Stonebwoy’s ‘UP & RUNNIN6’ Relays a Colorful and Conscious Vision

Throughout its well-crafted 13 songs, the artist delivers on the ambitious road he set out on. Quite literally, UP & RUNNIN6 embodies the inter-continental presence of Black music, filtered through the distinct inclinations of Stonebwoy’s creative mind.

On the meditative groove of “Pray For Me,” he’s joined by Wyclef Jean, whose appearance on the record began from social media. The Haitian-born icon had commented on Stonebwoy’s picture and the younger star followed up. Then, earlier this year, both artists were on a panel at the Island Music Festival.

From there, they would return to his house in New Jersey and “the record was made,” recounts Stonebwoy. He describes Wyclef as “a godfather in the global music industry owing to how purposeful he has been in the spread and representation of consciousness, love and positive messaging, being an activist with his musical career and inspiring all of us from the continent of Africa. When I got the opportunity to link with him, it became a dream come true.”

Further coloring the sonic relationship between African music and the Caribbean, Stonebwoy collaborates with dancehall stalwarts Jahmiel and Spice on the records “Overlord” and “Jiggle & Whine,” embedding their distinct styles onto the energetic canvas of the album. But regardless of the itinerant scope of the album, Stonebwoy grounds the core of UP & RUNNIN6 in the sounds and stories of Africa.

The artist’s grasp on local feeling has always been rich and informed, and there’s no difference here. He affirms that the intent is “to bring a very authentic, nostalgic feeling that I think is missing in African music today,” he says. Stonebwoy puts forward “Jejereje,” one of the album’s singles, as an example of that rooted dedication. You’d also hear the sound of the vintage era on “Betta Tin,” whose fruity core is further enlivened by the contribution of Nigeria’s Duncan Mighty.

With his representation of consciousness and resisting the easy definition, Stonebwoy’s perspective on Afrobeats to the world is quite refreshing, even though it’s one he’s been on for a minute. In his view African music could better tell its own stories, and part of that has to do with honoring our home-based institutions and taking our lessons from those legacy bodies to create ours.

“The global system has a lot to deal with on their own already,” he says, “so having to deal with a continent that is the biggest… they’re going to make you seem small so they can accommodate you.” Using the famous proverb to make his point, he thinks that the lion has to “gather back [and] understand there’s a need to learn from the hunter the way it tells its story, so that we can tell our own stories too. Nonetheless, if you get a piece of pie from the hunter, take it and run, which is what we’ve done.”

Stonebwoy considers UP & RUNNIN6 as an extension of Fifth Dimension, his previous LP. Not quite in terms of sound, as the latter reflects a lushness and color that is essentially stripped in the new album, but rather in the generosity of perspective — he bares a lot of his wizened philosophies on the new project. This might have to do with his creative process, which as he says, is quite straightforward in its technical process: he lays down the melodies, works out the lyrics, and returns to fill in the adlibs and the rest.

“[Still] it’s inspiring to understand how our brain works as creatives,” he says. “Sometimes we can’t really explain or describe what it is, but rest assured, we get onto the microphone — it comes through us, for the people.”

The opening record of UP & RUNNIN6, “Psalm 23,” was created from such a session. Its vivid energy is sparked by a combination of the several Black influences Stonebwoy has previously mentioned. The associative mood is of a man driving through a highway, bumping his head as the music plays positive vibrations. “Before we touch e road, Psalm 23 before we touch e road,” he sings on the chorus, underlining the importance of faith to his practice as a conscious creative.

“You have to run with a mission,” he tells us towards the end of our conversation. “And as mission-minded as I am [in uniting] music of Black origin by spearheading the Afro-dancehall style coming from Ghana, it’s really very important for a brother like Stonebwoy, who has this level of responsibility, to keep up and running. To be able to inspire many other people who believe in the same measure.”