Sights and Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene through the eyes and ears of local artists. On this episode, host Jenee Darden speaks with Oakland rapper and NYU student Jwalt. His new EP is "2.2.2." We're doing things a little differently this week. Jwalt is going to share three hip-hop albums that inspired him as an artist.
'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'
The iconic album dropped in 1998. Lauryn Hill rapped, sang R&B reggae. She was so vulnerable and real on this record talking about life, Black womanhood, love and spirituality.
Kendrick Lamar’s 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
Kendrick Lamar came out swinging on his third album, with his deep poetic rhymes over jazz music. There’s a new book about his work titled “Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar.”
'Illmatic' by Nas
Nas shook up the hip-hop world when he debuted on the scene in 1994 with "Illmatic." Nas is a favorite many hip hop heads. Some say he’s the best lyricist. Jwalt, who opened for Nas in concert, says he admired him for his storytelling skills.
Check out his new song “Nobody” featuring Lauryn Hill.
Jwalt is a student at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
