On Feb. 7, Cincinnati Hip Hop artist Ronin Halloway will headline his first show when he performs at Over-the-Rhine’s MOTR Pub.
The free event will also feature a full live performance of “The Icarus Trilogy,” Halloway’s smart, poetic and powerful collaboration with fellow local artist JayBee Lamahj. Halloway and Lamahj will be joined at the show (and for the three-song performance) by progressive, experimental Cincinnati Electronic/Jazz trio FLOCKS, which features Tom Buckley (drums/samples), Joshua Jessen (synths/keyboards) and Stephen Patota (bass/guitar).
Today, CityBeat is thrilled to premiere “Icarus,” the first video of “The Icarus Trilogy,” which was shot with local filmmaker Bradley Thompson. Check back every Tuesday leading up to Feb. 7 to see and hear the next two “episodes.”
Musically inspired by artists from J Dilla to Phonte (SmokeFace produced and engineered the tracks), Halloway and Lamahj also draw from the crafty, mind-melded vocal interplay of heavyweight Hip Hop twosomes like Method Man and Redman, Black Star and OutKast.
The lyrical, character and storyline influences, however, come from much more ancient sources. Hint: the next two tracks/videos in the series are titled “Elijah” and “Paul.”
“It’s literally a ‘body’ of work,” Lamahj says of the trilogy’s concept. “Icarus is the head, Elijah is the torso and Paul is the legs. It’s about the inner self-journey everyone goes through. Each part works together to form the whole but at the same time they’re also different from each other.”
According to a press release, “Icarus relates to the peaks and valleys of mental development. Elijah is a triumphant battle cry, a statement of solidarity. And Paul is almost like a meditation, an acceptance and statement of readiness for the future.”
Halloway says the characters and concept come from a larger story he has been working on for the past several years.
“We definitely speak directly in the songs about the biblical/mythical characters, but the cool thing is that this is also my way of introducing my own Icarus character to the world,” Halloway says. “He’s a main component of a story I’m writing called 'Camelot,' and he’s meant to be played (in most settings) by JayBee. 'Camelot''s a fantasy story I’ve been developing since 2015. I don’t know yet if the main story will be shared as a book, film or both yet but for now I want to start bringing things to life as much as I can even in my music. In the first video, for example you see us in character as Icarus and Cicero. I’m super excited to keep exploring these characters in the future!”
