I do not like being late to the party. And, let me tell you, I’m late to the party — and so are you. Sir the Baptist is quickly making a case for being my favorite artist of 2015. The sound he’s creating is so unique I don’t even know how to describe it, but I’ll try. It’s like church’s sacred tunes met up with hip hop and hung out at rock and roll’s house while they took lessons from R&B on how to make a song. All in all, it’s some of the best music I’ve heard in a long time.
Sir came out of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, the hub and home to the Jazz movement. Growing up in this atmosphere and adapting a hip hop styling created what Sir describes as “Church Pub Rap”. It’s music that not only gets you up and moving, but carries with it a message that is so powerful you cannot help but fall in love with it.
I put “Raise Hell” on repeat while I typed this, and hours later, it’s still going. The visuals in the accompanying video, released in June of this year, only further compliment an already amazing track.
“Raise Hell” is just a 3 minute and 44 second sampling of what we’re going to see from Sir the Baptist. He’s already dropped his next single “(Creflo) Almighty Dollar”, featuring Twista, Jack Red, and Lili K. It too is an amazing track that you can both hear on his SoundCloud and see on his YouTube.
But, what really sets this man apart from so many is, without a doubt, his true passion for the lives of the people he sings about. Tomorrow, October 15th, you’ll find him leading a demonstration entitled “Wake Up Chicago” at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. He will stand up alongside other community leaders to bring attention to the violence that has plagued the city and to help bring awareness to everyone that has lost their lives on the Windy City streets.
After that, he’ll push on with a show at the Double Door on October 18th. See him, listen to him, fall in love with his style. You’re going to be very happy you did.
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