All this week, KUTX profiles the Ones To Watch—seven must-see artists at SXSW 2024. Hosted by Jody Denberg and produced by Art Levy.
Kassa Overall has the jazz chops: he studied at Oberlin, was a gigging musician in New York, and had a stint as the drummer in Jon Batiste’s band on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. But it’s Kassa’s combination of jazz with hip-hop production that sets him apart. He’s trying to bring more absurdity to the jazz world.
The past decade has seen artists like Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus combine jazz and hip-hop in interesting ways, and Kassa Overall is pushing the boundaries further. On his 2023 album Animals, he cites everyone from John Coltrane to Radiohead and Björk as musical influences. The album title refers to how we can treat one another like animals, and he’s not afraid to dive into his own struggles with mental health. But through his example, Kassa Overall is a unifier—of different people and different music.
Catch Kassa Overall live at Scholz Garten on Thursday, March 14th, at 11 a.m.
