The DC/Virginia emcee Raw Poetic announces Laminated Skies (Def Pressé), his official debut solo album out  March 18th, and shares its lead single “Sunny Water.” Produced by Raw Poetic (aka Jason Moore) alongside friend and frequent collaborator Damu The Fudgemunk, Laminated Skies was recorded during the sweltering summer heat of 2019 at Windom Road Studio in Brentwood, Maryland, and features guest musicians Pat “P” Fritz ( Panacea,  Archie  Shepp) on guitar and Irreversible Entanglements’ Luke Stewart on bass. Damu’s production adds a tapestry of instrumentation, including live and programmed drums, strings, vibraphone, kalimba, melodica, vinyl scratching, and synthesizers. With Moore pulling musically from myriad genres, the multidimensional work draws inspiration from several sources, including spirituals and Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man. Today’s single, “Sunny Water” is a serene introduction to Laminated Skies, swirling in hypnotic haziness. 

Following 2020’s Ocean Bridges, Moore’s highly praised collaborative effort with his uncle Archie Shepp and Damu The Fudgemunk, Laminated Skies is his sixth solo album and his first official release for a label. It’s also his most personal album to date. “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,” says Moore. “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 elaborates: “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.”