In November 2009, exhausted by a small degree of industry rejection and playing in bands that didn’t artistically fulfill him, the 25-year old composer, multi-instrumentalist and lyricist, Kenton Dunson, went on several recording retreats. Occupying rooms at various hotels in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., these intervals of time were spent diligently writing and composing. This process continued throughout the entire winter and moved the artist to resign from a primary career to pursue the release of the 13-song solo project created over that span entitled The Kenton Dunson Progressions, which was recently released at a live show in Baltimore June 3rd, 2010 that will be followed by an east coast tour is being set for summer 2010. Kenton Dunson released The Kenton Dunson Progressions totally independently, meaning he composed (no samples, all originally played), wrote and recorded every track and even funded his own release.
The Kenton Dunson Progressions is one of those rare Hip Hop albums that can be truly considered art. Similar to Foreign Exchanges’ Connected, the album dips through soulful beats and rhythms as Kenton Dunson lays intelligent and meaningful lyrics whether he is singing or rapping. In fact, I believe I have not heard an album like this since Foreign Exchanges’ Connected, an album that is widely regarded as a classic alternative Hip Hop album. I am confident that Kenton Dunson’s album will follow the same path as long as his album reaches the same fan base as Foreign Exchange.
The album begins with the intro track titled “Animals Of Habit” where Kenton Dunson in spoken word states “Paint your own picture, Give us an original,” which Kenton Dunson from the very beginning does not fail to do. One track I would like to highlight is titled “Frenzy,” which is composed of poetic lyrics describing the sensation of when a song “is a profound offering” as if “oxygen hits” (quotations are from the song). It is a shorter song but, just as is the whole album, it is lyrically and musically qualified. Listen and download this track below.
Download: Kenton Dunson – Frenzy
Read the rest of the album review and stream more tracks from the album after the jump.
One of my favorite tracks is the fourth song titled “Breaks,” which has a much faster pace than the rest of the album. It is much like an introduction of Kenton Dunson as an artist to the world with lyrics such as “That’s his freedom cry, he sees the sky and the distance between” and “Yes…this is music born, Come without a fear a hear it in it’s truest form.” Now, hear it in it’s truest form below.
Listen: Kenton Dunson – Breaks
Another favorite of mine is titled “Stories.” The song is (as is most of the album) is very reflective of his life. Particularly, his own struggle to either continue what he was doing or to pursue his music career. The chorus states “There is no glory yet, Nobody wants to hear your story yet,” which is major theme of the song. Nobody knows who he is at the moment but he knows he has talent. What should he do? Toward the end of the song he knows he has to be “Taking action on his passion, says his heart won’t lie.” Listen below.
Listen: Kenton Dunson – Stories
Lastly, I would like to highlight the track “Downfall.” The beat of this song had me hooked from the beginning with it melodic synths and vocal sample. The lyrics are a little tough to interpret as he does not say who he is talking about. It could be very well be about a girl with the words “I hope I never see your face” and “I’m far beyond my past.” It could also be about taking a different path than his parents with lyrics such as “But if I ride on your road, I’m probably going to crash, So I carved my own path like this sudden driven man with a shovel in my hands.” Or it could just be about his own inner struggle to whether or not to pursue his own solo career as musical artist. Whatever it is, the interpretation is all up to listener and how the song makes them feel. That is what makes art, art. Listen to “Downfall” below.
Listen: Kenton Dunson – Downfall
If you like these tracks, visit KentonDunson.com to stream the entire album and be sure to buy his album below.
Purchase: Kenton Dunson - The Kenton Dunson Progressions
