As the rightful heir to the positions of J Dilla and Baatin in one of Detroit’s most important Hip-Hop groups Slum Village, rapper/producer Young RJ releases his third full-length solo album World Tour today (9/23/2022). While the vast majority of the project’s 11 songs may have been born from complete social isolation and civil unrest between 2020 and 2021, the project’s overall tone is hopeful. That tone is inherent in the album’s title. “I missed being out there with the fans performing”, RJ explains. “It felt right to title [the album ‘World Tour’]”. With songs like “Black Is Beautiful”, “Freedom”, and “Sign Of The Times”, the album captures a common sentiment in the wake of racial injustice; while the upbeat title track opens the album with an optimistic outlook towards the future, and “Last Breath” highlights the sheer will power of an artist to rise above adversity. The contrast reflects RJ’s emotional and mental state through personal dealings at a point in time, and how it all affected his view of the world around him.
“There were so many things going on all over the world while recording, it was hard to focus… To take my mind away from the news of everything that was going on around me – capitol riots, missing family members, not being able to see them, etc.–I put all my focus into being creative. All the emotions came out… [This album] captures everything I was dealing with (good and bad) between
2020 and 2021… it was therapy for me.” – Young RJ
Available on all digital streaming platforms via Ne’Astra Music, World Tour features Pete Rock, Boldy James, Blu, Eric Roberson, Mega Ran, Abstract Orchestra, among others, and arrives on the heels of Slum Village’s sold out, 17 date European tour.
© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
