Juuwah Explores The Universality Of Relationships In Debut Album 'Paint Me A Story' [Premiere]
Juuwah Explores The Universality Of Relationships In Debut Album 'Paint Me A Story' [Premiere]
Photo courtesy of the artist

Juuwah Explores The Universality Of Relationships In Debut Album 'Paint Me A Story' [Premiere]

Art by Marissa Caggiano

The Dallas-based musician was encouraged to write his own music from frequent collaborator and friend Jon Bap.

"Paint me a story of who you are / Show me a reason for my life / You know what to do, lead the way / Teach me to trust you, shine your light."

Paint Me A Story's title track is the second to last song on the album for good reason. It embodies the album's central theme — relationships, particularly Juuwah's relationship with himself through his faith.

The Dallas-based musician, who serves as the touring bassist for Jon Bap, is making his proper solo album debut with Paint Me A Story, which Okayplayer is premiering today. The 19-track album defies genre classification, blending everything from pop and electronic to gospel and jazz, bringing to mind fellow Dallas musician Mike Mitchell's (Blaque Dynamite) Killing Bugsor bass virtuoso Thundercat.

But what grounds the musical experimentation of the album is its lyrics, Juuwah reflecting on the complexities that come with relationships, whether that be romantic, familial, or spiritual.

"I sort of wanted to expand on the word [relationships] in a more universal sense," Juuwah told us in an email. "We have brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and friends that we have special connections with, that have resulted in a deeper love for each other or even created distance and brokenness."

"[Paint Me A Storyis about me — 'the painter' — presenting a series of songs that are inspired by how I have seen myself and people in my life deal with brokenness and reconciliation between one another in the last few years," he added.

Paint Me A Story features Jon Bap, Blaque Dynamite, Domi Degalle, Fear Gorta, Kaila Rose Parish, Christelle Bofale, and Marissa Caggiano. The album will be released via Dolfin Records on March 29.

Juuwah can be found on Instagram and Twitter.

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