In what truly feels like the “End of Daze,” Spillage Village released their album Spilligion, giving us that sense of solace and peace so that maybe, just maybe, we can deal with these hectic times. The Atlanta-based hip-hop collective consisting of J.I.D, Earthgang’s Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot, Jurdan Bryant, Mereba, 6lack, Benji and Hollywood JB had not put out any music since their 2016 project Bears Like This Too Much due to the increased amount of touring and solo work each member has been doing because of rising popularity and fame.
All frequent collaborators on each other’s individual music, J.I.D, Earthgang, Mereba, 6lack and Hollywood JB all appeared on the Dreamville label’s 2019 record Revenge of the Dreamers III. This album was created in 10 days at a recording studio in Atlanta where over 300 artists and producers were invited to collaborate and make as much good music as possible. Inspired by this experience, J.I.D wanted to recreate the same creative process for his third solo album this spring and rented a house with multiple recording studios inside, figuring most could drop in and out whenever they were able to do so. COVID-19 derailed this idea and forced J.I.D to rethink who could join him in his Atlanta residence, only inviting the rest of Spillage Village and one of his favorite producers Christo. While speed and quantity were given up in exchange for fewer collaborators, this allowed the quality of the music to increase immensely.
Each track intertwines a melodic singing chorus, many times multiple voices in unison, with sharp and relevant rhymes over a soulful guitar or jazzy piano and the occasional screwy 808s like on “Baptize.” What may sound formulaic and repetitive is anything but every song exudes different energy than the others and complements the entire collection. The genre-bending album includes hints of rap and R&B, a few dashes of soul and jazz, and pinches of folk and gospel.
Stemming from what’s going on outside our windows right now, this album is all about finding peace through the chaos, but unlike any other album I have heard over the past six months, Spilligion is actually able to give me that peace, so I can forget about what’s going on. On “Ea’alah (Family)” J.I.D shows off his beautiful singing voice opening the chorus with “I pray for my family / I pray about money, I pray about money / I pray about peace / I pray it’s all peace, I pray about peace / I pray it’s all love.” It’s like his voice is a warm fire filling a house with house feelings of comfort and safety while a strong blizzard is trying to blow down the door. His voice is as soft as a mother singing her newborn baby a lullaby. There are no worries in the world when Destin Route serenades your ears.
One other feature that brings the listener to inner Zen is the obvious chemistry of all the artists. In the songs “PsalmSing,” “Shiva” and “Hapi” the harmonized echoes of the rest of Spillage Village compliment Doctur Dot and Mereba’s choruses to the nth degree. On the outro “Jupiter,” you can hear everyone laughing behind the acoustic guitar and the united singing of “So hold my hands and dance with me tonight,” giving the song a feeling that they could have recorded this while sitting around a beachside campfire after a long day of fun in the sun.
After staying at the Atlanta residence for over two months together, Spillage Village returned to their respective abodes, but thank God, Allah, Brahman, Bahá or any other deity, that they can be brought back together whenever we want in our own homes, through this heavenly 12-track record.
