“The first step in healing is recognizing that you are not healed. Recognizing that you are hurt. Recognizing that you are in some ways broken.”
Ozer. Jada Imani. Ian Kelly. Marika Sage. The Jealous Guys. SundaY. Tongo Eisen-Martin. Stoni. Kaly Jay. Shy’an G. Will Randolph V. And on and on: Afterthought fully puts into practice the name and spirit of hip hop collective Family Not a Group on his new album Communal Healing, bringing together dozens of the best in underground Bay Area hip hop and R&B (whether still based here or not) to collaborate on 13 tracks about pain and suffering, community and connection, love and healing.
The album opens with “What Now?”, the only track where Afterthought performs alone. From there on it’s literally a (chosen) family affair, multiple collaborators riffing on personal stories, sharing learned philosophies, and describing the state of our society as well as its consequences on our individual and communal health. Midtempo to downtempo, fully conscious, celebratory as much as it is confessional—Communal Healing is a gentle bath. Step in, soak your soul.
