Alfred Nomad Finds Himself By Never Losing Himself (An Album Review: Until I Get Home, Take What You Can Carry)

If I had to sum up Alfred Nomad’s latest project in two words, it would be identity and growth. Not growth in the sense of discovering who he is, but growth in the sense of having the courage to present who he already is to the world without apology. No flex. No posturing. Just honesty, humility, and a quiet confidence that comes through in every bar and every carefully placed note.

Until I Get Home, Take What You Can Carry is about Alfred’s journey of leaving home while staying unapologetically rooted in who he is. That distinction matters. A lot of albums are framed as self-discovery. This one is different. Alfred already knows who he is. This album is the introduction. Alfred isn’t trying to prove anything. He’s documenting a journey. One that starts at home, stretches across oceans to Ghana, and ultimately lands somewhere deeper than geography.

What makes this project stand out is how intentional it feels. Every track plays a role. Every sound feels placed, not added. What also stood out to me was the female features throughout the project. They don’t just add texture, they accentuate the emotional and cultural spaces Alfred is trying to take you to. You hear shades of Erykah Badu, Bahamadia, and Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets). Those aren’t names I throw around lightly. If you know those artists, you understand the standard that sets. And Alfred earns that alignment.

At its core, this is music as art in its truest form. Each track is like a brushstroke on a canvas. Different sounds, different feelings, different colors. But when you step back, it forms a complete picture and is one of the more complete and intentional Hip-Hop projects I’ve heard in a long time.

SIDE A: The Journey to Ghana

Track 1 – Wipe Your Feet at the Door

This is one of the more beautiful album openers I’ve heard. The keys and the featured vocalist bring a soulful contrast to the usual aggressive Hip-Hop sound. Right away, Alfred introduces himself in his rawest form. The inclusion of his grandmother’s voice immediately humanizes him. It brings you home before the journey even begins.

What I also noticed was the deliberate absence of drums. That was a choice. And it was the right one. Without drums driving the energy, you’re forced to sit in the message. Alfred is setting the foundation with this track, not just for the album but for who he is as an artist.

Track 2 – The Ground Is No Place to Fly (Can’t Stop Me)

The energy picks up here. Alfred is no longer reflecting. He’s moving with a sense of urgency and readiness. He’s leaving home without fear, setting out toward Ghana, a land of his roots. The artist featured on this track brings the culture of where he’s headed. You feel the momentum shift. The journey has officially begun.

Track 3 – Motherland

The female lyricist on this track is a standout moment on the entire album. Her delivery carries that golden era Hip-Hop influence blended with soul and jazz. Bahamadia immediately came to mind. Alfred is planting his flag here, aligning himself with the timelessness of that era not just as a reference point but as a statement about where he sees himself in the lineage. This is the part of the project where you understand that where he’s going, Ghana, is not just geography. It’s roots.

Track 4 – Trying to Get Home

The production on this track does something special. Tribal sticks and drums drop you right into the land of Ghana. The tempo and flow of Alfred’s delivery give you a sense of travel. You feel the commute. The unfamiliar territory. The lack of phone service. Trains and planes. Alfred raps this stretch of his journey in a way that makes you feel like you’re moving with him.

Track 5 – Red Lines and White Walls

This isn’t just another track on the album. It’s where the project pauses and reflects. It’s carefully placed to bring context to where we are in the story. At this point in the journey, Alfred is at an impasse. A moment of tension. A checkpoint in the journey where uncertainty creeps in.

He says he feels all alone in the world. The featured vocalist echoes that feeling, singing about being on his knees, asking which way is forward. The acoustic guitar melody carries that anxiety. The tone rises and falls with the emotional weight of the moment. This track exists to anchor the narrative, not to entertain. And that’s exactly what good songwriting does.

Track 6 – Until I Get Home

This one breathes differently. The tone shifts toward something more positive, more grateful. Alfred starts looking at lessons as blessings. You feel like he’s getting closer, not just to home but to himself. He raps about paying his dues, exploring his roots, and feeling ready for the world. The closing of the song brings the importance of home back to center. Home as blessing. Home as destination. It’s the perfect close to Side A with a sense of appreciation for the journey itself..

SIDE B: Finding His Place in the World

Track 7 – The Grass Ain’t Greener

Now Alfred is fully stepping into his identity as a Nomad. He’s moved from Atlanta to the hustle of Los Angeles and he’s not second-guessing that decision for a second. “Home is where you are and where you’ll always be” is the ongoing thread of this track, and it hits differently here because now he’s proving it. The production leans into classic boom bap energy, and Alfred sounds comfortable in it. He’s rapping in the pocket, confident, fluid, and sure of himself.

His line “Your disbelief is no longer my concern” is a declaration. So is “When it comes to the flow, I can fill the Great Lakes.” That’s not arrogance. That’s somebody who’s done the work and knows it. The female feature and vocal here gives real Erykah Badu energy, which elevates the emotional range of the track and gives it that soulful anchor.

Track 8 – REPAIRnATIONS

Alfred gets honest here. Real honest. He pulls back the curtain on his views on the state of society in a way that feels earned rather than preachy. He raps about the performative nature of “supporting Black businesses” without understanding what that even means. He talks about his biggest struggles happening after he moved to Los Angeles. What he calls “the city of dreams, lost angels and schemes.” The female feature on this one has that Ladybug Mecca quality that brings it back to a grounded, soulful place. He closes the track with important questions that live in our minds but lack answers for.

Track 9 – Play Button

I’ll be honest with you. The first time I heard this one, I thought it was a detour. The sound feels like it lives in a different zip code than the rest of the album. But then I sat with it. And I got it.

This track isn’t off theme. It’s showing Alfred’s progression. His elevation. And what brings it all the way home, literally, is the featured rapper rapping in Ghanaian. That’s not a stylistic choice for style’s sake. That’s Alfred carrying his roots with him into new sonic territory and showing you those roots aren’t something he leaves behind. They come with him. Everywhere.

Track 10 – TWYCC (Poem)

This is my personal favorite moment on the entire project. Alfred started off as a poet before the music, and bringing that element into this album is a full circle moment that gives the whole thing deeper meaning. The poem brings clarity to everything. “Home is where you are and where you’ll always be” takes on a new meaning here. Home isn’t the building or the block or the city. It’s the feeling. The energy. The traditions. The freedom. The love. “Take what you can carry” means the physical things don’t make a home. You do. Wherever you are.

Track 11 – I’m Up

This one has more energy and moves at a higher tempo because it’s coming from a higher place, specifically Alfred’s faith. As someone who maintains a strong relationship with my own faith, this track hit close to home. Alfred is giving glory through the ups and the downs. He talks about using his God-given gifts as a vessel and walking in that purpose without hesitation and feeling unstoppable not because of ego, but because of belief.

The album opened with an audio clip from his grandma. And this track closes out with a voicemail from an elderly family member, possibly his mother or grandma, pouring love and guidance into him for his journey. That decision alone is what elevates this album from a good project to a complete work of art. Full circle. Exactly where he started. But different.

Track 12 – Take What You Can Carry

Track 12 is the closing statement. Alfred revisits the journey he just took you on from a place of reflection and resolution. The production and the keys on this one feel like the glorified end of a story. The kind of music that plays when the screen fans to black and the credits roll. “The road less traveled can be scary. I pack light and take what I can carry.” That’s the whole album right there in two lines.

To sum up…

Nowadays, artists throw random songs together and call it an album. Really what you’re getting is a playlist with a title slapped on it. No story. No narrative. Just vibes and marketing.

This project is the opposite of that. There’s no fancy production for production’s sake. Just honesty, message, and intention. Every track is intentional. Every placement is deliberate. Every feature is earned.

Alfred is telling the world that what he needs is simple: family, God, and music. He’s not asking you to validate him. He’s just showing you who he is and inviting you to either get on board or keep it moving.

I can see why this project is important to him. And I can see why it matters to the culture. This is an artifact. A piece of music art that documents a real moment in a real person’s life and journey. That kind of intention is rare. And when it’s present, you can feel it.

Rick Rubin said it best: “When you make something truly for yourself, you’re doing the best thing you possibly can for the audience.” Alfred Nomad made this album for himself first. And that’s exactly why it works.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

For more information on the “Until I Get Home, Take What You Can Carry” project, visit alfrednomad.com or simply tap the links below:

Alfred Nomad Official Website: https://www.alfrednomad.com/

“Until I Get Home, Take What You Can Carry” Landing Page – https://www.alfrednomad.com/until-i-get-home

“Until I Get Home, Take What You Can Carry” Bandcamp / Streaming Page – https://alfrednomad.bandcamp.com/album/until-i-get-home-take-what-you-can-carry