Beleaf “In Fatherhood” — A Beautiful Composition
Beleaf Melanin weaves a uniqe narrative of family and fatherhood through the lens of hip hop
Upfront I’ll admit, I am an Old School Hip Hop aficionado. The 80's and 90's were the golden age for me. Conceptual albums where a theme weaved through the entire experience were rare. It’s possible that is why albums from artists like Kendrick Lamar have received such divided reactions. It’s a new school versus old School kind of thing. Artists rarely took the time to craft an entire album song by song under a theme or a unified thought.
Beleaf Melanin is a San Diego rapper by way of Baltimore, Maryland who brings together classic raw vocal skills, storytelling, lyrical acrobatics and laid back beats to create a beautiful composition. Its a little bit 90s boom bap, a little bit jazzy soul, a little bit R&B, and a little bit move the crowd. It’s not your typical hip hop subject matter either.
“In Fatherhood” as evidenced by its title, has its roots in what is most important to Beleaf at this point in his life. His relationships. His relationship with his kids as a dedicated father, his appreciation for his wife, his relationship with himself, and even, his relationship with hip hop.
You ride through a journey of discovery with Beleaf. It’s a journey you often witness over the course of several albums from an artist. In this case, we hear the maturation of a rapper turned father over the course of 17 tracks.
If you listen closely as his drops his lyrical gems, you’ll find he’s not feeding the listener the typical trappings of craftless rap; there are no ‘bitches’, ‘hoes’, no grand accounts of days ‘slangin rocks on the corner’, no ‘ballin out’, and no fashion designer call-outs or ‘bling’ to be found on this album.
Yet, like a true, talented emcee, regardless of the subject matter, Beleaf has the ability to deliver his message with a poet’s precision to relate the joys and challenges of living a double life as a rapper and a family man from a true Hip Hop Pop’s perspective…
Please don’t go touchin’ my children, please don’t go touchin’ my kids… if you come up with your hand out, you might get dap on your lip…
— “Lightweight”
[flushed face emoji]… Daddy’s not playin.
One of the crown jewels of the album, “Tribe” is not only an ode to his family, but a call for us all to remember to be involved with raising our children as a community. The track is a display of creative genius and slick production skills you have to hear to believe. Beleaf and friends chop and arrange the vocals of his kids, dubbed ‘The Chocolate Babies’, into a rapid fire treat on the track’s final verse, leaving you grinning from ear to ear as you bob your head to these unlikely preschool crowd-controllers.
Overall the whole album is what hip hop is all about — telling a story. On tracks like “Blase”, and throughout the album, he digs deep to open up to the listener and let them into his soul, his inner feelings, his fears, his challenges, his accomplishments, his love of family and life. Still, he brings it back to classic lyricism with tracks like “No Chill”. There is no shortage of material that a listener can connect with on some level all the way through “In Fatherhood”.
Beleaf bills this album as his final act before retiring from rapping. Let’s hope it’s a short lived Jay-Z style retirement. I can’t wait to see what this talented, creative brother has in store next.
“In Fatherhood” is out now. Cop it on iTunes, grab your kids and your favorite loved one, fire up the grill, throw this on and enjoy!
Follow Beleaf on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @beleafmel. Check out his adventures in fatherhood on his YouTube channel Beleaf In Fatherhood.
I was provided with an advanced copy of this album but was not compensated for this review.
I’m Sean, former rapper in another life and a proud Hip Hop Pop. I’m the founder of The PopLyfe Shop, a lifestyle brand that promotes and supports involved fatherhood and proud dads.
Follow me on Twitter: @poplyfeshop, and if you liked this article, please Recommend it!
