Butcher Brown reveals the third single from their upcoming Solar Music album. “DYKWYD” featuring  Braxton Cook is an acronym for Do You Know What You’re Doing and MC Marcus Tennishu leads the mellow track with a rap about their ascendance. Cook and Butcher Brown have worked together for years most conspicuously on their 2015 joint album. The fusion collective blends jazz and hip-hop on the song with a pure solo from Braxton’s saxophone that has supported Mac Miller, Rihanna and Jon Batiste in the past. They have also dropped the animated video for “DYKWYD” which will have watchers divided on the use of AI. Solar Music comes from the saying “everything under the sun” and that is the band referencing all the influences they have in their sound. As they say, “having something for just about everybody under the sun.” Keyon Harrold, Pink Siifu, Charlie Hunter, Jay Prince, Michael Millions and Nappy Nina are guest artists on Solar Music. The band will start its global tour in their home state of Virginia on August 24th before traveling to 13 states and seven countries by the end of the tour in December. Solar Music comes out on October 6th via the Concord Jazz label. 

 

Butcher Brown announces their Solar Music album and drops an animated visual for “I Can Say To You” featuring Vanisha Gould. The Richmond, Virginia’s jazz base is always mingling with other genres and Solar is the word they use to describe their multi-influenced sound. Last year their Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey married Big Band jazz and hip-hop and created a new version of the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable.” “I Can Say To You” is a soulful rumination on moving forward in life with the added layer of Tennishu’s rap verses. Solar Music will have the same piebald rhythms with guest appearances from Pink Siifu, Keyon Harrold, Jay Prince, Braxton Cook and more. The band explained the album’s meaning like this:

“Solar Music is everything under the sun. We get asked so often what type of genre we fall into, and at the end of the day, we play all of our influences. It’s not genre specific..It’s all types, & this album is a true representation of that. Solar Music is for everybody.”

Solar Music comes out October 6th and they are going on a global tour set to start in August. 

 

                                                                                 Tour Dates 

8/4 – Newport, RI @ Newport Jazz Festival

8/5-6 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon

8/11-13 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Jazz Festival

8/24 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27

8/25 – Charleston, SC @ Pour House – Deck Stage

8/26 – Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station

8/31-9/3 – Stuart, VA @ Front Porch Fest

10/17 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

10/18 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

10/20 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern

10/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live (upstairs)

10/22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe

10/24 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota

10/25 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village

10/26 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

10/27 – Indianapolis, IN @ Jazz Kitchen

11/4 – Eindhoven, NL @ So What’s Next?

11/6 – London, UK @ The Forge

11/7 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma

11/8 – Berlin, DE @ J.A.W. (Zenner)

11/9 – Mannheim, DE @ Alte Feuerwache

11/10 – Técou, FR @ Coco Jazz

11/11 – Groningen, NL @ Rockit

11/12 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rooterdam / Bird

11/13 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bimhuis

11/14 – Charloeroi, BE @ Palais des Beaux Arts

11/16 – Geneva, CH @ TBD

11/24 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry

11/25 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis

Butcher Brown’s big band jazz-themed album Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey Featuring Tennishu And R4ndzzo Big4nd has landed. The group’s rapper Tennishu had initially planned a straightforward hip-hop album but the direction changed and they made a collection inspired by both genres. Their cover of the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable” combines both styles effortlessly.  The late Brooklyn MC’s song is the most accessible song on the album but the whole thing is an easy blend of rhyming with the band using the sound of a jazz orchestra to recreate electronic beats. Triple Trey has a visual component that embodies the spirit of jazz eclectism with artwork from Lou Beach who designed the cover for Weather Report’s 1977 fusion classic Heavy Weather and Butcher Brown’s previous #KingButch album. The vinyl version of Triple Trey will be released on November 11th in black and a limited edition blue which will have a 7″ with the 12″ containing two bonus songs, “Guitarmy” and “Peace.” This weekend they will perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival and next month they are part of the lineup at the Indy Jazz Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. They have also shared a video for “Breevin.'”

 

Butcher Brown takes on the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable” for their upcoming big band album. The late Brooklyn rapper and producer DJ Premier crafted “Unbelievable” for B.I.G.’s 1994 Ready To Die debut album. Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney who raps B.I.G.’s verses had this to say about the song:

“This is one of my favorites from B.I.G.‘s catalog. This record to me is an example of what makes rap music special. This beat by DJ Premier is one of the greatest beats of all time and the way that the lyrics lay inside of the sections of the beat made it lock into a classic as soon as I heard it.”

Butcher Brown has been performing jazz and hip-hop-inspired music since they came along in 2014 with All Purpose Music. Their new project Butcher Brown Presents Trey featuring Tennishu And R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND started out as a hip-hop album but morphed into a tribute to big band jazz. The artwork was created by designer Lou Beach who designed the cover for Weather Report’s fusion classic Heavy Weather. The official release date is September 16th and vinyl copies will be available on November 11th.  The 12-inch vinyl comes with a 7-inch which has two additional songs, “Guitarmy” and “Peace.” 

The band will perform at the Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn on September 11th.