Wednesday April 6, 2022
Born Again is the new single release from Australian rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer Iluminative. The new track for the Byron Bay-based music artist is one of the lead singles from his latest album The Spectrum.
The new album follows the success of Iluminative’s previous long-player, Kundalini Rising, a collection of tracks that saw the multi-faceted musician reach an entirely new level of artistic merit. Born Again reaffirms the standard explored on his last album, weaving a narrative focus and rhythmic dynamism to explore a timely and significant subject matter.
As Iluminative says about his background and what influences his writing, ‘I come from a life of being a young athlete and went through spiritual awakenings in the process to find my real self. I am focused on health and wellbeing, improving myself and evolving. I also come from a background of being undiagnosed with Asperger’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder, so I suffered a lot but suffering leads to enlightenment.
I was diagnosed with ASD in 2020, this includes OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. So I work extra hard on my health and wellbeing just to appear well.’ Iluminative is strikingly candid on this track, allowing the listener unmitigated access to a private sphere. Couched inside the autobiographical narrative is a subject that is perhaps not often explored in song—or if it is, it is hidden behind metaphor and simile, transformed into imagery that one must decipher to understand correctly.
Born Again goes a step further, outlining a condition presented with honesty and simplicity yet fitting the rap structure in the same way a poem might adhere to established meters and form. The language is direct and understated, yet notable for these reasons; for example, from the first verse, ‘I had a really lonely life / no real social life / just a lot of crippling social anxiety to fight’.
When heard against the music’s quite low-key and subdued construction, the contrast is evident, bringing to life the ruminations with austere and impactful energy.
