Kosmic T’s album “Rise Of The New Earth” is a conscious Hip Hop release with strong New Age music influences built on a deep experiential love for the ancient cultures. Featuring the sounds of world-renowned producers DJ Taz Rashid & Momentology, Kosmic T uses experiences from his extensive travels to open our eyes to the world-changing possibilities in ancient wisdom. “Rise Of The New Earth” is a rare bird, so special and beautiful that I had to pinch my arm to see that I was not dreaming it all. It is that good.
Tanin Shunter grew up in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. He comes from a musical family; His brother, dad, uncles, and grandparents are all musicians. Tanin’s first Hip Hop group began at the age of 15, called “Lokal Motif”. One of their songs – “Back Home” – has had almost 500k plays on Spotify and 100k plays on Youtube. The band split up after a few years. Tanin had a profound spiritual awakening (and sobering car accident) in his early 20s that lead to Kosmic T being born and the release of “Seeds Of Light” (2015).
After that, Tanin went on a six-year healing journey which took him to esoteric mystery schools in Guatemala, sacred sites of Mexico and Peru, on local mountain pilgrimages, plant medicine ceremony, rituals, and yoga. In late 2019, he was invited to participate in “From The Heart – One day, Once Circle” to support aboriginal and non-aboriginal students create a song for a live theater performance. This inspired him to compose the song “Rainbow Warriors”, which can be heard on the album (see below). Tanin raised over $7 000 on Gofundme to record “Rise Of The New Earth”. He now has a studio in a little nature pod, just above Heddlestone in Nelson. “Rise Of The New Earth” is mixed and mastered by Paulo Germano.
Pachamama
The album opener is called “Pachamama”. In Inca mythology Pachamama the lifegiving “Earth Mother”. She presides over planting and harvesting, embodies the mountains, and causes earthquakes. As the song begins, we find ourselves in the middle of nature. We hear water running in the background as the light flute starts to play. I love how Tanin, in true Hip Hop style, introduces Kosmic T. What an amazing performer he is! Only a true artist has this much presence on a recorded song. “Pachamama” is a song about how we humans have forgotten our place and need guidance from “Pachamama, the great mother of all”, so that we can get back on track. Pachamama is also calling to us, obviously not happy with the situation on Earth at the moment. “Pachamama” is the perfect album opener; great melody and lyrics, inspired and playful. Bravo!
Next out is “Mountain I Am”. It describes the call of the mountains and the magic they hold. Up there is also the god Apu and the many mountain spirits. I’m very impressed with the complexity of the arrangement and the many levels of sound. “Coming Alive” is a key track; it describes the vision behind “Rise Of The New Earth” and a renewed world – while “Taripaypacha”, the Inca era of harmony, is the result. It is a lot to take in, but Tanin does a fantastic job keeping it light and friendly. It is not in any way a dogmatic album.
Deep Within
On “Deep Within,” we get a taste of Matt Kahn‘s teachings. It is a highly meditative song and the duet with Cassandre Ortiz is beautiful beyond words. “Return Of The Bird Tribes” is like an EP within the album, a tale about the bird tribe and their glorious return to Earth. Kosmic T is a storyteller of great energy and imagination.
Now the focus shifts to our place in the cosmos and creation. “Star Light” makes us see that all is connected, it is a message of hope and unity. “Hide & Seek” contains Richard Rudd’s inspiriting teachings, while “Rainbow Warriors” is a call to action – armed with ancient wisdom.
The ending of the album is made with young people in mind. I wish I had music like “Inner Roar” and “Youth 2.0” when I was young! “Fearlessly Free” concludes the album, underlining that positive change requires freedom – but it is not free, you got to claim it!
In conclusion: Listening to Kosmic T’s “Rise Of The New Earth” I’m reminded that conscious Hip Hop and New Age music have one thing in common; both genres are forever linked to the late 1980s. Hip Hop evolved into being about girls, money, and materialism, while New Age music of the 1990s became soft and “Pan Pipe Moods” pretty. Kosmic T seems to singlehandedly revive both genres and make them relevant for young people everywhere. Even not-so-young people like myself have a lot to learn here. It is both deeply inspiring and profoundly hopeful.
“Rise Of The New Earth” is not an easy album to review; Each part of the production is major level spotless. Even studio veterans such as Ricky Kej, Will Ackerman, or Tom Eaton couldn’t have perfected it more (although I’m sure they would have included an instrumental or two) and most importantly, it is totally unpretentious and has a healthy dose of street cred, thanks to the Hip Hop vibe.
For more information and music, visit Kosmic T on Bandcamp.