CounterIntelligence - the album: 20 Years Later

Digging through and digitizing the archives

May 19 has been a holiday for me for years—Malcolm X’s birthday, and also the birthday of my good homie Rolando Brown. Bless up.

This year, May 19 also marks 20 years since I released my debut (and only) album, CounterIntelligence. Back in 2006, choosing this date felt right: the project carries a lot of spirit, and one of the tracks—“Generation X”—features Malcolm X’s voice. Below is the first of a series of lyric videos I will be uploading on YouTube.

Re-releasing CounterIntelligence is also the start of a longer journey for me: archiving and documenting my public work. After the fires, so much was lost—including the last 30 copies of the original 1,000 CDs I pressed. Outside of whatever has floated around digitally, those CDs were the only way to really hold and hear the album—this was before streaming became what it is today, and I never made the transition online.

Listening now, 20 years later, the work still hits: a country still at war, a surveillance state that’s only grown, and the constant churn of media misinformation. The lyrics land differently—and maybe even more clearly.

I’m posting the music on SoundCloud and I’m asking you to listen—really sit with it, and engage it. It’ll also be available for purchase soon, along with a book connected to the project. I’ll be sharing a short “crate-digging” journal too—background on each track and how it came to be.

If you’re in LA, come through May 30 for Creative Rising—I’ll be introducing some of these pieces to the Altadena community. Looking forward to building around this album again. I still love it—and sometimes, that’s what matters most.