To the East, Blackwards
Encyclopedia
To The East, Blackwards was the debut album from hip hop
group X-Clan
.
The lyrics heavily promote Afrocentrism
, railing against racism and socioeconomic oppression of African-Americans. Brother J serves as the main MC, while Professor X punctuates verses with powerful declarations and recitations of the names of figures like Marcus Garvey
and Nat Turner
. All songs were written by Brother J, except for "Earth Bound," for which Professor X receives co-writer credit.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group X-Clan
X-Clan
X-Clan is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, originally consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Professor X The Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and Sugar Shaft the Rhythm Provider...
.
The lyrics heavily promote Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism is cultural ideology mostly limited to the United States, dedicated to the history of Black people a response to global racist attitudes about African people and their historical contributions by revisiting this history with an African cultural and ideological center...
, railing against racism and socioeconomic oppression of African-Americans. Brother J serves as the main MC, while Professor X punctuates verses with powerful declarations and recitations of the names of figures like Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
and Nat Turner
Nat Turner
Nathaniel "Nat" Turner was an American slave who led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths and at least 100 black deaths, the largest number of fatalities to occur in one uprising prior to the American Civil War in the southern United States. He gathered...
. All songs were written by Brother J, except for "Earth Bound," for which Professor X receives co-writer credit.
Singles
"Raise the Flag," "Funkin' Lesson," and "Grand Verbalizer, What Time Is It?" were released as singles.Reception
In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums Ever.Track listing
| # | Title | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Performer (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Funkin' Lesson" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 2 | "Grand Verbalizer, What Time is It?" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J |
| 3 | "Tribal Jam" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 4 | "A Day of Outrage, Operation Snatchback" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 5 | "Verbal Milk" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 6 | "Earth-Bound" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 7 | "Shaft's Big Score" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | |
| 8 | "Raise the Flag" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 9 | "Heed the Word of the Brother" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 10 | "Verbs of Power" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
| 11 | "In the Ways of the Scales" | J. Hunter, L. Carson, A. Hardin, C. Grey | X-Clan | Brother J, Professor X |
Album chart positions
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | ||
| 1990 | To The East, Blackwards | #97 | #11 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Hot Rap Singles |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Raise The Flag" | 12 |
Personnel
- Brother J, Professor X The Overseer - vocals
- Sugar Shaft, Paradise - DJDisc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s - Jason Hunter, Lumumba Carson, Claude Gray, Anthony Hardin - production
- Mitchell Hartman - artwork
- George duBose - photography
- Kevin A. McDonagh - design