Stay Green, Vitamin Cea, Pleather and Ray Kincaid brought their brands of soul, R&B and rap to Jazmo’s on April 9.
Pleather’s singer Olesya Ufimtseva said that Pleather has been together for little over a year and that this is the first band she has ever performed with. Ufintseva said that the band met through the Hattiesburg punk scene. Ufintseva saw bassist Harley “Cow’s Man” White in a “punk tee” and knew they would be friends. White saw Ufintseva with blue hair and felt similarly.
White said that the band has a demo tape available that is self-titled and are working on an album, but the band does not have a release date in mind. “We just want to rock,” White said.
Charity Hicks, who goes by Vitamin Cea, is a singer and rapper from Jackson. She attends Jackson State University as a senior, but is “hanging on by a thread.”
“[My hatred of school] is sad, but it is real life reflected in my music,” Hicks said. “I get a lot of musical inspiration from my family and the way I was raised. I was brought up in the church, so there was a lot of stipulations, so I used to maneuver around things I couldn’t do.”
Stay Green is comprised of three musicians: Benjamin Langston, the guitarist and vocalist of the group; Jeff Reynolds, the bassist; and Joshua Reynolds, drummer and brother to Jeff.
The members of Stay Green pride themselves on mixing different styles and genres of music together. “It gets pretty intense, but for people to accept it means we did a good job,” Joshua said.
“We make [mixing genres] acceptable and relatable,” Jeff said. “You may not listen to country, but the way we do country may make you reevaluate the genre.”
Ray Kincaid, Jackson rapper and University of Jackson student, is inspired by all of the great East Coast rappers. “I’ve always been a fan of music, and I can’t sing, so rapping is the next best thing,” Kincaid said. “I grew up listening to terrible music. I didn’t know what good hip hop was until I got older.”
Kincaid said that when he listened to east coast rap group A Tribe Called Quest, his whole life changed. Kincaid writes his own lyrics, but loves to do freestyle. “It is a chance to test your skills because it keeps you on your toes,” Kincaid said.
Jazmo’s holds open mic night every Thursday.
