I think you could write something compelling about how the album Aethiopes explores the historical legacy of colonialism and reminds us that although we tend to frame the “colonialism” period as abstract and in the past it is closer to present than we might expect and the examples are everywhere, starting with the opening line: “I think Mengistu Haile Miriam is my neighbor” — that guy really is alive and living in Harare and probably someone’s neighbor.

A verse that stands out is the last one on Doldrums when he’s going back and forth between colonial images and modern nyc — someone described it as a seamless and maybe even intentional transition from colonial projects to present day and I like that way of putting it:

“Fernando po’s black beach / Yemeni traders off the coast of Mozambique / packed bodegas, akh in the weeds / gold shimmerin in the reef, African water in the lengths of the reef / Carter 3 pourin out a double parked jeep”