Australian rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer Iluminative has just released Know Yourself the third single to be lifted from his ground-breaking hip-hop, and rock-infused album, Kundalini Rising.
…you know yourself you can grow yourself…
Iluminative
Starting in 2006 Iluminative’s musical career has advanced in leaps and bounds, releasing four albums and eight mixtapes, and establishing a strong presence on the live music scene.
The new release draws on much of the same expansive subject matter as his previous singles, however, Know Yourself adopts a different sonic stance. Rather than the sound of rock guitars, the new track has a laid-back feel whose governing sound, a mix of acoustic guitar, strings, and a swaying hip-hop beat matches the lyric’s sustained meditation.
Like Iluminative’s previous single Sacred Temple, the new track once again delves into the area of self-care, yet the focus with Know Yourself is just that; about the self, that when ‘you know yourself you can grow yourself’’.
What perhaps makes the message of Know Yourself stand out, is the sense of urgency wedded to critical features of the track, most notably, in Iluminative’s take no prisoners vocal approach, his ability to transform what might appear to be a bold series of declarations into an entertaining, refreshing exploration of ideas, behaviour, and emotions.
As Iluminative has said about his creative process and what inspires him, ‘Living life, going through a bunch of experiences and reflecting on them to write about. Being more mindful, conscious, and healthy inspires me to write more. Performing is different as its more like a sport for me. I get in that zone like I have to win this round’.
Know Yourself has many of these traits about them; the idea of competing with oneself, of becoming better, a striving enunciated via Iluminative’s distinct use of rhyme and melody. No doubt Know Yourself will go a long way in recruiting more fans for one of this country’s most outstanding rap artists.
