The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera
MF Grimm
2002
The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera parallels Ibliys to MF Grimm’s tribulations at the time. In Islam, Ibliys is the fallen angel , who refused to bow down to Adam and because of this God kicked him out of Heaven and sent him to Hell where he became Satan
“Grimm has said that being imprisoned is the closest a person can get to being dead without actually dying. So in a way, Downfall consists of Grimm’s final words before his “death,” which lends an added urgency to his delivery (or at least the illusion of such). In another sense, Downfall is the tale of Grimm’s descent from innocence, Ibliys being the angel who fell from the heavens.”
“Grimm takes the high road out; rather than glorifying his lifestyle, he takes the listener through a narrative descent into the underworld, touching on philosophy, love, snitches, and unity, finally ending with the uplifting “Omega”, and its spiritual rays of keyboards, “meant to close the gap between what is and what ought to be.” The story of a human befallen to the missteps of his own choices, both in real life and through his art, is age-old and deeply moving.” – Pitchfork
Stand-Out Tracks
Life and Death
Foolish
Voices Pt. 0
I.B.’s
