July 4th, 2025 – The Codices
Zeeky El just released his highly anticipated debut album, The Codices. Sharp listeners will notice the explicit irony of dropping a project highlighting the misuse of taxpayer dollars — funding espionage and destabilizing select communities within U.S. borders — on Independence Day. Like a counterintelligence operative, Zeeky flips the script, indoctrinating listeners with propaganda that champions Pro-Black revolutionary ideals and experiences.
The Codices unfolds like a complex game of Spy vs. Spy, embedding hidden messages within its layers. True to the art of powerful propaganda, Zeeky leaves just enough ambiguity for listeners to draw their own conclusions.
Watch: Fly Propaganda (Live from Wilmington Public Library)
The (BTS) Newsletter crew captured a live session featuring Zeeky El performing one of the album’s standout tracks, “Fly Propaganda.” Watch below.
About Zeeky El
Zeeky El is a Delaware native driven by self-actualization and self-sufficiency. A multi-talented creative with a background in branding and graphic design, Zeeky’s fascination with the power of propaganda runs deep.
In an unpublished interview, Zeeky and I discussed key influences shaping his music, from pioneering hip-hop artists like KRS-One to renowned literary figures such as Aldous Huxley. Zeeky El, who notably had the honor of interviewing KRS-One himself in 2023, shares KRS-One’s passionate belief that Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone. Zeeky applies this principle by continually educating himself, and his listeners, on cultural history, present realities, and potential futures.
His extensive reading has drawn him to texts like Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World, which portrays a dystopian society distracted by endless pleasure and consumption. For Zeeky El, this narrative resonates deeply with the current American climate, where similar distractions often overshadow systemic issues.
Zeeky El’s personal and intellectual pursuits blend seamlessly into his music, infecting listeners with militant fervor, intellectual urgency, and a powerful Pro-Black vision.
The (BTS) Review
Production
Despite its 2025 release, The Codices lands with an unapologetically blast from hip-hop’s golden age. Zeeky El and producer Joey JuggaKnotts meticulously crafted an authentic boom-bap experience, complete with gritty textures and dusty tape samples.
Fans of seminal albums like GZA’s Liquid Swords will feel right at home with Zeeky El’s fresh take on a timeless sound, delivered as an instant modern classic.
My Favorites Tracks
Track 2: They Don’t Know, with B-Wellz
“They Don’t Know” fully embraces Zeeky’s militant, old-school hip-hop aesthetic. Featuring B-Wellz, the track’s standout chorus cements its status as an instant boom-box anthem, perfect for repeat rotations.
Track 5: Nobody Move
Originally released as a single in 2024, “Nobody Move” still hits hard. The track signals its more lighthearted vibe with a Black Dynamite sample, dropping into a beat that fuses blaxploitation swagger with the tension of classic spy film soundtracks. It’s a playful yet sharp cut that offers a vivid glimpse into Zeeky’s real-life personality.
Track 9: Fly Propaganda
“Fly Propaganda” opens with a chilling sample, pulled from what sounds like a nightly news broadcast on foreign espionage masked as national security. One line in particular distills Zeeky El’s ethos:
Unwrap the bandages, assess the wound, reveal untapped advantages.
Here, Zeeky reframes the narrative: the most marginalized communities aren’t broken, they’re underestimated. He positions “Fly Propaganda” as a call to rebrand power and reclaim identity, turning wounds into weapons.
Track 15: Strange’r the Times, with Ancient Alienz & King Osiris (Taino Knight)
Track 15, “Stange’r the Times” marks the return of old school hip-hop tag-teams. The chemistry here is undeniable, and the track feels like a cipher straight from the golden era. Joey JuggaKnotts’ production is on full display here too. His work on the classic MPC groove box delivers a warm, punchy soundscape that feels hand-crafted for this moment. The swing in the drums make this my favorite beat on The Codices.
Counterintelligence for the Culture
Zeeky El’s The Codices serves as an incisive antidote to cultural complacency. Rather than drowning listeners in cynicism, the album cleverly weaponizes knowledge, identity, and history as positive propaganda – reclaiming narratives often hijacked by destructive forces.
In this ambitious debut, Zeeky transforms his cultural literacy into actionable art, urging listeners to shake off apathy and actively participate in rewriting their collective futures. If dystopia is where ignorance thrives, then The Codices is a battle cry for awareness, a wake-up call, and a compelling reminder that music still has the power to reshape reality.