Hear Here: Blayer PointduJour is shaking asses and raising spirits.
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Some music's for wallowing and some's for feeling all right.
This is a relaunch of City Paper’s resident local-music column. Send music here. I will listen.
Some music’s for wallowing and some’s for feeling all right. These days, Philly hip-hop romantic Blayer PointduJour is leaning toward the latter. Where 2012’s The Bull was a studio album crafted to mix moods and tempos, his band the Rockers Galore’s new four-song homespun Bloody Crown EP is a toast to the good times. “Bouncy,” is the word he uses. “I wanted to keep the energy up on this one. Once I had the framework of each track, my bandmates came over to my crib and recorded their parts one by one.”
“Vision” is a swinging, punky hip-hop jam with dramatic synths and an irresistible, classic rock beat. “Can you hear my battle cry?” His voice echoes. “Top of the building/ Yeah, I’m so high.” His Haitian roots show on pretty kompa story-song “Nikki,” which features a choir of angelic, layered vocals provided by Candice Mills from Washington, D.C., reggae band See-I. “The lyrics are about a really nice woman I met that blew my mind, then never texted me again,” says PointduJour. “Nikki, if you’re reading this, let’s link up.”
Going forward, we can probably expect more full-sounding, uptempo music from Blayer PointduJour and the Rockers Galore. Producer Michael Pipitone helped guide this EP, and they’re teaming up again to drop a full-length album next year on Actual Records.
Expect even more music that shakes asses and raises spirits. “That’s the point,” says PointduJour. “I’m usually in a bad mood or have some problems going in life when I write. I try to uplift myself in the process. I hope to lift every listener up.”
Rockers Galore plays Sat., June 21, 9:15 p.m., $10, with Phil Moore Brown, Weird Hot and DJ Ben Arsenal, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.
