Back when I was working on my first album, I was also producing the occasional Hip Hop song for artist friends of mine. You’d have a hard time tracking those down now, but this is one you can still find. And it’s one of my favorites. It’s called “Spirit Run,” and it’s by Daniel Jefferson, aka Motown Pride, with backing vocals by J’Nelle.

The mix is admittedly too hot, but I love this track. It’s cool because it’s not a typical verse-chorus structure, and Daniel laid down some amazing spoken word instead of more traditional rap. I definitely recommend listening for the lyrics.

I also love that the music has such a Gospel feel to it. That was one of my goals in writing the song. My other goal was to switch from a minor chord progression to a major one about half-way through the song. There’s probably a technical term for that, but I like to call it “redemptive” songwriting – starting out serious or painful or sad, and resolving to hopeful, uplifting and happy.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it as much as I do. You can get the track right here: Motown Pride – Spirit Run featuring J’Nelle (produced by Zane Tate)