I started the album with this quote from Yeats which exemplifies not only the overall tone for the project but the current state of the world we are living in.

This project was largely created during the pandemic, a time marked by rising tension, fear, and uncertainty and it was those emotions that laid the foundation for this album. An album was created while the world was burning.

My first solo release in a decade and my first major project back after nearly 7 years away from the music business, I wanted to create a project that reintroduced my production to the world with a range of moods and concepts that the finest lyricists in the world could glide over. It’s a range also found in the guests who appear on this project.

Each curated guest was chosen for each specific song I created. Some songs were already crafted, some were made specific to the artists involved but they were all designed to showcase both the emcees and the production.

While the overall project is dark, I did deliberately end the album with a slightly more hopeful song to show the better days ahead. Sometimes you have to find that sliver of light in a sea of darkness so that you can continue to move forward and rise out of the absence of light.

The Ceremony of Innocence is a single entity designed to be listened to from start to finish in its entirety.

I salute all the artists involved, Man Bites Dog Records, friends, family, and everyone who discovers this project and participates in The Ceremony of Innocence.