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Stu Dent. The mysterious member of Deepspace 5. It’s easy to inquire about the identity of Stu Dent, but a more important line of questioning, in his own words, would be: “What is he saying?” or “How is he living?” Having recruited twelve different producers for this album, his second full release, Stu Dent proves his flow is versatile enough for any beat that’s thrown down. The CD kicks off with a scene from a classic Twilight Zone episode, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, that points out the destructive power of misconceptions and prejudices. Stu Dent picks up and continues to explain that what we see isn’t always what we think it is. Nephilim: AOG1 is a fairly high-level conceptual disc. The title itself is quite intriguing. Nephilim, literally translated means, “fallen ones.” The title couples fallen ones with an act of God. Deep, right? The tracks play off of this theme of fallen man and the self-destructive nature of our actions. Whether it’s putting faith and trust in the life that we see before us (“Longest Night” ,”Splashed Ashore”), or defying ourselves ( Self Pharoah ), or simply denying the truth (“Empty Inside”), Stu Dent points out common character flaws in mankind.
So, what is he saying? If one were to pick one song that summed up the entire album, “Equation” would be a fitting choice. Posing the question, “What makes you what you are, or are not?” The tune kicks off with Stu Dent presenting a resolve to live a life, focused on the eternal, on the Creator. The lyrics take shots at faulty theologies and pharisaical fronting. The words describe the struggle between wanting to follow God and not wanting to be in a fallen world. As fallen vessels, all our efforts end up accomplishing our own goals and not God’s. See, there’s another side of the Nephilim. They were mighty. They were renown. Stu Dent provides a glimpse at what could happen if that power was harnessed and focussed towards meeting the right end result. Offering 13 solid tracks, well thought out lyrics over tight beats, Stu Dent’s latest release is bent on turning classic.
Release Date: November 14, 2003
Label: ILLect Records
Buy on iTunes
Tracklisting
1. Insomnia
2. The Longest Night
3. Splashed Ashore
4. Invisibullet feat. EVS
5. Emerging Kingdom feat. Dirty Moses
6. Somewhere
7. Dayda Deigh feat. Cesar & JustMe
8. Empty Inside
9. Self Pharaoh
10. Equation
11. Portable Eclipse feat. Relic
12. Tell No Man
13. Outlast
14. That’s It
