"All Matter" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

. The song was produced by the singer, along with Steve McKie, for his 2010 album ''

Airtight's Revenge ''Airtight's Revenge'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bilal. It was released on September 14, 2010, by the independent record label Plug Research, his first album for the label. Bilal began composing music for the albu ...

''. It is a rerecording of his collaboration with

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and Arrangement, musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from ...

, which was included in Glasper's 2009 album ''

Double-Booked ''Double Booked'' is an album by jazz pianist and composer Robert Glasper, released on the Blue Note label on August 25, 2009. The album is Glasper's third for Blue Note. Track listing All songs composed by Robert Glasper except as indicated. ...

''. The original version - with Glasper - was nominated for the

52nd Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...

, in the

Best Urban/Alternative Performance The Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality urban/alternative performance ...

category. ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' journalist Luke Gibson cites it as the best-written song from ''Airtight's Revenge''.

Music and lyrics

Writing for ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

'', Mikael Wood describes the music of "All Matter" as "

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), Dave Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

-style art-funk" and an example of Bilal traversing different styles throughout the album "with the headstrong self-assurance of someone whose commercial aspirations trail his creative ones". While Bilal's falsetto vocals are sung soulfully and in midtempo, they are arranged against beats played in an aggressive and fast manner. David Dacks, in ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', highlights the song as an example of how "Bilal's reedy, Sly tone/nowiki>-meets-

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

voice runs down metaphysical and personal subjects overtop a continuously changing musical landscape". The lyrics, described by the writer

Adrienne Maree Brown Adrienne Maree Brown, often styled adrienne maree brown (born September 6, 1978), is a writer, activist and facilitator. From 2006 to 2010, she was executive director of the Ruckus Society. She also co-founded and directed the United States Leag ...

as "a meditation on being at peace with every single thing about existence", are sung as follows: Consequently, Brown likens the song to a "

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

sung version" of "A Hopi Elder Speaks", a piece of writing attributed to an unnamed

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

elder. The lyric describing love as "cool on the outside, hot in the middle" is interpreted by ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''s

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

as reflective of the overriding concept in ''Airtight's Revenge'', which Rabin says is "Bilal alternating between a delicate, Prince-like falsetto and an impassioned growl as he contemplates romantic and professional pain".

References

External links

myspace.combilaloliverplugresearch.combilal
{{DEFAULTSORT:All Matter (Bilal song) 2010 singles Bilal (American singer) songs 2009 songs Songs written by Bilal (American singer) Plug Research singles