Fans of the Christian rapper have been chomping at the bit since the release of his mixtape Elephant In The Room, and that buzz only grew louder once an underground video of him spitting furious bars to a feverish crowd released last year.
Most of y’all are likely familiar with the Eastern fable in which several blind men are asked to describe an elephant.
Each reaches out to touch whichever part of the animal is in front of him, and each draws a radically different conclusion from what he discovers. The one who wraps his hand around the tail claims an elephant is long and flexible like a rope. The one who grasps the foot insists the elephant is pillar-shaped, and so on.
The story’s simple but far-reaching message is that it’s impossible to capture the complexity of a topic, object or person from a single, limited perspective — and you’re likely to make a fool of yourself if you try.
The title of Gemstones’s Xist Records debut, Blind Elephant, suggests a further twist on that basic idea: our perspectives are never more partial or limited than when we turn them back on ourselves. No matter how much self-knowledge we accumulate, there’s always a little (or big) something that evades our grasp. And we know this on a gut level. Why else would we stress so much about how we represent ourselves to the world?
Anxiety over personal identity is the reason it’s taken so long for us to get our hands on a retail album from the Windy City rapper, singer and songwriter born Demarco Castle. In the late 2000s, the artist (then going by Gemini) was signed to Lupe Fiasco’s 1st & 15th label and had a freshman full-length, Troubles of the World, on track for release. He was crushing it with lead single “We On.” His future in the game was bright. Yet he chose to walk away from all that, because he felt he wasn’t being true to himself.
Those years were full of changes for Gem — he cut his hair, left his label, lost weight and (for legal reasons) adopted his current stage name — but the most significant development, of course, was his decision to stop rapping about sex, drugs and gunplay and adopt a “gospel” style that better reflected his life and his faith. It’s a testament to the buzz he’d already built, as well as the high quality of interim releases like free LPs On the Road to Glory: My Story and Elephant in the Room, that fans have been willing to accompany him on his lengthy journey of self-discovery, despite his lack of a retail product.
Given the wait, as well as Gem’s unique story, it’s no surprise that expectations for Blind Elephant are, well, elephantine. The rules of compelling narrative demand that it be a triumph of artistic integrity over commercial pandering — a personal statement from an emcee who’s finally come into his own. Does it deliver?
It certainly gets off to a strong start. The first four tracks paint a multifaceted portrait of the artist. After reminding us he’s got bars for days with RavO-assisted intro “Quick Go In,” he showcases his talents as a singer over ominous war drums on “Believe.” Single “Lyrical Miracle,” whose choppy piano chords call to mind Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade,” emphasizes his grimy side, while the soulful “Press Harder” depicts him at his most casual and conversational, sharing engaging reflections on his faith and career. Read More Here
The Flow
The first track on this album is titled “Quick Go In,” and that’s exactly what he did. Similar to “Fire In My Heart,” he came with the quick, passionate flow that he has become known for. He does a great job with finding a way to rhyme with almost each word in a bar. For the listener who likes to catch all of the rhymes, you can have a field day with Gemstones. He packs so many words in each line.
On top of the skill, he packs raw truth all in his verses and has a sincere passion for the hood. It’s flooded throughout all he does now. On “Lyrical Miracle” he raps,
“Comin’ for the dudes that don’t seem to care/damaging the minds of the seeds we heir/That only seem to rhyme when the weed is flared/so they don’t have a mind to be deep as prayer.”
The entire song, he just snaps on the beat. Listeners will have to rewind this one plenty of times to get everything that he said.
Gemstones is definitely an emcee that can rhyme and hold his weight with the best. However, one trait that has been consistent in his music is his delivery. His cadence and how he will go from slow to passionate is common in a lot of his songs. Consistency is a great thing, but it can also look like he does not know how to switch up his style much. This can be limiting because not everyone wants to hear the same flow pattern in every song.
“Press Harder” is a slower song, but as far as how he lays out his rhymes, the flow is very similar to when he is rhyming fast.
It’s easy to tell how talented he is on this project and it does not seem like he will allow his style to hold him back in the future. As he diversifies, he will only become that much more potent behind the mic.
Topics
If you have ever listened to an interview from Gemstones, you’ll hear that he’s passionate and vocal about a variety of things. He’s rapped about fallen friends, mindsets in the hood, government, the church and more on his past projects. Blind Elephant is no different and he lets fans know what’s on his heart.
On “New World” you will hear him rap about how he feels about the control the government has on our country. Specifically about all the ways the government is keeping tabs on their citizens and how he feels that it is all leading towards the end times. He doesn’t hold back his words in regards to his thoughts about conspiracy organizations like reptillians and more.
“Circles” is a very real story about someone caught up in the gang life and getting killed. He uses the story to share his feelings about how caught up the younger generation is with killing and being misled by media. You can really tell how much it bothers him throughout the song. His heart to be a part of the change. It is evident in every verse.
He ends the album with a song titled “Rapture” and it is exactly what you think it’d be about. His heart for the listeners to know that they will be with Jesus on the day of judgement. It starts with him singing, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand/ And every tongue will confess, all knees will bend.” He uses the verses to rap as if he’s speaking to listeners that don’t know the Lord. He plays out scenarios as if the rapture happened and you got left behind. It is a very thought provoking song (regardless of your theological view on the rapture).
Concept Thoughts
When Gemstones released Elephant In The Room, it seemed as if the elephant was him talking about his faith. On this project, it seems that Blind Elephant is referencing those who don’t know about the faith and are blind or those who know, but are blind to truly following Jesus.
Many of the songs on this project revolve around people getting saved, stories of his praying family, or him telling people to wake up to what is going on around them.
He did a great job with communicating his passion for people to come to know the Lord. That’s found in many CHH songs, but what is different about Gemstones’ music is that you can feel and hear the urgency in his lyrics.
The Wrap-Up
Blind Elephant contained many of the elements of a quality debut project. He let his fans hear his heart. He shares many personal stories in his raps. He showcased his ability to rap (for those who may have been sleeping) and even showcased how well he can sing.
There were no big name features on this project and that worked out for him. You can tell that he has a message on his heart and it helped let the listener completely in to his world. Listeners will walk away from this project excited about what else is to come from Gemstones. There will probably be much more features in the near future that we will see him on.
To reference the intro of this review, fans do not need to be cautious anymore, because it is very clear that Gemstones is sold out for Jesus and helping recruit for the Kingdom now.
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