With "Solart", Roc Sol Merges Everything He Loves
THE Theory
Roc Sol is one of the few artists I know in Miami that dabbles with all 4 original elements of hip-hop. Have you seen this man breakdance?! Roc Sol can definitely get down, but he’s mostly known for his music and mixed-media artworks. Call me crazy, but I think when Roc and I linked up in 2019 and wrote the record “Kandinsky”, where we combined ideas of art and hip-hop, I may have inspired him.
ART & MUSIC
Due to my background in Art and Architecture, when I grew the infamous mustache most people know me for nowadays, I naturally gravitated towards a new alias as “Young Dali”. I started to experiment with lyrics that referenced art history, its language, and terminology. After writing a few concepts, I had the groundbreaking idea of hitting up the only other artist I knew who was heavily involved in art and hip-hop — Roc Sol. Wassily Kandinsky, who the song was named after, is one of the first abstract artists whose form of expression was heavily inspired by music. I thought it’d be an innovative idea to collaborate on a record with him to fully fuse these ideas. I also reached out to my good friend, Eddy Sanchez, an Architect and and abstract artist that I studied with at FIU, to create a custom piece for the song’s cover art. For the release of the song in early 2020, Roc and I held an event with live painting, and sold custom prints inspired by the record. A little over a year, and almost a dozen singles later, Roc Sol bangs out the full-length album, Solart, a visual and audio experience combining art and hip-hop music.
THE ALBUM
It’s difficult to take even an inkling of credit for the masterpiece that is Solart, but we’ll confirm my theory tonight at 7pm, March 2nd, on the #D5LIVE interview with the man himself. Besides the fact that this album comes with a coloring book that has custom art and lyrics for each song, it’s incredibly well put together. The spoken word skits from Life is Hectik help stitch the songs and concept of the entire album. The intro ends with Hectik asking, “We all have a purpose, have you come to terms with yours yet”? Immediately relatable, this is a battle that every human faces — especially artists. The first track “No Return”, aided by Bob Ross skits and vocals from Christy Love, sets the album off right on brand. By the way, how badass is it to have a fiancé who can bless your tracks with fire background vocals?
Roc Sol gives insight on his journey, trials, and tribulations as a hip-hop artist with lyrics like “I walked away from it all, I know what its like to fall”. Considering that he came “Straight from the land, that’s the mud, that’s the dirt”, he expresses his gratitude for everything he’s garnered on “Prayer Hands”. Miami legends, and two-thirds of the group !Mayday!, Wrekonize and Bernz help Roc Sol proclaim his permanent stature in the city on “Never Fall”. At this point, a secondary theme of feeling like your back is against the wall and having no options but to shoot for the stars is beginning to peek out of the lyrics. The next song, “18k” does exactly that, as Roc Sol dives into the “hype Florida sound” produced by Jammah and made famous by the likes of XXXTentacion and Ski Mask The Slump God. He displays his diversity and growth while keeping his ear to the streets and experimenting with different sounds.
One of the primary collaborators on this album besides Christy Love and Miami Beat Wave, which produced 3 songs and engineered the whole project, is Kendall native, D.U.Ivan. He and Roc flex their Latin pride, back and forth with a ping-pong-like structure on “Cuba Libre”, which he also produced. Roc and Christy slow the tempo after the “Interlude” and claim “Suckas ain’t down for the set” while offering a piece of advice — “Push your egos aside and let’s all take a ride” as Hectik says. The stand-out record for me has to be “Namaste” which boasts an infectious chorus by Alexander Star. This song perfectly encompasses Roc’s views on the challenges he’s faced in his life and how he tackles music creation in general. Christy Love emphasizes this with lines like “I ain’t stopping for no one, I’ll keep on working harder until you see me as someone”. I felt that her voice was reminiscent of Lauren Hill’s vibe and the track in general gives me a Fugees feel. Everyone comes together to close the album out with “Hold You Down”, a soulful and hopeful note produced by D.U.Ivan. Roc Sol’s Solart successfully manages to combine more than just art and music. He brings together his family, friends, and passions into a project that will define Sol for years to come — with “No regrets, already ready for what’s next”, as worded by Life Is Hectik.
THE INTERVIEW
Tune in tonight, March 2nd, at 7:00pm to @dirty5ive’s Instagram Live — we’ll be having Roc Sol on #D5LIVE for and interview hosted by me, JAKX. We’ll be talking about his new album and much more!
Solart is available now on major digital streaming platforms.
SUPPORT Roc Sol HERE.
WRITTEN BY JOAQUIN PINEDA @1991JAKX @DIRTY5IVE
FOLLOW @ROCSOLMIAMI @COLIVMEDIA