With the sheer multiplicity of artist collaborations in an already-saturated market, it’s incredibly refreshing to find a true and deep connection between two like-minded musicians. Two men faced separate crossroads at different times in their lives, but the paths they took led them to one another – now DJ brimLo and Bavu Blakes have fused their creative energy and personal progressions together into The Comeback Story.
In light being forced to find a balance between fatherhood, education and songwriting, longtime local hip hop veteran Bavu Blakes is still going strong eleven years after being named “Best Hip Hop Artist” by Austin Chronicle. More recently, the Mississippi-born, Austin-based DJ brimLo had become frustrated in late 2016 by a perceived lack of discography, despite his immense body of production and engineering work, and decided to relaunch his career as a solo artist. With both traveling further away from the fork in their respective roads, brimLo and Blakes’ The Comeback Story‘s five tracks takes the listener on a compelling, heartfelt journey – “a return to one’s better self”. The EP’s penultimate song, “Yesterday”, features singer-rapper Reggie Coby on the first hook and verse and TempestB on the subsequent, electrifying Eryka Badu-like counter choruses, with lyrics hearkening back to a simpler, happier, more family-centric time in life.
You can listen to DJ brimLo & Bavu Blakes right here on KUTX.org!
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday, 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
