Being a hip-hop artist and going beyond presenting your words backed by a series of beats and/or samples can often be a daunting task, as it requires a hefty knowledge and understanding of a varied set of musical genres, and embracing other musical forms as part of your personal music experience.
One such artist is Indianapolis hip-hop experimentalist Oreo Jones, who has just released his latest offering Nephew. Cooperating here with indie producer Ben Lumsdaine, and composer and vocalist Hanna Benn (who adds some incredible backing vocals throughout the album), Jones creates a dazzling set of musical background for his words/lyrics, which have already gained him some serious praise from music critics, very often from those that don’t often deal with hip-hop.
It is such a musical variety, that is so intricately woven, that it flows with ease and fluency and through which Jones’ travels through Madagascar and treks the inner journey of the loss of Jones’ uncle – a towering figure in his life – in whom the title Nephew is dedicated to.
In that manner, Jones is able to connect that personal element with a quite wide-ranging musical view, and you can call it world view if you will. It is at the same time an immensely engaging listening experience, where the words and music are both an integral part of it.
