hio: who
Francisco Espregueira
The beginning of 2020 introduced us to Hio and his radiant piece called Am. A year before he had released the first piece of the puzzle with I, and now the LA-based artists closes the trilogy with a new chef d'œuvre: WHO. This final piece is all about self-discovery; finding your true self in a world that advocates for standardization - completing the "WHO - AM - I" question that Hio proposes in his current output.
WHO is also very much centered in the pertinent question of what is being Black in the U.S.A., moving and evolving with love while facing the daily struggles of a system that undermines development and traps sectors of its diverse society. On this album, life & death are a recurring theme and Hio invites his closest friends to talk about it. Musically focusing on jazz and improvisation, it seems like every track is breathing and flowing. In addition to the writing and rapping, Hio plays saxophone amazingly which he has been learning since the last couple of years; allowing him to converse and exchange with more depth with a cast of over 30 musicians and producers that are part of this wonderful contemporary piece of music. Available on vinyl, don’t sleep on Hio’s WHO album, released by Fada Records.