A mother’s encouragement can go along way. Take Signor Benedick the Moor, a member of the 2014 rap rookie class that’s taken the “I’m different” trope well beyond the confines of traditional rap and to some degrees, even the art/indie/underground rap scene. On “The Tragic Tale of Bisen Francisco” he relayed the motherly advice—”my momma said I got a wear mines / someone like me is a rare find”—that gave him the confidence to strictly make the music he wanted to make.
Since the re-release of El Negro by Deathbomb Arc, SB the Moor has stalked our newsfeed by touring and recording with clipping., appearing on True Neutral Crew’s #POPPUNK album, and has even been seen hanging out with milo and his posse in Los Angeles. As I noted in my coverage of his “h8 everybody” video, he’s down with the right people.
This week he released a new album with Juicy Records that’s just as ambitious as El Negro. Entitled Opus 3—Man Atop The Tower, Signor Benedick enlisted the mixing and mastering assistance of Jonathan Snipes (clipping.) and Thomas Dimuzio to give his latest effort the finest of tuning, but he remains the mastermind of the record. The preview of “Dawn” from the record is merely a snippet version that falls to pieces just as a soaring guitar solo begins to take flight, like SB the Moor has managed to write the rap-version of “November Rain”. On “A Boy, A Man, A King”, Signor Benedick the Moor uneven in his mental state; are these the brilliant musings of a mad man or the internal tortures of a king? Is the Man Atop the Tower simply a recluse or is there more to him than his tower? These are the questions raised in SB the Moor’s opera in rap-form.
Opus 3—Man Atop The Tower is out now on Juicy Records.
