"Wake Me Up" Retro-Soul Crooner Aloe Blacc Reunites with Homeboy Sandman & Snoop Dogg Producer Exile for Emanon's First Project In 10 Years, Dystopia EPx2 (Dirty Science Music)

“There’s a song on there called "Shine Your Light" ["This Little Light"] and it’s about people being more aware about things happening in their government and the society around them. Using that awareness to spread light to other people about what’s going on,” Aloe Blacc revealed during a 2011 interview with Cuepoint @ Medium Managing Editor & Co-creator Mike "DJ" Pizzo. Blacc was referring to his Joanna Newsom "The Book of Right-On" (or The Roots "Right On")-sampling "Shine Your Light," now slightly re-titled "This Little Light," from his long-rumored comeback with 1999-2006 rapper-producer group Emanon. It appears as though Aloe Blacc's Exile-produced Dystopia EPx2, which was somewhat surprised released this past Blacc(k) Friday, has been completed in some form since around 2011 and back then, may have been called either Bird's Eye View or Bullet; "Emanon’s Bird’s Eye View has not seen the light of day yet and in fact may now be called Dystopia, according to Exile, along with an accompanying mixtape tentatively titled Bullet. At least one of these projects is expected this year, Mike "DJ" Pizzo wrote within a 2015 piece titled The Search for Aloe Blacc’s Secret Children’s Album. Pizzo's piece thoroughly examines Aloe Blacc's career-spanning venture from Exile-assisted emcee to Stones Throw Retro-Soul crooner to How to Make It In America theme song-writer to "Country-House" crossover hit-maker, as former Stones Throw label manager Egon put it and even touches on a few of the little-known corners of Blacc's discography including: his Quasimoto-type unreleased 2005 "children's album" as Mr. Squiggles, an American-Brazilian Folkloric Black Orpheus-covering album, and a "dark, Wild West meets Gothic, Grim Reaper meets old Gospel hymns" album under his alias, Nathan Yell (who's credited with vocals on Emanon's 2004 The Waiting Room 2xLP) all of which were seemingly submitted and rejected by Peanut Butter Wolf ahead of his commercially successful 2010 album, Good Things.



Although, most people likely know Aloe Blacc from either his aforementioned Avicii-assisted "Country-House" record "Wake Me Up," Lift Your Spirit chart-topper "The Man," or his recent Zedd-produced commercial-featured revision of M+M's theme, "Candyman." @aloeblacc mysteriously Tweeted, "#Dystopia - new Double-EP from #EMANON in anticipation of forthcoming album #BirdsEyeView. Available on #BlaccFriday" on November 22nd, which was accompanied by one minute's-worth of audio and a GIF with inlaid text reading, "the first release of new music from EMANON (aloeblacc/exile) in over a decade." Emanon's Dystopia EPx2 is currently available for free download upon sending an email with the subject "DYSTOPIA" to blaccfriday@aloeblacc.com or for those who like something a bit more tangible, Exile's own Dirty Science Music imprint has pressed up Dystopia LP's available from Fat Beats along with a complimentary flexi-disc featuring Aloe Blacc's latest solo single, "Real Slow." It appears as though a proper follow-up to Emanon's lone 2004 album The Waiting Room, now seemingly titled Bird's Eye View, should be expected before too long. "Fire burns water soothes. The sun heats and the moon cools. The Earth filled with beats. The beasts all fools... Kings floss jewels. The wise teach with old tools; in a land with no peace, no one rules."