On his road-trip journey to Chicago, he also sings of Nepal, China and even the Sahara desert – calling for togetherness and unity not only in America, but also throughout the world. He is seen smiling, having a great time and having no problems along the way. The music video sees Raury asking people via Twitter for car rides in order to get himself and a friend from Atlanta to Chicago. The songs do speak generally about changing the world, but they also engage with modern society in a way few current artists are willing or able to do.Īmong the album’s fourteen tracks, “Friends” is an anthem about the way social media has the potential to bring people together. In his new album, however, Raury deepens his message and project. He has certainly entered into the special rank of hip-hop artists who can croon just as well as rap.įrom a lyrical perspective, the songs on All We Need exhibit the same desire for change that Raury expressed in his mixtape. Raury’s musical ability is here on full display. Sonically, the folk/rap album is an absolute success. Much more than a first collection of songs, Indigo Child was the statement of a young artist aware of the suffering in the world and emboldened with the desire to sing about it.Īll We Need (released via Columbia Records) is Raury’s debut album. He goes on to sing in “Seven Suns”:Īs Raury himself says, his ambitions as an artist do not simply concern his own fame or personal relationships, but are rather concerned with larger causes. In the very first song, Raury sings as the proverbial voice of his generation – a generation that, for Raury, is both united and timeless, both young and standing for truth itself. We are the truth We are forever We are the youth We are together Raury © Faisal Muhammad Raury sings in the mixtape’s title track, “War pt 1”:

With its inventive, upbeat melodies and inspirational lyrics, the mixtape was praised by many critics and fans as the debut of an artist interested in giving America an authentic message of hope.

For those listeners convinced that self-obsession and wanton aggressiveness had come to saturate contemporary hip-hop, Indigo Child, was a welcome surprise.

Just months after graduating high school in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Raury quickly rose to fame with the release of his first mixtape Indigo Child in 2014. Yet despite his young age, Raury has already managed to create a sound uniquely his own, blending hip-hop, soul, rock and folk in the process. Listening to 19 year old Raury’s music, one senses the influence of such prominent hip-hop artists as Kid Cudi and Andre 3000.

Raury all we need charts