Our newest album of the week covers old school and 2021 soul, jazz, hip hop and more. Jon Batiste is out to be a representation to the world that genres don't exist - it's just simply music. Releasing his first album at the tender age of 17, We Are is Batiste's 8th release, but he calls it his first true album as it fully covers who he is as a musician.
Coming from a legacy of New Orleans musicians, he grew up playing percussion and drums in Batiste family band. At age 11, he switched to piano, developing his skills by taking classical lessons and learning songs from video games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter.
As New Orleans musicians are wont to do, there is a lot of the city reflected in his music. Meant to be played from beginning to end, Batiste says that if you close your eyes while you listen to We Are, you can hear that it was also made like a movie.
Check out our Album of the Week, We Are, here, or purchase here.