“What the album means to me isn’t easily summed up. It’s as complete a picture to me as we are able to give of the past couple years of our lives. It’s what we’ve learned and what we’ve gone thru. Each album is that, but each album is a different point in time and a result of everything that came before it, like its creators. To be honest, the only thing people can learn to expect from this band is that they can’t expect anything at all.”
A sentimental statement from vocalist, Pierce “a.k.a. Moneynicca, a.k.a. $$$Nigga” Jordan, of Philadelphian hardcore band Soul Glo about what their highly anticipated upcoming album Diaspora Problems means to him and what listeners can expect.
Jordan first and foremost is a man of many traits, ambitions, and aspirations. He describes himself as “passive, sensitive, obsessive, and optimistic.” He goes without saying that he represents “myself and my own experience” through his efforts of creativity. All of this is painted vividly and proved true throughout the project. From the opening track “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass)” to the ending track “Spiritual Level of Gang Shit” listeners will find themselves on a ride that they won’t want to get off.
Jordan’s artistic journey began back when “seeing Prince live at MCI Center in DC around ’04. It was [his] first concert – Purple Rain Encore.” This moment resonated deeply in Jordan’s spirit that it lit the fire of desire to become an artist and share his perspective on a larger scale. Taking the time to perfect his craft and curate stories of relatability it was only a matter of time until Soul Glo came to fruition.
The catalyst of Soul Glo’s birth was none other than “our guitarist Ruben,” said Jordan. “He asked me in 2014 if I wanted to scream in a casual hardcore band and I was like fuck it. GG and TJ replaced our original bassist and drummer but were also asked to join the band by him in 2017 and 2018 respectively.” Thus, birthed Soul Glo as we see it today – shoutout Ruben!
The name of the band “Soul Glo” serves as not only a cinematic reference from Coming to America, but also how “the band is a representation of our innermost selves”, said Jordan.
He explained further about the meaning of Soul Glo and that “it’s about sharing and communication. A band is a team effort, or at least ours is, and we succeed when we are open and honest with each other about who we are. I’ve only ever been able to make music in groups so letting my innermost self-shine through to the group is my primary way of communicating my feelings and ideas.”
Getting a band together is never easy. Neither is being an artist. It takes strong will and courage to keep pushing and creating even during the low times when no one seems to care. Jordan gave some reassuring advice for upcoming artists who feel like they aren’t getting anywhere with their work.
“My advice is to think specifically and realistically about who you are and what you have to offer. If you are the kind of person who operates best as part of an ensemble, I feel like this mentality is one of the few rules of thumb someone can rely on. If you are a solo artist and work better doing the majority of the production, recognizing where your strengths and weaknesses are will keep you growing, even though the path won’t be linear,” Jordan advised.
Their latest effort was conceptualized over the course of some years (2016-2021). During that period the band released a plethora of defining demos, EP’s, and LPs that contributed to the sonic and artistic vision for Diaspora Problems.
Joran talked about these years as “aside from the member changes, we all grew as musicians and got nastier and worked harder at our instruments. Everything we put out was just us working our way up to a point where we would put out an album that we would shop around and whatnot. We traveled and met people, gained new understanding, and influence. All the things that help you grow ‘yano?”
All the groundwork and growth that has been put in by the band throughout the years has led to this moment – Diaspora Problems. The term ‘diaspora’ means the dispersion of any people from their original homeland.
Jordan explained how the inspiration for the name of the album came from “someone called us “diaspora problems” in a Facebook event for a show a while back. I felt like it was a very apt description of our music and our lyrical content. As products also of the African diaspora every problem we have as people is a result of it.”
Diaspora Problems is unlike any of its predecessors from the band. This project not only subverts expectations for long-term listeners but keeps the band’s signature sounds of raw delivery, crashing drums, snarling strings, and crunchy electronic components. Diaspora Problems implements new sonics that is sure to compliment the ear of any listener.
There’s a unique richness that is embedded within each lyric said and each instrument played. Listeners can tell this all came from the hearts and souls of the band’s respective members – like all the other efforts from the band display.
Jordan noted how his favorite song off the project is “Driponmoics.” This notable track is packed with golden elements of the band’s Hip-hop, heavy-hitting drums, distorted screeches looped throughout, accompanied with a flawless flow from Mother Maryrose and Jordan himself.
The initial reaction Jordan had after listening to it for the first time was how “it sounds like it’s by other people. I’ve never made anything with other people that I feel is this good. When Mother Maryrose sent her verse back, I wanted to cry. She was all bashful and shit talking about she didn’t know how she was gonna hit the beat, then send us back that.” Shoutout Maryrose!
Regarding what the song means to him he said how “that track for me is about getting money.”
He continues by explaining “clothing reselling is a not-so-secret economy and while I’m specifically not condoning flipping Telfar products, I do understand why people are driven into the business of shoe flipping and reselling luxury items. The song started to form in my mind when I saw my cousin trying to sell his dad’s dress shoes to him at Thanksgiving dinner. I started thinking about how the hardest-hit places in the city during the June 2020 riots were clothing and electronic stores, and suddenly so many things clicked into place. It’s not hard to see what I’m talking about [laughs] but I’m also not tryna snitch.”
“I specifically wanted to mention Telfar in the song because of how much I admire the brand and the issues they’ve had with resellers and the ways they’ve gone about curbing the issue,” explains Jordan.
Packed with tales of self-doubt, self-hate, past traumas, financial instability and how it affects an artist, the effects of institutional and state violence, and the power of community, Diaspora Problems is going to be one of 2022’s most notable releases.
Overall, Jordan’s hopes for Diaspora Problems are that “people respond to my contributions on this album – like in any way to be honest. I’m hoping that a lot of people read the lyrics and reflect on them and what I’m trying to say and come back with their own responses and understanding of themselves and the world around them. I hope they can and do verbalize them because I wanna know how people feel also. I’m hoping people are compelled by our influences and wanna fuck with the artists we fuck with.”
Check out a vigorous performance of Soul Glo captured by hate5six below:
Soul Glo social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Bandcamp.
Photography courtesy of Oginee “OG” Viamontes, Adam Ziegenhals, and Michael Thorn.
