Yitz Jordan ciphers spirituality and political consciousness into hip-hop without losing awareness of musicality–essentially, teaching without preaching. For the most part he succeeds. His debut is a musically rich recording that matches his live presence well, where the stage is a theater for his poetic musings. His lyrics (sung in five languages) revolve around unity and understanding, especially regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. “From Brooklyn to Ramle” calls for recognition of “one race” while backed by a seriously banging instrumental, and “Bump” is an instant hip-hop classic in every sense of the word. The album sometimes lags with thin and dated beats (“Mind Transit,” “New Disease”), but overall This Is Babylon is a welcome introduction to a revolutionary wordsmith.