Album Review - “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” by Dirty Ol’ Men
Would you rather have the talent of an entire community or be surrounded by a community of talent? If you are Dr. Rod Wallace, there is no need to choose because you have both.
Dirty Ol' Men's latest album, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, tackles the subject surrounding the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of men of color and their battles with grief. However, while grief captures the album's overview, the theme of a community is a constant underlying narrative that shapes the album into completion.
Whether it’s due to the sheer amount of talented features on this album or the artist inadvertently speaking on the topic in nearly every verse, fans will walk away from this project appreciating the idea of community.
Throughout this podcast-style album, listeners enjoy an eclectic roster of talent, from violinists like London Beck, singers like Where She Creep, and far too many emcees, none of which step on each other’s feet or give the listener rapper’s fatigue (a term I made up to describe being tired of hearing rap, listen to Lupe Fiasco’s “Mural” for example).
Lyrically, Dirty Ol’ Men find a way to tackle the subject of grief from every possible angle, whether it’s dealing with the grief of hitting rock bottom (“Lifewater”), losing a loved one (“Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled”), or the grief of dealing with being burnt out on life (“Good Man”). However, while most rap acts tend to take sad music and create a brigade of depression tracks, The Men separate themselves by simply being lyrically better and more seasoned than past acts.
The Men find a way to tell a movie-style documentary with the album's track-list driving the conversation on grief with mini confessionals at the beginning or end of songs. Each track, if not plastered with lyrical depth and ambitious ear-tingling soundscapes, provides emotionally open, passionate, and pleas of hard-earned wisdom for listeners to resonate with or for loved ones to chronicle.
Production-wise, this project is nothing short of perfection on an audio-molecular level. Uplifting tracks like “Good Vibes Only” snatch away the doom-and-gloom of the heavy talking points and give the album a ray of sunshine that could heal the biggest grouch. The ten-song album finds a way to match the consistency of its subject matter with the consistency of superb instrumentals.
Overall, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled makes the most of its ten songs by shining a light on many five-star talents while telling a story co-written by a community of authors, yet never losing its plot. You can listen to the album here.
