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Add to My Profile | More Videos ..Motep singing Stony Island Rose (live at The Hot House)
Add to My Profile | More VideosNeo-acoustic soul, alternative reggae, spoken R&B, its hard to categorize 29-year-old Moteps musical style without squishing genres together. "I call it afro-fusion...", he says. It seems Motep would be more comfortable on the outside of the categories anyway. Born in L.A. raised in Texas, Motep moved to Chicago in 1999 to study art at The School of the Art Institute. While a student he began attending open-mikes in Chicago's vibrant underground poetry scene. "I still consider myself more a poet, than a technical musician." In 2001, Motep wrote and produced his debut album Savage Journey a mixture of southwestern guitar riffs, jazzy bass lines and heavy break beats that, according to Motep, uses the L train as an allegory for a spiritual sojourn. Chicagoans received his indie effort with open arms. I wasn't sure if brothers and sisters would dig my folksy style, but I was wrong. I found out that there is a lot of diversity on the scene as long you come from the soul.His latest project, Orfeus Uprising blends classical string quartets and reggae souliscious crooning into a surprisingly intimate and unconventional album. Motep speaks of Orfeus Uprising as an urban soundtrack for an anonymous young boy who was shot in Moteps old neighborhood when he lived in Texas. No doubt Moteps art training plays an influence on the conceptual nature of his albums and songs.Alive combines orchestral strings and jazzy brass to create a conscious ghetto anthem for the living. Motep lists through his reasons to stay alive and then with choir in the background calls Chicago to fight for the rights of living. Chicago the streets and the blues tomorrow is in each of you.Saturn Queen uses a vintage funk grooves to tell a story of Moteps infatuation with a soul sista from another planet. Other songs to check out include Gravity and Babylon Lullaby.When asked about his musical influences, the artists list everyone from Bob Marley and Portishead to Bjork and Leadbelly. One cant help but also to compare him to the likes of Macy Gray and Cee-Lo.If your looking for some refreshing fusion to put in your headphones. Moteps Orfeus Uprising is just the sort of soulful sonic cinema that you need.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
