Today’s record is one that might feel destabilizing through the power of its sheer beauty. November 8th, the name of this piercing song, is also the date when Genesis Baaby lost his father: “When I first started my journey as a professional musician, my dad was the first person to support my decision. When he died on November 8th 2020, I felt like a piece of my soul was taken away.” This song is dazzingly complex as the R&B artist managed to pull off a tremendously appealing composition grounded in real-life grief. You will feel something different with every listen. First, you will admire his voice and the music. Second, you will track all the words and realize it is his own father he is talking about. Third, you will think about your own parent if you’ve been blessed enough to have one that loves you. A work of art for the soul.
The music video is done with great taste. Personal enough to clearly get the idea yet professional enough not to get bored. The photo on the left as November 8th kicks off attests to that. “Picked a beat with guitars that’s what you loved to do/ I fell in love with music it was because of you/ That day you died I almost lost my mind/ I wish I could take back time/ Just to get one more day to hear you laugh for nothin.” Hold your tears. Or let them flow. That’s the core beauty of what Genesis Baaby does. He recounts his emotional turmoil and realizations as he goes through them without trying to manipulate the audience into connecting with his story. Ironically, that’s what hooks you on it.
Genesis Baaby’s voice elevates the record to unrivaled splendor status. The pristine pipe control is evident as the singer freely adds emotion to the lyrics and goes into falsetto mode without ever falling off key. “Mama tryna be strong but I can’t it’s been hard/ Seeing you in that bed with no breath left a scare/ But I been tryin I been tryin’ (yeah yeah)/ But if I said I was ok I was lyin’.” This is a strong human being and an astute lyricist. Openly sharing the details of when you found your father breathless will send shivers down anyone’s spine. Yet, Genesis Baaby kept it as real as it could possibly get and immortalized a life-changing memory on a most beautiful song.
The second part of the first verse is endearing for it shows how one’s actions may not always be understood in the present, but will decidedly speak of one’s character later on when put in perspective: “Stayed clean just for your family you made us so proud/ We bumped heads on a daily and I didn’t quite understand/ But you was just tryna teach and show me how to be a man/ Worked hard everyday, never complained, like a man/ I see now you did it all for the fam.”
The instrumentation is quite literally flawless. Everything is outstandingly balanced and all participating elements work in tandem. Nothing is muffling out anything. The electric guitar helps the lyrics’ melodic line to shine. The soft drums give more of a commercial character to the song without reverting the attention from its soulful intent. The light claps are here to remind us of the R&B nature of the music without turning it into a 2000s’ radio song. This is good.
“You use to kill some hamburger helper up in the kitchen/ Couldn’t sleep you playin’ and blasting some George Benson” – details like this humanize the hero of our story. What a perspicacious storyteller! And if our analysis wasn’t enough, check what Genesis Baaby himself had to say: “My dad was the reason I fell in love with music. He named me after his favorite guitar player, George Benson. Watching my pops growing up, seeing how much of a dedicated man he was to everything; family, God, and his music, always made me so proud of him… Mostly because of the things he endured before having a wife and kids.” We might have to pull Genesis Baaby in for an interview later on this year after this answer!
The second part of the second verse turns out to be the real tear inducer… We’ll point out the lyrics and you better grab a handkerchief while at it: “Hear you call me baby boy just one more time/ Thinkin’ ’bout the times I’ll never get back/ How many times I gotta pray to get daddy back/ All them life lessons you taught me I’m so thankful/ You was always here and for your time I’m so grateful.”
All in all, we’ve had plenty of soul-touching records reviewed on Blue Rhymez Entertainment before. November 8th however, is an entirely different experience. Accordingly, we took our time studying it and breaking it down and we’re not sorry for it. Genesis Baaby, you should get sponsored by Kleenex.
Song Credits: Valdez Charles (Genesis Baaby) – Songwriter, Artist; Samantha Gmeinweser (Shmbu Beats) – Music Producer; Ryan Kilgore (Slim Doja) 400 Recording Inc. Louisville – Recording Engineer.
Make sure you add November 8th to your playlists on Amazon HERE, on Apple Music HERE, on Tidal HERE, and on Spotify below:
Written by Mariana Berdianu
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Blue Rhymez Entertainment 