Insight & Damu the Fudgemunk – Pyramids to the Ghetto [audio]
Known to many as the group Y Society, Insight the Truncator and Damu the Fudgemunk celebrate 10 plus years of friendship and a creative partnership that hold the two in high esteem of their fans.
The MC & producer’s new 7″ is a compelling display of why the duo have always been at the top of their game despite their reserved output since debuting as a team in 2007. Surprising the world at the top of the year with their full length, “Ears Hear Spears” was a great way to sound the alarm for the excitement of new activity.
Selective by nature, Insight and Damu’s calculations have served advantageous in making moves and presenting listeners with the right music at the right time. The latest incarnation of this truth can be heard in the previously unreleased b-side track entitled “Pyramids to the Ghetto.”
Although it was recorded in 2008, it was archived and remained unreleased until now. Now in 2017 this particular song couldn’t be any more relevant in how the artists analyze the effects racism of the past & present and it’s correlation to black plight throughout the Americas (both Insight & Damu drop verses on this track).
Continuing narratives of such legends as Public Enemy and Jeru the Damaja in which the track title quotes, the group individually presents short essays in rhyme form that give a candid account of what they’ve witnessed as black U.S. citizens living in the 20th and 21st Century. Not only are the social effects on the table for examination, but the positive and negative impacts a racist society has had on black contributions to art and culture are discussed.
For the songwriters, “Pyramids to the Ghetto” is therapeutic in which harsh realities are confronted in an unapologetic manner contrasting the previous socially charged material in Insight and Damu’s back catalog. For the listeners, it’s a history lesson and a call to motivate us all that history doesn’t always have to repeat itself even when it’s been the norm for centuries. Adversity and oppression historically have hold some back and made some stronger, but acknowledgement is the first step of progression.
The A-Side, “Never Off (On & On)” speaks on just that. It’s a roadmap to dealing with everyday adversity, maintaining faith in self and striving to reach your full potential. Insight presents sermons of encouragement to the everyday person over the Fudgemunk’s uplifting beat. The producer chimes in on the chorus with a few words of his own that insists to keep on your path and never fall off. The old saying goes, “Life ain’t easy”, but the group knows success is not unrealistic. “Never Off (On & On)” was the debut single from the debut album, “Travel at Your Own Pace” which has remained a staple in Insight the Truncator’s and Damu the Fudgemunk’s legacy. This the song’s first official reissue and it’s first appearance pressed on a 45.
