It’s been a while since I Self Divine released his debut solo album in 2005, but now that he’s back in a big way. In the time since you last heard from him, Devine has been working at the Hope Community Center in Minneapolis, helping to develop programs that encourage others to develop skills as artists, musicians, and political activists. All this time, he was still writing, so when he finally went back in the studio, he had a plethora of material to work with. To package all of this in a comprehensive manner, he decided to create a prelude by releasing a mixtape once a month for the four months leading up to his new album. On top of that, he’s performing each mixtape live in it’s entirety in Minneapolis as they come out. Kicking off the whole series is LA State of Mind, and it’s a great way to welcome the former Micranot and Semi Official emcee back into the spotlight.

While he’s now based in Minneapolis, I Self Devine grew up in LA in the late seventies and early eighties, and this mixtape is a chance for him to examine the issues he faced growing up and how they shaped him. As you can guess, this is not just some light hearted promotional effort to be tossed aside when the album comes out. This is a mature artist making a meaningful personal statement. When things get underway with “Dream Crusher,” the tone for the rest of the mix is clearly set as a tense bass line pushes the song along while Devine discusses the difficulties that arose in LA as he was growing up. Devine clearly made it out okay, but many that he grew up with didn’t escape the prevalent gang violence and drug use in his neighborhood. “Zero to 5ive” has a sweet soul swing to the song, with a simple horn riff propelling things, but the subject matter is just as serious. Devine can now look back at his earliest years with perspective to see just how tough things were and all the sacrifices his parents made as they worked to help their children through it, even though they weren’t together. The most impactful song on the mix is “Sweat Equity,” a tense and hard-hitting song that encourages people to keep working for a better life and believing in a brighter tomorrow, while acknowledging the harsh realities that today presents. While others have certainly discussed similar subject matter in hip hop before, what makes I Self Devine’s mixtape so strong is his ability to mix a smart, balanced, and nuanced discussion of all the social and political issues that affected the African American community in LA in the eighties with a personal reflection of his own childhood. He never gets on his high horse, and he doesn’t make any sappy appeals to emotion, either. His doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him, and he doesn’t want you to think he’s special because of this background. He just wants to relate his back story because had a profound influence on who he became, and he wants to explain how a proper understanding of the big picture and the small picture with community issues are important. On a song like “Justice,” he declares “We gotta need to believe that we’re all going to see justice/We all agree that we gotta show y’all what love is,” which gives a clear insight into what perspective Devine is providing with his music.

If this is the prelude, I can’t wait to see what May has in store for us. I’m sure there are casual fans that might have forgotten about I Self Devine, and there are definitely younger fans that haven’t discovered him yet, but they are all about to get schooled. LA State of Mind is a strong declaration that he’s back, and I Self Devine is just getting warmed up.