik Shakur, that Raury’s made his biggest splash in the arena of social commentary. Written in the aftermath of the Darren Wilson decision, the outrage and anger is distilled into almost a whisper, a solemn cry for sanity: “And in the rising of the sun, hope you remember me with positivity, ‘cause there’s a target on my back, time’s only wasting”. That line alone is a perfect distillation of the bizarre and horrendous situation in the U.S., the “rising of the sun” as an indication of the regularity of these horrific incidences, and “a target on my back” encapsulating the fear and the nonsensical justification for indiscriminate violence by authority on young black people in America.

If the bleak, unequal reality were different, Raury could use his unique talents to create an altogether more peaceful, beautiful narrative. He does that too; you can argue that with absolute certainty. But, as with everything, with the rising of the sun, horrific injustices are met head-on with important art, with steadfast denial of the status-quo - with voices that say “enough”. Raury ends ‘Fly’ with important wishes for his hypothetical son, praying for a different world, hoping his child doesn’t become a hashtag. It’s a sentiment that’s important as anything you’ll hear in music this year.

Tags: Raury, Reviews, Listen