Originally from Boston before relocating to San Diego, Black Hesher creates his mad scientist fusions of sounds by combining his East Coast hip-hop influences with punk, alt rock, psychedelic folk, and flea market funk beats.
In 2019, he released Rituals, which he describes as “The album I almost didn’t live to make. I spent the last year of my life in a downward spiral fighting my demons and addiction until my life came to a halt, after two terrible situations that I caused forced me to stop and recognize my behavior. I was a drunken wreck. I caused mental and physical harm to someone close to me, and I ended up isolating myself from my bandmates, friends, and family. I was utterly lost and suicidal. I have never blamed anyone for my actions and have always been transparent no matter what anyone thinks. After wishing I was dead, I instead got sober and started on a course to correct my life. I did the only thing I knew I was still good at. Music.”
“This record is filled with all my anger, pain, sorrow, disappointments, remorse, regret, rebirth, love, and magic. A roller coaster of emotional wreckage that somehow brought me to this point. I’ve never recorded an album as raw and vulnerable as this. I tried to really be as honest as I could in my lyrics as I perceive things and tear myself down until there is nothing left. Only when the walls tumble can you truly rebuild yourself.”
To say the record is stylistically adventurous would be an understatement. Every sub-genre of Rock and Hip-Hop is represented, sometimes all at once. However, it is not chaotic.
The record has a natural flow to it. From the opening Classic Rock riff of “Tidal Wave” to the acoustic grunge of “Return to Sender,” it all feels right.
Listeners get pulled into a psychedelic world. It is one in which East Coast, West Coast, Rock, Pop, and Hip-hop are all fair game.
They are one and the same. It is all just music.
The album is available on all major music streaming services.
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