Oscar Jerome takes his innovative Jazz-Hip-Hop Fusion to the US

Oscar Jerome is the leading contender in today’s grassroots scene for contemporary jazz music. On first glance, as he goes on to stage with an electric guitar, jazz certainly isn’t quite what is expected, but his riffs and vocal style surprise to deliver a funky and innovative collection of songs.

Oscar performed a run of shows at SXSW with a particularly enchanting showcase with Mahogany Sessions, performed in a Church, where the reverberating acoustics complimented his silky vocals. With American being the King of both jazz and hip hop, it’s no surprise how well received his music was over the course of the SXSW festival.

He has already made quite an impact in his home territory, as he already sold out 1000-cap Earth Hackney last February upon the release of his 2019 single ‘Misty Head / Sunny Street.’ The song sees a perfect example of his contemporary jazz, incorporating synths and electronic instruments to create the melodies, and his vocals provide the soulful top line with rhythms that contain prominent touches of hip hop.

The other tracks he performed came from his 2018 EP “Where Are Your Branches?” which shows off the beginnings of his merging of jazz with hip hop, and features tracks that are largely instrumental. His vocal is merely another instrument to enhance the songs, and this creative composition technique makes sure the instruments are as important to the track and his lyrics.

Oscar is due to support Kamasi Washington across a set of O2 Academy UK dates this summer, so be sure to catch him there. Further to this, he takes his artistic levels one step further for the creation of the music video to his track ‘Misty Head / Sunny Street,’ where he collaborated with his performance artist brother Alfie Laurence ‘Moth’ to create a piece of work around “gender, beauty, and alienation.” Keep an eye out for the video in May!

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