Gotta Be Karim is back and not playing. As the opening track “This Ain’t New” makes abundantly clear, Gotta Be Karim is here with a mission: “This is operation Save the Babies.” Set to drop on October 17, 2017, the concept album, which draws its title from a deep cut on Marvin Gaye’s seminal “What’s Going On” album is similarly a deeply personal and reflective view of a life and society at the crossroads. Or as Gotta Be Karim says, “This is my grown man album.” The inspiration for the album is real life events. During the time that’s passed since his last album, Gotta Be Karim has experienced a move from the Midwest to the south to the California coast, the death of loved ones and the birth of child. These things get an average man thinking and for a great artist, it’s a musical gold mine. With beats by (Insert those who produced the album), “Save the Babies” has the definite sound of a journey. The steady pulse representing the rhythm of everyday life is punctuated by those classic 70s throwback anthemic moments that rise to the moment of inspiration. It’s a perfect sonic palette for a thought-provoking, musically uplifting coming of age story. The protagonist of “Save the Babies” marches toward manhood. In the first single, “Working Man” featuring Gangsta Boo, we hear about the everyday grind. As Gotta Be Karim states, “It’s about getting up and going to work hustling nine to five for your loved ones.” In “Can’t Lose” this theme echoes through again. “Had to hustle for the health insurance,” Karim raps. “Got a family to think about…can’t afford to walk around like I’m just a tourist.” But in growing up, the protagonist encounters forces that try to sidetrack him, leading him to keep his “Beverly Click” by his side. In the track by that name, Gotta Be lays it down. “My girl Beverly she represents the ‘Do For Self Initiative’…Basically, it’s just about a bunch of grown men teaching young punks how to be men instead of their mamas.” The message is that pulling guns out and acting tough for no reason doesn’t make one a man. As stated “Play Your Position,” the protagonist has had it with that game: “I ain’t banging over red and blues, I’m banging over black and green and the schools.” Yes it will take focus on empowerment to overcome the forces of economic hardship and homelessness described in the “Up and Out” lyric “I done been through it all: in the hotel parking lot sleeping in the car, just me and my broad.” This track features a sample from Marvin Gaye’s “Flying High” and visualizes a way to rise above these circumstances. “If I can think it I can do it,” Gotta Be Karim raps. “Build a couple schools, make ‘em learn right; give ‘em all work, let ‘em earn right.” In victorious sounding close to the album, Gotta Be Karim is “up early in the morning, six o’clock” to make money “Hand Over Fist.”