Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk - Laminated Skies Vinyl LP

‘Laminated Skies’ is the new album by Jason Moore aka Raw Poetic, produced alongside friend and frequent collaborator Earl Davis aka Damu the Fudgemunk and featuring guest musicians Pat "P" Fritz on guitar and Luke Stewart on bass. Sessions for ‘Laminated Skies’ took place in the sweltering summer heat in 2019 at Windom Road studio in Brentwood, Maryland; with Damu’s production adding a tapestry of instrumentation including live and programmed drums, strings, vibraphone, kalimba, melodica, vinyl scratching and synthesizers. Musically pulling from the genres that make hip hop; the multidimensional work also draws inspiration from Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man, spirituals, and their individual influences -, on which Jason says “I was an English major, Luke is a jazz bassist, Pat a classically trained guitarist, and Earl brought in a wealth of knowledge that funneled us through a direction that worked.”

‘Laminated Skies’ is Raw Poetic's sixth solo album and first official solo release on a label (London’s Def Pressé). It’s also his most personal album. He explains “I still can’t fully describe what kind of album this is so I’ve now reserved myself to telling people it’s a “Jason” album. I wanted to tell people what the hell is going on through my head sometimes; how I feel as a guy from Northern Virginia. Sometimes it’s invisible, other times invincible. Sometimes loved, sometimes hurt. Once we got started mixing and matching ideas, well… it became something that I am very proud of.”

Damu says, "I'm extremely proud of what we did on this album. When Raw asked me to get involved I was amped. I've watched Raw become a producer over the last ten plus years, teaching himself how to record and lay tracks. His production style is so unique, free and different from mine that I soak up a ton of inspiration from collaborating this way. With both of us usually exclusively perceived as hip hop artists (which we don't mind), ‘Laminated Skies’ feels like a victory for us to show our appreciation while creating honest art, but escape the box without actually making a formal announcement. It's easily one of the best things I've been a part of”.

Raw Poetic was born in Philadelphia to a rich family legacy including both parents in the original Black Panther Party and legendary jazz musician uncle Archie Shepp. Eventually settling in Northern Virginia where he was raised in the Washington Metropolitan area, the two east coast cities have had a major influence on his artistry. By college he founded Restoring Poetry in Music aka RPM and became the lead MC in the duo Panacea (Rawkus), formed by producer/beatsmith Kyle Murdock, who released five albums before disbanding on a high note in 2010. As a newly solo act, Raw Poetic saw the changing demands of indie artists, building a skillset that allowed him to be the versatile DIY artist he is today. Produced with Damu, their recent 2020 album ‘Ocean Bridges’ with saxophonist Archie Shepp was considered one of the year's best efforts