Artist to Watch: Raury

By Erendira Franco on October 19, 2014

Photo via HotNewHipHop.com

It may or may not be an overstatement to claim that Raury is “the next big thing” in music, but his sound is certainly cutting edge. It’s not the sort of sound that carries one specific genre label, but Raury definitely weaves hip-hop undertones throughout his work.

Raury calls himself “genreless” and his critically praised EP, “Indigo Child,” provides the perfect example of the 18-year-old’s complexity. Tracks like “God’s Whisper” sound like a tribal-gospel power ballad, while “Seven Suns” gives off an atmospheric rock sound.

In all honesty, these aren’t overly colorful descriptions, Raury’s music is just that eclectic; there are multiple elements of music working together and they are all blended seamlessly. Ultimately, you just have listen to Raury’s music to understand his sound.

Adding to the intricacy of Raury’s sound are interludes on the EP of actual recordings of Raury and his mother arguing about his life and career. According to the young musician, those pieces were recorded without his mother’s knowledge.

Despite the apparent hostility in those recordings, Raury insists that his relationship with his mother is perfectly fine. “Like, literally two hours after that conversation everything was fine — we went to Applebees later that day,” he told MTV News.

Raury’s music has made enough waves to catch the attention of big names such as Kanye and Outkast. In late September he opened with Kid Cudi and Childish Gambino for Outkast’s ATLast Festival. Raury was also flown out to meet with Kanye West’s label, G.O.O.D. Music.

While a new record deal with G.O.O.D. Music hasn’t been confirmed, a collaboration with Kanye seems likely.

Raury will also appear on the star-studded, Lorde-curated “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1″ film soundtrack.

 
Photo via HotNewHipHop.com

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format