Album Notes

Portrait of a Warrior is the brainchild of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Dr. Franklin Thompson, a professor of race and human relations. Don’t let his professional credentials scare you. Dr. T. is a “homeboy” who grew up in the projects; he knows how to keep it real. Portrait of a Warrior represents volume one of Thompson's greatest hits. The genius of Warrior, however, is that it proves that urban music doesn't have to be dumbed-down in order for it to be relevant.

Thompson (aka, François Jaboi and Goldenthroat) is one of independent music's leading writers of songs with a social message. He is also the architect of the genre of music known as the Selah Sound—a unique style of message music set to funk, pop, and hip-hop beats. The uniqueness of the Selah Sound is that it encourages you to think, while it also makes you dance. Thompson has a gift for taking conservative, moderate, and liberal lyrical themes and blending them into a powerful synergetic message of promise and positive change.

While others have superseded him in producing more commericial styles, Thompson has established himself as one of the Midwest's unquestionable leaders of urban music with an educational and political outreach. He effectively uses his craft to bring about positive change to his community. As previously mentioned, Warrior is essentially volume one of Thompson’s greatest hits that span a 28-year period between 1981-2009. Volume 2 (entitled Legacy) is also a new release, and volume 3 is scheduled to be released in the near future. In particular, Warrior highlights those songs that have human relations, love, family, “living in the hood,” and political themes. It is an educational tool that also has great entertainment value; something that can be marketed to a wide audience. This album has something for everyone. For example, if you like:

• Traditional Funk from the early 1980s, you will enjoy tracks 1 and 10;
• Early 1990s R&B Funk – tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, and 18;
• A Hip-Hop/Rap Mixture – tracks 4, 6, 8, and 17;
• Children’s Hip-Hop Rap – track 15;
• Adult Contemporary – tracks 13, 14, and 16;
• R&B Jazz – track 2;
• 1980s Pop Synthesizer Jazz – track 12; and
• 1980s Rock-n-Roll Synth Pop – track 11.

Dance music with a strong lyrical foundation laced with infectious beats is another way of describing Thompson’s contribution to the music world. He is able to take traditional themes that might be viewed by some as square and turn them into a hip hook line. The artist sets a new standard for independent writers with the release of Warrior. Urban oriented independent music doesn’t get any better than this folks. This 18-song, hit-filled CD is the real deal.

Catch the spirit of a whole new thing coming out of Omaha, NE. After purchasing your own personal copy, tell others about it. Portrait of a Warrior is the right piece to add to your music collection.