Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, bLAck pARty is a singer, songwriter, producer and DJ who effortlessly fuses R&B and soul to make something completely his own.
Taking influence from artists like Erykah Badu and collaborating with artists like Childish Gambino, bLAck pARty creates a sound beautifully uncomplicated — what he calls “tropical funk.”
Following his performance at Lollapalooza’s Grove, bLAck pARty, spoke to The Daily Illini about his beginnings as a producer and DJ and his newest album “The Last Dance,” released July 22.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
DI: Tell me a little bit about your start in music.
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bLAck pARty: I actually got my start as a producer first, and I developed into being a producer and a DJ because I was a touring DJ and producer … and in between that, I made my own music. So, I became an artist, full-fledged, after that. But I always try to tap into being a producer and DJ as well. I think that’s how everything kind of started.
DI: So you are from Little Rock, Arkansas? What’s the music scene like there?
bLAck pARty: It’s very diverse. It’s everything from gospel music, country music. Hardcore bands are huge out there. It’s a lot of diversity as far as music is concerned … We could have a show and it could be a hardcore band, an R&B singer, a rap group, and the whole crowd is like, “We hang out on the weekends.” It was just cooler back home … there wasn’t a separation of genres and cultures. Everything was mismatched together, which I thought was pretty dope.
DI: How would you describe the music that you typically create, genre-wise? If someone had never heard of your music, how would you describe it to them?
bLAck pARty: It’s like funk and soul. I call it “tropical funk.” It has elements of places like the Caribbean and Africa and Brazil, but it has a certain southern funk to it at the end of the day.
DI: Who are some of your biggest influences?
bLAck pARty: Sly Stone, Musiq Soulchild, Erykah Badu, Kanye … mad different artists. Nirvana; it just goes on and on.
DI: Can you talk to me a little bit about your most recent album, “The Last Dance?”
bLAck pARty: So basically, I had no plans of making an album. Actually, I was making a producer album. I had a few cool songs, I had friends that were artists, and they were pulling up to the sessions and were making really cool songs. I was just doing it on some songwriter-producer stuff. I ended up going to a birthday party, and I ran into a musician friend, Omar Apollo. I was like, ‘Perfect, I ran into you! … yo, I’m working on this producer project.” And I’m telling him about it, and he’s like “yeah yeah yeah, but what about your album, when is that coming out?” So I was like “okay fine, I’ll make an album.”
DI: Did you play a lot from that album at your set today?
bLAck pARty: Actually, I wanted to test out a lot of the records. I played more of the new music than a lot of the older records. But it was a good reception. Chicago’s a music city, so if I hit a music city, I have to be like “alright, the real music heads, what are we thinking?” So yeah, it was cool.
DI: How long does it take to prepare for a festival like this?
bLAck pARty: I just practice in between a lot of these tour dates. It’s just several days of being in the practice space, working on records and getting them down pat … There’s no start or end at a certain point, everything is just a continuation of your world.
DI: What keeps you motivated and passionate about continuing to create and perform music?
bLAck pARty: The idea of performing for the people that love the music. It’s cool that people like the music I make. So to be able to perform the song that they’ve listened to on their own probably a thousand times … I don’t know, the feeling is cool. If people know the songs, it’s even cooler. That connection makes the music special to me.
DI: Do you feel like you’ll continue to evolve as a musician, or do you kind of like where you are at right now?
bLAck pARty: I mean, the whole purpose of this is to evolve and figure out new and relevant ways to reinvent the wheel that is popular music. Yeah, that’s kind of the goal. If I’m not evolving, there’s kind of not a point … It’s like the challenge of learning music and getting better at it is important to me.
