th1rt3en
A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism
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th1rt3en is what you would get if Led Zeppelin and Kendrick Lamar had a baby and raised it in Jamaica, Queens. The gritty production coupled with live instrumentation and exquisite lyricism creates a unique yet familiar sound that has been tried before but hasn’t ever reached this level of artistry.
The brainchild of legendary emcee Pharoahe Monch, who is joined by Jack White drummer Daru Jones and guitarist Marcus Machado (winner of the 2014 Rolling Stone magazine’s Next Young Gun), th1rt3en is aggressive, abrasive, often irreverent and fearless with their examination of the world today.
Regarding the band name Pharoahe says, “I think consciousness is spreading and we are becoming inherently more aware of the evil that has kept the world in darkness. 13 is the number of the alpha and the omega. Death of an age and birth of a new enlightenment.”
Pharoahe, who’s had a hall of fame career thus far, first as a member of the 90’s group Organized Konfusion and even more notably as a soloist, says this band and project are a dream come true. He’s been contemplating this sound and approach for over 10 years, and actually working on these songs for over five. He gathered these two assassins to help him develop his ideas and th1rt3en was born. In a landscape where we are constantly being conditioned to shrink our thinking into social media’s algorithm and age demographic. th1rt3en shatters that construct.
The album entitled “A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism” is slated for release January 22nd 2021 and speaks to the cleansing that we need from societal ills and a world gone mad. The first single “Fight” has the band exploring the topic of police brutality and murder, particularly against Black citizens, via a familiar school yard chant, while employing some help from the West Coast greats, Cypress Hill. The driving sound and hypnotizing hook, along with Machado’s brilliant guitar work makes for a sonic explosion worthy of the best of all genres.
It deserves to be said that we’ve often seen rappers attempt to form bands and create “rock” albums. Most have failed miserably This project is different. The band achieves this new sound and symmetry without compromising what makes the individuals great. Marcus is as great a guitarist as there is in music today, and he sounds impeccable on this album. Daru, who Fuse TV called the unsung hero of Coachella 2015, really digs into his hip-hop and rock roots to continue to create this unique sound. Pharoahe Monch does arguably some of his best bar work ever which says a lot about someone considered to be one of the greatest lyricists of all time. Quite simply, they achieved what hasn’t been done effectively because of sheer excellence.
“What A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism” is the kind of album that couldn’t be made without the experience and gravitas that comes from years in the industry, confidence in your skill set, and a bit of “I don’t give a fuck” mentality that these musical veterans possess. We are the lucky ones to be in a time that an album like this could not only be made, but can get the type of attention it deserves because, as the title indicates, the world is in need of reflection and atonement and th1rt3en is just the band to get the process started.