Aaron welcomed SkyBlew (Mario Farrow) to Live and Local this week, following the release of his new album “A Soulful Taste of Jazz: The Royal Blew Experience.”
Nerdy, fast, and relentlessly upbeat, armed with a prodigious knowledge of pop culture and rap history, SkyBlew has established himself as one of the area’s best hip-hop artists – and one of the most prolific, with 13 albums in the last 10 years.
He says those albums are meant to be heard as pieces of a single coherent story – and in “A Soulful Taste of Jazz,” he says he’s beginning to tie all the threads together. Recorded with Charlotte-based DJ Scottie Royal, the album’s 14 tracks are full of callbacks and references to SkyBlew’s earlier work – but they also stand on their own, with a soundscape fusion of jazz and hip-hop elevating lyrics that explore the blurry lines between dream and reality.
Listen to the full album on Bandcamp.
SkyBlew will take to the stage this Friday, September 1, with an 8 p.m. show at Cats Cradle Back Room. “SkyBlew and Friends” will also feature performances by Vaughn, Mayday, DJ Reimei, and Donovan Harrell.
Buy tickets to the show at CatsCradle.com.
SkyBlew stopped by “Live & Local” this week to discuss the album and play three tracks, “Lounge of Dreams,” “Sapphire Rubies,” and “The Soul Cruise.”
Listen:
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