#klevah

Klevah and T.R.U.T.H have both been so supportive of #QueerWOC (T.R.U.T.H even recorded the intro track to the podcast!) Lets show them some support back and help get them on the main stage at AfroPunk Brooklyn!!! Click the link and vote now!

This photo belongs to Mother Nature at mothernaturebarz.com

I’ve seen these two around town over the years. I’ve heard their music at various venues, while shopping, at shows at the Independent Media Center, and everywhere in between. To say they’re local is kinda true but they might disagree. Klevah and TRUTH are from Chicago, but they sharpened their skills and talent in Urbana-Champaign. 

Fact: Klevah and T.R.U.T.H. became Mother Nature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In my recollection, I first saw Klevah rap on a stage at High Dive. I didn’t go to High Dive to see her perform. I actually went to dance at the Latin Dance Night when it just moved from Radio Maria to High Dive. Klevah was wearing a lot of gold and I think she was with a crew called Gr8Thinkaz or something like that. I remember her voice was very different. It was a sound I haven’t heard in a long time - somewhere between Da Brat and Little Simz.

I cannot recall when I first saw TRUTH, but I do vividly remember her handing out a pamphlet about local activism in Chambana with the Movement for Black Lives. I remember her being humble but also vibrant. It was like she knew of who she was without question, but she wasn’t loud about it. She had a swagger and confidence that was very admirable. She reminds me of Lady of Rage and Rah Digga - super confident and dope rappers.

When listening to “Horus”, turn the volume up to the max!

Rapping and singing women in group form have a long, but mostly overlooked history in hip-hop. Salt-N-Pepa, TLC, SIN, Figures of Speech, K.P. and Envyi, Floetry, and City Girls - to name a few. Regardless, Mother Nature sounds like themselves - afrofuturistic, sincere, black feminist, loving, and healing. The potent duo released their new EP called Saturn Return on December 1, 2019. The EP is quite strong for the pair. I knew they were talented and serious about rapping and their artistry. But this EP sounds like they are firmly planted in hip-hop’s underground with all of the confidence and production quality of contemporaries who are above ground. The 7-track, 24 minute collection is solid and shows their versatility as well as their strength.

My favorites are: “4 Got” is on repeat for me. It’s so laid back and lifted; “Eyez Low” for the homage to DJ Screw’s famous screwed and chopped technique and the entire Third Coast; and “Ritualz” because they’re singing and they seem really blissful.

“Prescriptions” production reminds me of the energy of SIN - “Power of the P.” Listen here https://youtu.be/C0JzjJsFXtA.

The only thing I hope the two consider at some point is hiring a musical director (think Peter Cottontale). Someone that listens to all of their songs and adds musical elements such as vocal harmonies, live instrumentation, and other smart melodies to take the music to an even higher level.

Mother Nature is dope and this EP is great! Can it be doper? Stream and purchase their Saturn Return EP at http://smarturl.it/SaturnReturn!

Klevah! killing it again in round 2. 

The last article I wrote for Smile Politely before moving to Chicago was a profile of C-U based hip-hop duo Mother Nature—probably the best thing that C-U has going for it! They performed at C-U’s biggest annual music event, The Pygmalion Festival, in September opening up for Run the Jewels. I think they took a lot of people by surprise—myself included. I’d listened to some stuff on their bandcamp and enjoyed it, but going to hip-hop shows has never really been my thing, so I had yet to check them out.

The first thing I learned from them was not to take shit from anyone about your right to create. These two black women obviously face a lot of obstacles, but they show no shyness on stage. Even on the Pygmalion festival stage in front of a mostly white audience full of dumb alt-bros who’ve been soaking up boring indie-pop all day. They fucking owned it and it’s inspiring that they even got there in the first place.

By way of a show review of that Pygmalion set, I learned about myself and my purpose as an editor. Ruth Nicole Brown is a UIUC professor both halves of Mother Nature (they go by T.R.U.T.H and Klevah) have taken GWS classes with. She wrote the coolest article I’ve ever been tasked with editing. The most annoying part of Music Editing at SP was getting writers to write, so when I got Professor Brown’s email submission, I flipped. I think my managing editor was a unsure of it since the writing style was decidedly black. I’ve never seen anything like that before in music writing, but I think it was the best review that could’ve possibly described the Mother Nature Pygmalion set. It was a joy and a learning experience to edit, and it helped me cement my values as an editor.