#kokayi

[snekstorm]

I HAVEN'T DRAWN SINCE CHRISTMAS EVE

Well anyways here is Kokayi (Kai) updated! Since I only had 1 drawing of him previously I'm at the new character stage where you love them but you want to change everything. This is him without the mask piece in. This is how he eats and drinks :)))

[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

Melvin Gibbs Isn’t Looking Back

For the past 21 years, self-described “explorer of rhythm” Melvin Gibbs has—among many other things—held down the massive low end in the collaborative power trio Harriet Tubman. The effects-laden grooves he concocts for that band, paired with the string-bending guitarscapes of Brandon Ross and the polyrhythmic assault of drummer J.T. Lewis, yielded a sprawling masterwork last year. The Terror End of Beauty, a glitch-infused collision of rock, jazz, funk, and blues, rightly found itself on just about every best-of-2018 list.

But that was last year. On this frigid winter day in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, the dreadlocked bassist is perched in front of a computer alongside drummer, producer, and rap upstart Kassa Overall. They’re in the midst of what they’re calling an “idea day” for one of Gibbs’ panoply of boundary-pushing projects that will surely keep him busy throughout 2019. Among those projects: the jazz-fusion Zig Zag Power Trio with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and drummer Will Calhoun, a duo with theoretical physicist and saxophonist Stephon Alexander that explores climate change, a long-awaited album from the Bitches Brew-manipulating Melvin Runs the Hoodoo Down (with the late Pete Cosey on guitar), and the return of his African-based spiritual music ensemble, Elevated Entity. On top of that, Tubman is intent on making a new record in 2019. “Striking while the iron is hot is important because it took so long for everyone to, you know … care,” says Gibbs, laughing.

What’s being cooked up in Overall’s home studio today is potential material for yet another band: Melvin Gibbs Magnum. Also in the Magnum mix are keyboardist Paul Wilson, longtime creative partner DJ Logic, and D.C.-based artist/producer Kokayi, a touring member of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements. It’s apt that Gibbs has Godfried T. Toussaint’s book The Geometry of Musical Rhythm by his side; the surgical focus with which all hands are manipulating the rhythms reverberating from the speakers is akin to a science experiment.

“One of my things is African-American rhythm,” Gibbs explains of Magnum’s beat-driven vision. “That’s where this book comes in. There’s this geometric idea called ‘translation,’ which is when you take a shape and just twist it—it’s the same shape but it looks different because you twisted the direction. That’s what happens with African-American rhythms: They’re all the same, rhythms that came from Africa, but they’ve all been twisted slightly. What we’re gonna do is take this really basic rhythm and we’re gonna twist it. I’m exploring an intergenerational idea—I almost want to make a jazz version of Jay-Z’s 4:44. When he made that record, I was going, ‘Ah! This is the same idea!’” [Read More]

[melloedown]

Hands on your Knees

[nonesuchrecords]

Composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's album honey from a winter stone—featuring improvisational vocalist Kokayi, pianist Sam Harris, Chiquitamagic on synth and vocals, drummer Justin Brown, and Mivos Quartet—is out now. You can get it and hear it here.

“For arguably the most technically gifted trumpeter of his generation, a lot of Ambrose Akinmusire’s breakthroughs actually come from letting go of standards and structures," says the New York Times. "Lately Akinmusire has been making some of the most intimate, spellbinding music of his career.”

[nonesuchrecords]

Composer/trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s new album, honey from a winter stone—featuring improvisational vocalist Kokayi, pianist Sam Harris, Chiquitamagic on synthesizer, drummer Justin Brown, and the Mivos Quartet—is due January 17. You can pre-order it and hear the opening track, "muffled screams," here.

Akinmusire says, “In many respects this entire work is inspired by and is an homage to the work of the composer Julius Eastman and his organic music concept."

[kokayi]

here we go. thank you @seshatyonshea always. ・・・ BeatsNBeans Co-Producer and moderator @kokayi first book drops March 2022 via BackBeatPress /@globepequot . Cover art by @dianholton Musicians/Atrists, as perceived by the music industry, are akin to a condiment—to be easily replicated, sold in high volume, and enjoyed by the masses. The message is blunt, honest, and necessary. Implicit in it is the reality of an ever-changing music landscape that requires the artists to adapt, and with integrity, lest they become forgotten. It's this essential idea that the Grammy-nominated artist and creative consultant Kokayi shares in You Are Ketchup. With a harmonious blend of narrative and advice, DC native Kokayi walks readers through the golden age of hip hop to the current day, dispensing hard-earned lessons and illuminations from decades of producing and performing music. Kokayi is a teacher inasmuch as he is a musician, and now writes for emerging artists yet to achieve success and veteran artists who might have once had it but are not out. Using stories from life and career as a vehicle, Kokayi covers a range of topics, including art as a commodity, advice about defining your artistic community, knowing when your art is ready to level up, finding a formula that works, distinguishing your art from others, and more. In a music world where an artist's career can too easily become a tale of the past, You Are Ketchup arrives as essential reading for the multitude of creatives hungry for the wisdom and knowledge of a successful insider. #yakbook #youareketchup #youareketchupbook #kokayi #musicmemoir #yakthebook #author #outchea #storyteller #memoir #goodreads (at Washington D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CU9z-yRrShU/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kokayi]

Honored that "When Letting Go is Love" has been selected to appear as part of @phillipscollection Inside Outside Upside Down Juried invitational. The intimate photo is of my friend and owner of @kh_naturalhair who had to shutter her business due Covid-19. She hired me to capture the impeccable interior design of the space that housed her products and where she managed so many personalities and their crowns, before she packed up and left the building. As the good @revtonylee says the church ain't the building it's the people, with that, I know that she is resilient. #art #photography #fujifilmxt3 #kokayi #bwphotography #portraitphotography (at Washington D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNggXeSr6nr/?igshid=10sd7je4icw16

[kokayi]

Honored to have my film ...on dreams presented during the @smithsonianacm drive-in movie night @unionmarketdc 4.28 in concert with the Men of Change exhibit. ...on dreams includes interviews with @goldlink @jasonreynolds83 @_marcusjmoore @sheldonascott @l.ndour @substantialmusic sharing their experiences as black men daring to dream. On dreams is just one of the dope works being shown which include Alvin Ailey by @cary.fagan , Jazz Greats by @a.g.rojas , James Baldwin by @hankwillisthomas , and Dick Gregory by @studio.gates #outchea #dc #artist #kokayi #film #smithsonian #anacostiamuseum #dreams (at Deanwood) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNYFOZwLjEJ/?igshid=1hcjdkvs8ed0q