Chadwick’s Banger Of The Week – Jon Connor “Broken Mirrors” [Real Music][Music Video]

I love mixtapes.  Finding new artists and being able to listen to some of their material before committing to an album purchase.  The problem is there is a ton crap to sift through to find the stuff that is good, true, hip-hop.  The type of music that tells a story from an artist that reveals his life, his way of thinking, his style, his soul through a body of music aka "Real Music".  Through all the swag talk about living the lavish life of a rap superstar or the glorified use of violence, occasionally,  you find those artists who have something that real people can feel.  Jon Connor is one of those artists.

Connor comes from Flint Michigan.  If you know anything about Flint then you know that it is one of the most depressed areas of the nation.  The falling of Flint's economy after General Motors closed it's factories there, putting 30,000 people out of work, was featured in Micheal Moore's documentary "Roger and Me".  And Flint has struggled since to get it's footing and find it's new identity to move into the future as a growing city.  For Jon Connor, it's obviously been a struggle to do the same for his carreer.

My first download was "The People's Rapper LP".  Using the beats of fellow Michigan native, Eminem's "Marshal Mathers Lp",  Conner describes his frustration with a music industry that lives off of music what he finds to be, and anyone would find hard to argue, anything but real.  Pointing the finger at music executives that push the formulaic garbage to the masses, instead of finding solid talent that can earn money without perpetuating values that are far below what anyone could consider positive or forward thinking.  Connor doesn't hold back on the first track  "Till I Collapse".

KISS being a radio station, it obviously has to be edited.  When I find tracks like this that I would love to play, I have to edit them.  And tracks like this one, full of all sorts of f-bombs and other swears, I don't have the ability to edit it and still have it sound like something that is listenable.  Having been sold on Jon Connor I went looking for more.  I found "Broken Mirrors".  It's Off Mr. Connor's "Salvation" album, available on itunes, and the track is the truth.  Three different situations that we have all been in ourselves, or seen in others.  It's powerful.  Watch the video and listen for the track just after 3p as my Banger Of The Week...