Rising Bristol hip-hop artist chronicles past addictions on visceral new project
Often the best music and art comes from a place of despair. Lyrically and emotionally, music from the perspective of the troubled soul can bring an extra potency. This is certainly the case with the soulful new hip-hop album from Bristol-based artist Taurri.
Just before writing “XIII,” the young artist was touring and performing with a previous artist guise. He soon found himself spiraling out of control with issues of addiction, leading to an episode of sleep deprivation.
“Of course moments like this come as a shock when you’re in a perpetual state of denial, but despite the fairly graphic nature of that weekend I now look back on the experience with a sense of gratitude,” he shared. “May 13th 2018 I was 72 hours into sleep deprivation, searching for a reason to wake up. May 13th 2020 I’m lucky enough to be putting out this album and closing the door on all that. I feel blessed.”
His redemption soon came through the path that started it all – music. Locking himself away from all the noise, he began recording what he planned to be an instrumental neo-soul album with some of the U.K.’s best musicians. He soon found the perfect vehicle to spill and explore his experience through his lyrics, and XIII was born.
The lead single “Curtains” details his struggles to face the outside world. The whole album ebbs and flows between soulful, instrumental elements of jazz and more potent, groove-rich hip-hop beats. “Colder” and “Tomb” stand out as the more punchy tracks on the album, though the whole project is an epic realization from an artist that’s unafraid to take musical risks.
Listen to the full album below:
