Tag: Hip Hop

Album Review: TWINTWO – “Twinwho?”

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Note: The artist has removed this album and all his music from all platforms, rendering this and my previous reviews meaningless and obsolete.

UK hip-hop artist Twintwo is one of my favorite rappers. I love his honest, thoughtful song lyrics and wonderful vocal delivery, especially given his British accent that I find quite charming. Hailing from Yorkshire and born Robert Winterburn, the hard-working singer/songwriter records and produces all his own songs. He released a terrific five-track EP Mr. Winterburn in 2016, which I reviewed on this blog exactly one year ago, that you can read here.  He’s back with a full-length album entitled Twinwho?, which dropped today, April 27.

Twintwo
Photo by Paul Blinston

Like many rappers, Twintwo writes autobiographical lyrics for his songs as a way of expressing himself though music. A skilled wordsmith, he writes about his self-doubt and the challenges of trying to make it in the music business, coming to terms with being an adult, and relationships – both romantic and with friends – and how they relate to his career choices.

Twinwho? opens with ominous synth sounds as we’re introduced to “Haven’t Changed,” a scathing tirade against those who doubt him and cast aspersions upon his dreams.  He rapid-fire raps “Call me the shit, call me the villain. I work on this music ’cause it’s so appealing to prove you’re wrong. Release the song, then you got family asking how you are feeling./ I don’t need a plan B, bitch where’s your head at? What’s with all the negativity? I don’t care if you ain’t feeling me. I’m feeling me. It’s real to me.”

The dark video was filmed in a gloomy abandoned warehouse, the perfect setting for the grim-sounding track.

Moving along, on “This Year,” Twintwo questions whether his life has in fact changed – hopefully for the better, though he doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with some of those changes. He’s not sure why, but last year felt weird – but then so does this year. What he is certain of, though, is that he wants to keep growing as an artist, not remain stuck in the same spot he was then or even now. He sings “This year’s been weird, it’s clear/ I don’t want to be in the same place I was last year, ’cause last year was weird. I sat and I stared, but I don’t want to be in the same place I was next year, ’cause last year was weird.” The track features a lively hip hop beat that has a bit of a carnival vibe.

Now is a good time to point out that he has a knack for artfully choosing some fantastic hip hop beats for his songs that always sound perfectly suited to the lyrics. Employing a somewhat similar beat on the lighthearted track “Pizza Girl,” Twintwo sings about lusting after a girl working in the pizza parlor, even though she happens to be abusing drugs, and he already has a girlfriend. And who hasn’t at one time or another lusted after someone who was wrong for us?

Pizza Girl
Photo by Paul Blinston

One of the standout tracks is “I’d Be Better,” a song about the difficulties of finding success as a rapper, and comparing himself with friends who chose different career paths by going to ‘uni.’ He questions his goals, while remaining defiant in his decision to push forward with his music: “Oh what I do just to get famous. I’m nameless, brainless, don’t know what my game is. Lifestyle dangerous, but but nothing changes. When you’re doing jack, I’ll be better being famous.” In addition to the compelling lyrics, the instrumentals for the track are really terrific, with lots of piano, percussion and violin. The wonderful video for the song was filmed in Twintwo’s home and around his town, and stars his mum and friends. It tells the song’s story in a lighthearted, endearing manner that’s a joy to watch.

“Not a Cool Guy” has Twintwo bemoaning the fact he’s been spending a lot of energy and money trying to impress his girlfriend, possibly at the expense of his career: “I’m not a cool guy, got no tattoos. Three years old are my Air Nike shoes. I don’t follow trends I’d rather spend everything that I get on a vid just to push more views.” The somber beat and instrumentals are simple but quite effective for the theme and lyrics. He turns deeply introspective, agonizing about his doubts and fears on “Demons.” “I’m seeing demons when I’m sleeping. Am I losing my mind? I think you will find that I’m a goner. I’ll be working hard, I’ll be working on these records. I ain’t seeing friends as much, ’cause this music takes over. Feel like rap’s got me trapped. I can’t seem to adapt.” The dark track features haunting instrumentals and a sinister, disembodied voiceover that perfectly fit its theme.

Continuing on the introspective theme, Twintwo contemplates the rapid passage of time and whether he’s made any progress in fulfilling his life goals with “Time Flies.” The melodic song has a fantastic hip hop beat, accentuated by beautiful mesmerizing synths and awesome strong percussion. The track quickly segues to “Lethal,” which features guest rappers FMA, 12 Gage & DREADNOUGHT. The five and a half-minute long hard-driving hip hop song is a departure from the other songs on the album in terms of sound, though it still addresses the challenges of being a successful rapper in the highly competitive hip hop genre. “Most of these cats go undisturbed. I’m lethal when I got the mike in my hand. It ain’t a problem.” It’s nice to see him collaborate with other rappers, and it’s a great addition to the album. His awesome rapping skills are evident as he holds his own with the others.

Rob Winterburn1

One of my favorite tracks is the album closer “Before You Leave,” mainly because of its compelling, bittersweet lyrics. Twintwo sings of the conflicting emotions he feels about losing some of his friends as he continues on his quest to build a career in hip hop, and coming to terms with the realities of how friendships sometimes fade away as we move on. The song opens with a mournful piano movement and sounds of a rainstorm. As the strong hip hop beat sets in, he raps:

“I don’t want to lose them. I wanna keep on top of them. Fuck, I don’t know, I finally had to break the cycle, and now I’ve been going full pace with this music since the start of this year, and this music’s is all about what I wanna do. But what some people don’t realize is that you have to work on it every day. Like it’s not just gonna just fall on your lap. Yeah sure, take a day off,  but whilst you’re relaxing, there’s someone working as hard as you. It’s hunger, it just get’s addicting.

I talked to my closest friend about the issue, she said ‘it’s just life, and even though we miss you, you have to keep going, you have to go continue. ‘Cause one day you’ll wake up, then the blow will hit you that you could have tried harder.’ 

I love my friends, I do. But you gotta put yourself first. If they don’t stick around, I know it really hurts. But you gotta do you. / Thing is, I’m a low maintenance friend and like, you can just text me once a week or once a month or whatever. I still show love and stuff, ’cause I know we’re busy and stuff. And the thing is, you shouldn’t have to really rely on your friends to make you happy, because one day they’re gonna leave you or stab you in the back. It’s just life…everyone’s busy now.”

I love this fantastic album, and am so happy to see Twintwo continue to grow as an artist. He seems mature for his years (he’ll turn 22 in June) and I’m confident he’ll make an impact on the world of hip hop and rap.

The tracklist:

  1. Haven’t Changed
  2. This Year
  3. Pizza Girl
  4. I’d Be Better
  5. Not A Cool Guy
  6. Demons
  7. Time Flies
  8. Lethal (ft FMA, 12 Gage & DREADNOUGHT)
  9. Before You Leave

Connect with Twintwo:  Facebook /  Twitter /  Instagram

Stream his music:  Soundcloud /  Spotify /  YouTube

Purchase:  iTunes /  Bandcamp

EP Review: KROSST OUT – “Life of the Party”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews5 Comments

I love when hip hop is melded with other music genres. That’s one of many reasons why the music of artists such as Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine and twenty øne piløts is so incredible. So I was happy to discover the young Canadian rapper Krosst Out, who skillfully melds hip hop with punk rock to create a style uniquely his own. He’s set to release his debut EP Life of the Party in early March, and I have the pleasure of reviewing it.

Krosst Out grew up in a small town in Ontario, where he studied piano as a child. In his teens, influenced by artists such as Manafest, Eminem, Underoath, Rage Against The Machine, System Of A Down, Nas, and Marilyn Manson, he took up the bass guitar. He ended up playing in various local bands, developing his rapping skills along the way, and eventually settled in Toronto, where he began writing his own songs.

krosst-out

In the creation of Life of the Party, he teamed up with musicians Daniel Salij and Eric Soto, who also was beat master. Combine his biting, relevant lyrics with their music skills, and the result is a superb EP with six hard-hitting tracks that examine the darker aspects of the party life, with its attendant abuse of sex, drugs and alcohol. As Sandie Glasmacher wrote in her review for G Music Lab, it’s  ‘a gritty cautionary tale of what happens to the life of the party when the party is over and the lights turn back on.’

The strong EP opener “Skincrawler” is about a tormented soul crying out for help. Musically, the song is complex, with a haunting intro of plucky acoustic guitar, followed by unsettling male voices speaking of mental illness before Krosst Out’s impassioned rapping takes over. To a strong hip hop beat, he cries ‘The monster that my skin hides, on the inside, is eating me alive. It’s keeping me alive. I am picking, itching, tearing at my skin. I only want you to get in. I only want you to begin to see what it’s like to be me.’ The superb multi-textured guitars are accompanied by a melancholy but beautiful violin that adds great emotional depth to the track.

Calling out others’ bad behavior while not being honest about your own is the subject of the hip hop track “Tea 4 One.” Krosst Out sings ‘This is tea 4 one, put the kettle on, this has just begun. Everything and anything goes. You better be prepared to start eating crow, ’cause no one ever told me not to throw stones.’ He goes on to shout out his own shortcomings.

“Kick It” is three minutes of punk rock awesomeness, with powerful, distorted guitars, thumping bass, rapid-fire drums and crashing cymbals. Krosst Out frantically raps ‘Everybody kick it now. We got the skills, to rock the mic and act like it kills. Real punk rock thrills. That’s right, we could go all night, we could go all night.‘ I love this song, and it’s one of my favorites on the EP.

“Life of the Party” speaks to the good, bad and ugly of party life. To a pounding hip hop beat and crushing bass, Krosst Out assertively raps ‘We party like it’s nothing ’cause we’ve done this before. Breaking all the rules with the bottles on the floor. If you want to see our party, then wait what’s in store. I’m the life of the party, I’ve said that before.” At 2:30, the tempo changes abruptly, signifying that the party’s gone awry. Throbbing synths take over, the beat drops, and to discordant percussion he raps ‘Man you joking, this dude’s trying to choke me. Acting like a dope fiend.’ Party’s not so fun now…

The powerful track “Contradiction” opens with a mysterious voice chanting to a hypnotic beat and throbbing bass ‘Can you take me back to where I came from? Can you take me back?‘ Then Krosst Out begins rapping about his internal struggle between who he is and who he thinks he should be. ‘I can take this rock and I can shove it up my nose. I can take this 40 and I can drink it through a hose. I’m so white trash, man, everybody knows.  Watch my Chevrolet explode when I’m midway down the road. / And I know I’m white trash, I know I’m not Black. Stop being ignorant just ’cause I like rap.‘ Take a look at the great video for the song:

The last track on the EP , the compelling “I Don’t Care,” gets to the heart of the EP’s subject – the highs one experiences from uninhibited partying, and the crushing lows that can follow (feelings to which I can certainly attest from my own experience). Krosst Out laments: “I don’t have a care when the lights go out, when the lights go out, when the lights go out. I don’t want to feel when the lights come on, when the lights come on, when the lights come on. What you know about losing yourself at 2 am? Going through the drugs and booze again? Climbing on the roof again? Screaming that you’re losing it? And jumping in the pool again.‘

The song features a mesmerizing hip hop beat, haunting melody and some pretty awesome distorted guitar riffs, along with the beguiling guest vocals of his friend Mel Yelle.

To sum up, Life of the Party is a solid EP that gets better with every listen. The music and production are first-rate, and the intense song lyrics are so loaded with meaning that I discovered something new each time. To learn more about Krosst Out, check out his website and follow him on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram. Stream his music on Spotify and purchase on iTunes and other sites offering music for download.

Artist Spotlight – Aaron J. Trumm

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Aaron J. Trumm’s Twitter bio states he’s a singer, emcee, poet and producer. He’s also a survivor, and an inspiration to all who want to pursue their dream in the face of life-threatening illness or adversity. Aaron, who calls Albuquerque, New Mexico home, was born with Cystic Fibrosis, but managed to maintain a pretty healthy existence in his youth and early adulthood, playing several sports in high school and college. But by the early 2010’s, his health deteriorated and breathing became increasingly difficult to the point where his long-term survival was in question. So, in July 2013, he underwent a double lung transplant, which gave him a new life, along with an enormous appreciation for it.

Aaron starting making music in his teens, and in 1994 created NQuit Music, one of the oldest independent music labels still in existence. He also earned a Master’s Degree from Stanford University. But his main focus was doing slam poetry at competitions where poets read or recite their poetry in front of an audience, and judges are chosen from the audience. At one point, he ranked 10th in the world. Here’s a video of him at one of the competitions.

According to Aaron’s website bio, his music influences are eclectic and varied, “from The Roots, which he loves because they continue the oldest hip-hop tradition of honest, creative story telling without all the gangster posturing, to Rage Against The Machine, because they’re revolutionaries who can rock, to Johnny Cash and Bob Wills, who remind him of his roots, but buck the stifling traditions and closed mindedness of the country establishment, and were constantly looking to collaborate with people outside their box.” He fuses these disparate elements of hip-hop, rap, rock, blues and country into a unique style and sound all his own, exploring subjects both upbeat and positive, and dark and disturbing.

In the jazz-infused “Livin Is Bling,” from the album of the same name, Aaron draws from his own experience, poking the specter of life’s hazards squarely in the eye and declaring that he can survive anything, loving life along the way.  He raps “I’m alive, I’m alive,  ready for anything, sing it with me if you think living is bling.” I love this song’s arrangement, with awesome piano, funky bass and percussion.

Aaron takes a decidedly more serious turn with “Open Oceans,” another compelling track from Livin Is Bling that deals with the terrible toll that war takes on relationships.  “I been runnin from my bones for days, lookin for another way I can say this to ya. I ain’t never really comin home, they got another little trick in they bag o stones. They call it stop loss, and it means I ain’t comin back. So make a little snack go to bed and relax.” In the video, Aaron raps in front of footage from the Iraq War. The song sounds like it could have been performed by Nirvana, and the woman singing with him is Jennifer Malin.

The dark, heavy rock track “Bleed,” released in 2006, appears to address a relationship gone bad and his partner’s slipping away from addiction, while he sings of his own demons and restlessness. I’m guessing the lyric “I wanna bleed so you can suck it down” alludes to his wanting his partner to regain “life” through his blood. The rather disturbing black and white video has Aaron shaving his hair with a large knife, cutting himself in the process and covering his body with blood. Images of the Devil intertwine with his own image as he looks in the mirror, and at the end his partner licks blood from his body.  Heavy stuff indeed!

Follow Aaron on  Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to his YouTube channel.  His music is available for purchase on his Website and Spotify as well as other music venues.

Artist Spotlight – Sherpa

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Artist Spotlight3 Comments

Well, here I am, once again reviewing another band from Europe, a wellspring of so much great music. The latest is Sherpa, a unique indie hip-hop/rock band from Bergen, Norway.  As with many international bands, Sherpa’s sound is a fusion of music influences from multiple cultures and genres: hip hop, indie rock, 70’s Persian, funk and jazz. As the band states, their infectious, high-energy music style is “a conglomeration of music from the seven mountains, hovering in a place between Gorillaz and The Roots.”

I spoke by e-mail with band frontman Babak Ziai, who was born in Tehran, Iran after the 1979 revolution.  He stated that his parents were very liberal and didn’t want to live under the theocratic government, so they emigrated to Norway.  Being an aspiring musician and lover of hip hop, he joined forces with Norwegian guitarist Johannes Vaage to form Sherpa in 2012. They subsequently added two musicians from the Bergen indie rock and jazz music scene – bassist Nils Henrik Sagvåg and drummer Tore Ljøkelsøy – to complete the band lineup.

Ziai explained that they wanted to create music that wasn’t bound by one specific genre, but rather fusing different genres to create an original eclectic sound that is raw and beautiful, using live musical instruments, and anchored in hip hop, indie and jazz.  When I asked Ziai how they chose the name “Sherpa” he explained that “Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains [it’s known as the city of seven mountains] and sherpas go places where the average man does not go. Sherpa literally means ‘man from the East’ and has a mystical esoteric aspect to it.”

Though Sherpa has released only a handful of songs, they’re all awesome. One of their first hits was “Rabbit,” an incredibly catchy tune with funky bass and jazzy hip hop beats, plus a bit of reggae vibe thrown in. Would not have expected such a funky song to come from a Norwegian/Persian band but I love it! Wishing it was longer, I kept hitting replay. It’s the kind of song they could jam with for 15 minutes at a concert.

Their new single “The Mind,” released in May 2016, is a hyperkinetic gem of danceable hip hop that examines the chaos of the mind. “It’s an interaction, a fracture in alignment between cultures like the Pharoahs and the Mayans. A place in our thoughts like Zion. Pure like the crystals in your tears when your cryin’. Gravity is holding you down, but you’re flyin’ and definin’. Chains will bring you back like a lion.  Time is changing like the state of your mind.”

The song opens with a brief funky bass guitar riff, then explodes into crushing hip hop beats, heavy bass and jazzy brass. Ziai raps at a rapid-fire pace and, halfway through, Persian music influences are introduced, creating a rich, complex sound that is quite exhilarating.  The video, filmed in London’s busy Camden Market, has Ziai singing the song while walking through the crowded market, further emphasizing the song’s frenetic intensity.

Another fine new track “Mantra” features exuberant synth-pop interspersed with segments of rapid-fire rapping in the style of the virtual band Gorillaz.

Sherpa is working on new music and plans to release their debut studio album in Spring 2017, and I can’t wait! Support these guys by following on Facebook and Twitter, and listening to their music on Soundcloud.

Twintwo – “Mr Winterburn” EP Review

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews3 Comments

I recently discovered a talented, hard-working young hip hop musician from the UK who goes by the name Twintwo.  I loved his music the moment I heard it. Not only is he an amazing rapper, with a nimble, rapid-fire delivery, the music is joyously upbeat, with artful, melodically complex arrangements. His rapping with a British accent makes his voice especially appealing for me, plus he’s a nice, humble guy.

Twintwo

Twintwo was born 20 years ago as Robert Winterburn.  Regarding the origin of his artistic name, he explained that he was the second of twins to be born, but before his parents could fully name him, he was designated “Twin II.” He’s been a big fan of rap music since the age of nine or ten, and started writing songs at around 16. In a recent interview with the blog Xustralia, he stated his music is influenced by Hopsin, Logic, Slaughterhouse, Machine Gun Kelly, and a bit of Calvin Harris.

He released his first song “Beggin” in June, 2015, and later that year dropped a 10 track mix tape All Day Everyday.  That work featured original tracks, as well as his skillful rapping over a few hip hop songs by other artists, including the Logic/Ed Sheeran collaboration “All Along the Watchtower.”  He ramps it up with fresh energy on his latest release, a semi-autobiographical EP titled Mr Winterburn. All five songs are awesome, but I’ll discuss three of them.

The first single, “Late Night Drives,” dazed my ears with its driving EDM-infused hip hop beat and Twintwo’s 100 mile-an-hour rapping. It’s impossible to listen to this exhilarating song without wanting to dance around the room like a crazy person. I never want the song to end so keep hitting repeat.

For the title track, “Mr Winterburn,” Twintwo sings about the challenge of growing up and struggling to have a music career, paying lyrical homage to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and twenty one pilot’s “Stressed Out” (two of my favorite songs).  He sings “Yeah, I know I’m not taking this as serious as I should/I know if I could I would but I don’t understand the concept/Too immature for my own good.” Later in the song, he laments “I wish I could go back to when I was riding a bicycle.”

https://soundcloud.com/officialtwintwo/mr-winterburn

“Drug Dealers and DJs” has a jazzy, roaring 20s vibe set to a crushing hip hop beat. The old-time sounding horns throughout the song are a sonic delight, and perfectly tailored for the song’s theme. Since I wrote this review, Twintwo released a delightful video for the track.

Even if you’re not a big fan of hip hop or rap, I promise you’ll find yourself liking Twintwo’s music, which is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Also, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

iLLPHONiCS – “Gone With The Trends” Album Review

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews3 Comments

Let me say up front that I was not previously familiar with the St. Louis hip hop fusion band iLLPHONiCS, despite having lived in that city from 1995 to 2011. With that in mind, I was blown away the instant I listened to their new album “Gone With The Trends,” the fifth released by iLLPHONiCS in the past 10 years. This band is amazing! Their highly infectious music incorporates elements of hip hop, R&B, soul, pop, jazz and funk, with lush, stylish instrumentals and harmonic choruses that call to mind Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & the Gang. That explains why I like them so much.

Band members include lead singer/emcee Larry Morris, Keith Moore (keyboards), Kevin Koehler (lead guitar), Simon Chervitz (bass), Chaz Brew (drums) and Lena Charlie (vocals). In an interview with Tracy Heck for the website AXS, Morris explained that the album title was conceived in response to society’s preoccupation with today’s social media trends, “with everything trending and short attention spans and no longevity.” He added that what distinguishes iLLPHONiCS from other bands who have come and gone is their ability to stay true to themselves. “This album was us saying to the world that we’re going to continue to go against the trends” and “keep being consistent in the way we know how. We’re taking it back to a time where playing musical instruments was the thing. This is hip-hop before the sampler and the drum machine. It’s going back to when funk was really at its height and hip-hop was starting to come alive.”

illphonics

“Gone With The Trends” skillfully employs transitional interludes to connect some of the songs in a manner similar to the groundbreaking album Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. The opening track is a recording of a man buying the album at Vintage Vinyl, the landmark record store in University City, a St. Louis suburb which happens to be the home town of iLLPHONiCS. (I personally spent many hours perusing the store’s extensive collection of vinyl and CD recordings of every conceivable genre of music.)  When he unwraps the CD and places it into his car CD player, the first song “Everything (Jammin’ For You)” begins.

This awesome, upbeat jazzy track introduces the band as if performing at a sophisticated nightclub. It features Morris as emcee and Lena Charlie on vocals, with gorgeous, soaring horns played by DJ Nune aka Lamar Harris. The song’s arrangement is perfection, with beautiful, tinkling piano, gentle percussion and smooth guitar.  It ends with a phone call interlude, then immediately segues into the funky, guitar-infused hip hop track “She,” which channels Kool & the Gang in style, arrangement and the harmonizing chorus. These two are my favorite songs on the album.

The first single released from the album is “What D’Ya Like,” an energetic, funked-up and incredibly catchy hip hop track that also features the smooth, sultry vocals of Lena Charlie.

The song “96 to 99” is an ode to the early days of hip hop and the strong influence it had on the band members. “Hip hop, man, just where do I start? At 11 years of age, you infiltrated my heart. I knew my career path, I had to be an emcee.”  The song’s jazzy textures, funky basslines and rippling horns of DJ Nune aka Lamar Harris, not to mention the smooth vocals of Lena Charlie, make it one of the standouts on the album.

The R&B infused “Take You High” opens with smooth synthesized chords, and features the incredible harmonic vocals that are iLLPHONiCS’ hallmark. Lena Charlie vocalizes on the bluesy “Han Purple,” and the band amps up the beat on “Liquid Spaceships,” a great, lively track with delightfully funky guitar riffs and rapid-fire rapping.

“Sweet Missouri” – pronounced “misery” – is a dramatic, somewhat unsettling song about the struggles of being a middle child. It has a hard rock vibe with crushing hip hop beats, distorted guitar and a barrage of rapping and Kristeen Young’s eerie, high-pitched vocals.

The most provocative tracks on the album are “8/9/14” and “The Brown Frequency.”  “8/9/14” is an audio compilation of news reports on the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, used with great dramatic effect to introduce “The Brown Frequency.” The song is a protest anthem that addresses the recent spate of police shootings of unarmed Black men, and the Black Lives Matter movement that grew from years of grievances. The song’s refrain “What do you do when you’re sick and tired of bein’ abused? Fight back!” is an emotionally charged call to action.

The album closes with the title song “Gone With The Trends,” a bluesy hip hop tune that addresses the subject of the album itself – “People going crazy trying to keep up with their friends, everybody, everybody goin’ with the trends.”

This is a great, solid album, especially for those who prefer their hip hop fused with R&B, funk, jazz and rock. Show The iLLPHONiCS some love by following them on  Twitter,  Facebook, and Instagram.  Subscribe to their YouTube channel, and stream their music on Spotify and Soundcloud. Purchase it on Bandcamp,  iTunes and other sites offering music for purchase.

Artist Spotlight – YELLOW SHOOTS

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Artist Spotlight1 Comment

If you like your music smooth, sultry and sexy, then Yellow Shoots is definitely your go-to artist.  He seamlessly fuses R&B, soul, jazz and hip-hop to create gorgeous songs that immediately envelop you in raw sensuality and emotion.

Yellow Shoots is actually Greg Matthews, a singer/songwriter from Philadelphia who is now based in the growing music scene of Brooklyn. His artistic name was born from his experiences with synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway, such as sound, leads to an automatic, involuntary response in a second sensory or cognitive pathway, such as sight.(Wikipedia)  Greg sometimes sees vivid yellow colors when hearing music (a common form of synesthesia is known as chromesthesia, for sound to color), hence the name “Yellow Shoots.”

He attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied guitar. He began honing his music skills playing guitar for Noel Terrel’s gospel band, and later collaborated with Ryan Toby of City High, and played back-up for R&B/pop singer GoGo Morrow at Jay-Z’s Made in America music festival in 2013.  After relocating to Brooklyn in 2014, Yellow Shoots started writing and producing his own music, and released his stellar debut single “Pieces” that October. His lushly produced music is mostly synthesized, and he records almost every instrument featured in his songs.  His silky-smooth, sensually breathy vocals call to mind the jazz singer Michael Franks.

In “Pieces,” warm, jazzy textures and multi-layered vocals, including sounds of a child singing, contrast with the darker lyrics of disillusionment and deceit: “All the ways that you show me that you care, turn into lies.”

After “Pieces” dropped, he continued working on additional songs, eventually releasing his EP More Alive in 2015. That EP contains five songs, all of which address love, lust, and relationships, set to slow, soulful electronic hip-hop infused vibes. Other singers collaborated on two of the songs – Mayo for the title song “More Alive” and Faja for “Soul Find Me.”

In an interview with Josh Messer for the weblog pressplay, Yellow Shoots explained his inspiration for his highly seductive music style. “Honestly, I think society has some serious polarity in the arena of sexuality. Sex in America is either massively overdone, overcompensating to grab people’s attention, or it’s considered completely taboo. I think this EP has a naturally seductive nature because I explored what sex actually does to people. I think it’s capable of driving people to insanity, euphoria, freedom and knowledge. It can be liberating as well as damaging. Most of the music here demonstrates sex as a quest for knowledge, to learn about others, expand one’s mind. So I explored this side of sex. It’s much less about about the instinctual side.”

Here is a live performance of another song from the EP – “Tame You” – performed with a back-up band on the roof of a Manhattan highrise for Balcony TV in 2015:

With his latest release, the bluesy, ethereal “Stormy Weather,” Yellow Shoots vocalizes the emotional agony and sense of loss that comes with the break-up of a relationship. He told The FADER magazine, “‘Stormy Weather’ is about a person losing a relationship or separating ties with someone. It talks about how one doesn’t actually feel the depths or significance at the time they lose a relationship. I tried to demonstrate that I get hit with that wave of loss at an unexpected time, which is often triggered by an unexpected event. Life is odd and awkward for a bit and all of a sudden you get smacked in the face with everything that’s missing, everything you had before.”

Yellow Shoots is currently working on his follow-up EP, scheduled to be released in 2016.

If you dig his music, support this guy and check it out on itunes, Spotify and SoundCloud.