There’s a moment when you’re asleep — I’m sure the technical terminology speaks on cycling through different sleep patterns — and your subconscious begins to wake, it’s a very confusing time for the mind. Your nonsensical dreamscape begins to unravel as you question it. How did I get here? Why are my feet on backwards? When did I grow to be 100 feet tall? And yet for the last 30 minutes it all made perfect sense. emoniFELA’s Daycamp for Dreamers is the soundtrack for that blur of reality and imagination. The whimsical melds with the logical and a jumbled mess tumbles out. Explaining it helps you realize just how ridiculous the scenario was and maybe you think about not eating spicy foods just before bed, but I shall press on.
Receiving this album in the mail fits into that same mindset. Like most obnoxious vinyl collectors, I belong to a record subscription club, Vinyl Me Please is my service of choice, it’s the best one of them all. For myself, it fits perfectly because I can swap out the record of the month if I’m not feeling it. They’ve been killing it this year with the monthly subscriptions, though the practice did lead me here. It took a huge leap of faith and a somewhat small selection to choose from, however it gave me a nice helping of something new. At the same time it felt quite familiar.
The juxtaposition of the whimsical backing music paired with the twangy rhymes on “Adjustment” dip you right into a distorted thesis of what’s to come from this project. With the hashtag in the title, of “#mythoughtsonlove,” it’s easy to imagine all of the different answers that might spawn from the millions of users on various social media platforms. The video for the song doesn’t lend much to the creativity, but exists nonetheless.
“DreamBigThinkGod” opens with a scene from an old movie, about reaching for dreams and dreaming bigger than anyone could imagine. I wish I had liner notes for this so I too could replay that scene on a constant loop.
The fourth track, “Dive En” starts with the scene of many a viral video and starts to jam then cuts off too soon, much like another woman in rap lately. Sadly the track that follows is also tragically short. “Riding” is an ode to all of the lives senselessly lost due to police brutality or other violence. It won’t mean any less if it’s said once more, #BlackLivesMatter. To think such a statement is controversial is ridiculous.
On “Time” emoni raps about the dreams that eventually become reality. It’s never enough to just dream, it’s work nonstop and she’s giving her all to make it where she wants to be. Not in a race to reach any milestones, but arriving right on time. Emmy nominee Katt Williams bit on self esteem opens the track that promotes exactly what you think it would; “Selfesteem” is relatable in that we’ve all had some wavering of self worth.
As much as I want to hear emoni rap on this joyous tune, listening to the beat for so long on “Fun” was a perfect choice for the track. When her rhymes eventually do come in, it feels like the jolt through your body when it realizes you’ve been asleep in a public place.
Of all of the songs on this project, “Ynsd” is the one that truly deserves the visual treatment. Not just any video though. It’s got to have a massive party scene, the themed decade of which could rotate as the scenes switch. Just about every coming of age movie or television show in America features an awkward school dance. Who is really to blame for the lack of dancing?
While the project teeters around the titular concept of dreams, “Downforthe…” bookends the intermittent dreamscape the opening track began. It’s closing notes speed up like your heart rate when you’re waking up. For the runtime Daycamp for Dreamers is a quick nap on the couch after work, a bit scatterbrained and it leaves you thinking. In her VMP Rising interview she mentioned a Part II of this effort in the works, fingers crossed.
Graphic by Sadé Robinson
A native of the DMV area, she grew up in the poetry scene. As a teenager she opened for acts like KRS-ONE and Afrika Bambaataa, much more interesting than the the blossoming young internet stars of today. Her song “Shut Up” was featured on the soundtrack of Pariah, a gem of a coming out movie. All of these accolades and still it took until just this year for her to release a full length project. Talent takes time to grow.
On a few of the tracks you can hear the performance background she’s built up over the years. While it doesn’t quite translate through to all of the recordings, I can tell that in an intimate show setting, perhaps 9:30 Club, that she would rock the crowd from start to finish. Someone should let her open up for their tour so everyone can see what was grown in Washington D.C. all those years ago.
After a few listens my interest is piqued and I want more, mostly I want to see her up on a stage. I’m also increasingly curious about the adventures that await in Los Angeles. Everyone says it’s the land where dreams come true. Though most of them tend to leave out the surreal nature of it. emoni manages to embody the overlap between real life and a fantasy land in just 30 minutes. Daycamp for Dreamers hands you picked through trail mix, ties a bandana around your neck, then walks you over to a pool with a questionable warm spot. When you emerge from the depths of confusion you’re left with a few tunes that truly speak to your reality.
emoniFELA’s Daycamp for Dreamers is available on all streaming services and surprisingly there are still a few numbered vinyl (out of 500!) special edition highlighter yellow right here.