52. Album Review of remember my name by Circumstantial Saint

Originally Published October 8th, 2024

Preface

You know, it’s strange the coincidences we happen across on a daily basis. I experienced an occurrence today where an independent musician came into my virtual social space, witnessed a post I made that featured a political figure, and made a point to state that they did not believe art should be “too political,” because it was a “good way to get unfollowed.” First, I am going to address the less serious part of this artist’s statement: I don’t do what I do for followers. I won’t change my fundamental beliefs for any one person. I do this for independent artists to HAVE A VOICE- definitely not to supress one. 

The more important thing this artist mentioned, “art shouldn’t be that political,” is an opinion this artist shared that is unfortunately 100% wrong. Generally, I say that nobody’s opinion is wrong. In some instances, when there is verifiable evidence to the contrary, an opinion can be misinformed. This artist’s statement is egregiously so. I believe the intention of the artist was to attempt to control/supress a narrative and, as an independent online journalist, I do not condone unconstitutional behavior like challenging the First Amendment. As an independent artist, I take offense to the idea that art isn’t political. 

Art has been politically expressive, not only for generations, but for centuries. I’m sure every person reading this has read a nursery rhyme before. Most nursery rhymes were inspired from political and social circumstances that were occurring at the time of publication; like Humpty Dumpty. Classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and more were politically and religiously motivated, challenging narratives through Opera and composition. Mozart wrote Arias taking digs at royal society, in the presence of those members, to critical acclaim.

Fast forward to the 60’s, music inspired an entire culture of people, hippies, to exhibit politically motivated lifestyles. You can hear political protest in a multitude of songs from that generation. Today, artists across all platforms speak out and speak up. They sing, write, and perform to their politically motivated ideas and beliefs. Because art is expression. It always has been. It is the most tangible connection people have to expression. 

About the Artist

I wanted to preface this article because of the incident that occurred today with this argumentative encounter I experienced and because the artist whose review I was working on, I happen to find incredibly moving and very politically motivated. 

“Born from the rhythms of resistance and the echoes of a world in need of change, Circumstantial Saint craft soundscapes that pulse with purpose.” (Spotify Bio) 

When Circumstantial Saint submitted his work for review, he started the conversation with “Greetinfs and good vibes.” He explained to me that he is a spoken word poet who puts his poems over his own beats. He invited me to check out his website and I discovered one of the most interesting people in the process of doing so. “This journey began, not with the pen, but with the streets - where activism met art. From protests and rallies to the quiet moments of introspection, he found his voice in the spaces where justice and creativity intertwine.” 

Circumstantial Saint is from Pennsylvania. You can stream his music on all streaming platforms. You can follow him on instagram and Threads. I strongly encourage you to bare witness to his moving work.

About the Album

remember my name is a spoken word poem album, with influences of Baltimore Club music, hip hop, and neo soul. It was released on September 27, 2024. It is 18 tracks, with a runtime of around one hour and ten minutes.

About the Music

Musically, Circumstantial Saint takes a minimalist approach as to not overshadow the lyrical content of his work but the samples, and programming used is expertly done, with him showcasing a real talent for producing. The most musically complex song is NEVER STOP. which features a muted saxaphone, a rhoads keyboard, that has a layering sustained effect filling sound space. There is also a programmed percussion part.

What Does My Love Mean To You features an arpeggiated clean electric guitar part that could be programmed but sounds like it was possibly played. Either way, it is pleasant sounding.

MINDFLEXIN. features a sequence of unique chords and progressions played in a loop on the keyboard. This is done over a pulsing synth part and steady percussion.

Circumstantial Streets is the most diverse track, stylistically, with electronic music incorporated into the track. The synth part pulses an arpeggiated tone, at times taking a background to the beat and at other times fading out in front. Additional synth parts accent different modular scales, in melodically chaos that goes all over the place but finds resolution.

When Circumstantial Saints told me he was a spoken word poet who performed over beats, I was excited because I didn’t know exactly what to expect. To be honest, I was wondering if it was going to sound like Freddy Prinze Jr’s Hack-y-sack performance from She's All That; with much of the emphasis going to the poetry and not a lot of thought going to the music. 

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that both were very complimentary of one another. A lot of thought and creativity went into the music on this album. The production quality is spot on. Though it does support the poetry, it stands on its own artistically.

About the Lyrics

As one could imagine, there is a lot of content that could be analyzed and interpreted in a spoken word poem album. Circumstantial Saints covers an array of cultural experiences; bridging emotional content like love with political movement, activism, and human rights. He touches on struggle, stress, depression, and fear. He approaches hardship from a place of identifying opportunities to gain wisdom. And he sounds very wise. He shares his wisdom, not with ego, but with humility and a sort of gratefulness; acknowledging it could not have been earned without the hardships brought on by the lesson.

Here is the lyrical breakdown of the feature track on this album, NEVER STOP.: “They say I’m molded by the rhythm. Blood pumping with the beat. I remember the struggle and lost on the streets. I’m a soldier of the past fighting for what I believe. Never gonna stop being me.” This introductory passage feels like the author is setting the stage for the context of the work. The reader is given insight into who the narrator is and how he came to be.

"Wisdom from the elders guiding me through the night. Spiritual whispers in the trees and their truth's writing the breeze. Mother Earth's embrace brings me to my knees. Can't you see? This connection to the Earth and the sky. The spirit of my ancestors. This fire in my eyes. I've been out here not mindin' and countin' just plantin' my seed. With ancestor's tills the truth that I leave. Why can't yall just relax and see?" Here the author is articulating a connection to the world and his heritage. An appreciation and respect for it that inspires and drives him into actions he takes. This could be referring to educating people, stances he makes on political or social views, or simply an acknowledgement of being where he is and knowing what he knows because of the path that was etched before him by the ancestors who paved it.

There is a burning passion behind every line of Circumstantial Saint's verse; not just in NEVER STOP., but in each one of his songs. As a songwriter, I will admit something we're not supposed to admit. There are some songs I have written in my past that I searched for something witty or unique to incorporate into a lyric just for the sake of it being different. Because I thought it brought something authentic to the music I was creating. It might make for an interesting or pretty limerick, but it's not very personal. I get the sense that Circumstantial Saint wouldn't even know HOW to do that because everything he writes is layered in his own make up. It encompasses him and that is what fuels this poetic initiative. 

Final Thoughts

As I stated earlier, I was very excited when Circumstantial Saint reached out to me to submit his work to be considered for review. I've never reviewed poetry before. I did have one poet submit their work in my first month of doing this, but I had an issue with how the music in their work was presented because the instrumental portion was not credited and it was not their own. Here, this isn't the case. Everything that Circumstantial Saint has given us is him. 

To be a  Spoken Word Poet in the music industry, there has to be an acknowledgement that this is not rap music. But also, it's not NOT rap music. There were some moments where it felt like it was blending into a more hip hop vibe, primarily with some of (not all) of his features. Though there are similarities, there is a quality and delivery that does stand apart and I want to make sure that that is pointed out. It's not the same. I think the similarities are addressed and perhaps it might help make the genre more marketable as there is a large market for Hip Hop and not as large of a market for poetry in the music industry. But it's important to understand the differences too. There's a different emphasis on cadence. There's a different emphasis on the rhythmic delivery. There's a difference in the verses organizationally. 

Circumstantial Saint draws inspiration from so many things. His music is so impactful to the state of being in culture, politics, and society. I listened to remember my name. and it is evident he has lived an extraordinary life. He is a unique and interesting person who is more than willing to share his wealth of knowledge. I don't hear an ounce of ego in his work. In general, I would ask, "How can a person be confidently humble?" He has shown the answer is there, it's just maybe not as natural to introduce. It's gratitude. As I said before, Circumstantial Saint approaches the hardships he has faced in his life with what almost seems like a sense of gratitude for how it shaped him. An acknowledgement of the hardships his ancestors faced. Gratitude. He is grateful. He is grateful to do the work he does; to use the voice he has been given. Not proud. Grateful. 

I am grateful to bare witness to it.