X Clan, The East, Blackwards (1990)
Marcus Garvey would’ve been proud of Brother J and Professor X’s Afrocentrism and back to Africa-inspired lyrics.The Brooklyn duo start off their debut album with,“Funkin’ Lesson,” where they badmouth critics who criticize African Americans for embracing their blackness. When you thought X-Clan had nothing else to say on “Funkin’ Lesson,” Brother J spazzs out by name dropping Egyptian gods as he raps, “I talk of Ra/Converse with Horus, create with Ptah/ride with Geb to roar with Bast…” The average listener may not know what X-Clan are talking about, but after hearing it, you feel that they are official MCs with a message.
Brother J and Professor X keep up the Afrocentrism rap throughout the album. On the single,”Raise the Flag,” Brother J raps, “Another flowing/as I comfort sons and daughters/Knowledge leads the way/so I flow like Nile’s waters/African American, rebel of authority.” X-Clan’s lyrics is food for the soul.
On “Verbal Milk,“ Brother J raps, “I’m singing, raising the flag, cause I hate the Spangled Banner,” is pure hip hop, which is going against the norm.
It’s clear that X-Clan used hip hop to educate. To The East Blackwards is an album that professors could use in a course on Afrocentric education.
