His combination of sound, culture and emotion is unlike anything else out there today. The hardest part about making the type of music Raury is producing is probably that there is really no blueprint for what he is doing. For the most part though, Raury has extremely good taste and takes a “less is more” approach on the tracks that work best. For example, “Her” and “Forbidden Knowledge (with Big K.R.I.T.)” could have used a bit more of a heavy handed editor. Some moments on All We Need work better than others. Raury flows seamlessly between the worlds of soul, jazz, experimental folk, spoken word and hip hop. His debut mixtape, Indigo Child, has more in common with Animal Collective’ Sung Tongs than it does any mainstream hip hop album. We find Raury incorporating rap much more frequently on All We Need. On one of those tracks, “Peace Prevail,” Raury shows his rap skills, but also brings the perspective of a young person with a long time horizon: He’s at his best when he flows over minimal instrumentation–a guitar here a simple drumbeat there. It’s not so much what he says, but how he says it, that makes All We Need one of my favorite albums so far this year. His lyrics are relatively straightforward, focusing on topics ranging from relationships to world peace.

His music oozes the optimism and confidence of a seasoned professional. On the 19 year-old’s debut LP, All We Need, he keeps you guessing and wanting more. Raury’s genre-blending mix of freak folk and hip hop demonstrates a rare musical intelligence that would be impressive for an artist of any age.

Raury all we need tpb