The World Through Khari's Eyes

Khari This MC is schoolin’ you kids, literally.

This real-life Clark Kent proclaims to be a teacher by day, and rapper by night. Khari, who also happens to be a Cincinnati native, is a multifaceted artist and renowned educator who’s surely taking the rap scene by storm. His latest release, “The World’s a Stage” is a felicitous tale of personal struggle, and triumph, with a sprinkle of motivation on top. His subject matter is more than what I’d describe as “the usual”, which is what is seemingly ruling the Hip-Hop realm today: sex, money, and drugs. Judging from his track list, intricate lyricism, and highly favored features, it’s apparent he has more of a real message for you and me.

His introductory track entitled “Overture/The World’s a Stage” is a metaphorical overlay of what it means to simply be black in America. He expresses experiences that I’m sure the majority of us know all too well with lyrics such as “code-switching for all my auditions, trading places changing faces with God as my witness”. He follows that with “every single stage of our lives is just that, a performance, a theatric, a valuable act”. He speaks of the mask we must apply to our characters on a consistent basis as if we’re puppeteers of our own body, all for the sake of survival. His depiction of this dramatization within our lives is similar to a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar dubbed “We Wear the Mask”, which was released in the late 1800s, but the issue is all too prevalent in society today.

Body tracks of the album like “Smokescreen”, “Don’t fight the feeling”, and “Mug” serve audiences a euphonious and poetical sonic flow. He’s quite emphatic in terms of word play, and I especially caught that through “Smokescreen” with lyrics like “been my destiny since a child, everybody pop out say my name say my name”. Now if that didn’t make you say “Mm” with a mean mug then I don’t know what will!

His closing tracks like “A raisin in the sun” and “Freedom Writers/Finale” were composed in a way as if the curtains to his stage play drew together, and the act finally concluded with roars of applause. See what he did there? Khari’s work as well as overall character displays his innate abilities to not only educate, but build bridges across audiences for relatability. You’ll certainly catch me seated at his next act, and I hope to see you all there too!