Maryland artist Lil Seyi unveils an impressive body of work with the release of his new concept EP, entitled ‘A Blue Tesla Story’. Composed and performed by Lil Seyi himself, the EP consists of four songs that collectively tell of a story:
“The nameless main character in a ‘A Blue Tesla Story’ isn’t perfect, far from it actually. The EP even opens up with him going on a joyride, rear ending a car and driving away from the scene (hit and run). This decision leads to a series of events that end in the tragic passing away of his brother at the hands of the highway patrol. The EP continues as we follow the life of this main character as he deals with the public eye of this very public trial seeking justice for his brother. We see him getting support from protestors, but we also see him under heavy scrutiny as his involvement with credit card scamming surfaces. In the end, we find him left with nothing at all as time passes by and neither the supporters nor critics seemed to care about him or his late brother anymore.”
Within the body of work, one of the key songs is ‘On E’ – of which Lil Seyi says:
“After hearing a voicemail from an old friend, we realise time has passed. We are in a future where our main character sounds… different. Not perfect, but he sounds a lot more mature and healthy mentally. We have no idea when and how this growth happens until he tells us his true healing started when he figured out what he truly needed was something bigger than you or me, God. As the music transports us with futuristic arps and wide spacey synths, we arrive at beginning of this transformation. We see him realising and understanding that despite everything else being gone, God still “sticks around”. With nothing else to lose, he accepts Gods offer of grace and love, the best decision of his life. Heaven erupts with joy, and the cheers are heard throughout God’s kingdom “for one soul, for you”.
Through his reworking of classic hip hop sounds and instilling a modern narrative within the lyricism, Lil Seyi’s music could be compared to works by Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West.