It would be easy to mistake Zone, an early single from Chattanooga’s Swayyvo, for a romantic love song. The lyrics are fearlessly sentimental and tell the story of how love can fill a certain emptiness inside all of us.
“When I’m sleeping your love is all I can dream of / When you leave me it’s all I can think of / When I’m with you I feel like I be in my zone / Can’t help it if we’re connected at the soul.”
But as Swayyvo is quick to point out, the love he’s describing is deeper and more elemental than romance. “If you notice, the lyrics aren’t gendered,” he explains. “That song could be about anything: your friends, family, career. If you really love working out, it could be a song about working out.”
Or it could be a song about the love of music.
Swayyvo first fell in love with music at church. By age 11 he was learning piano and saxophone. Inspired by his mother’s stewardship of Ryhme n’ Chatt, a local poetry foundation, he also began writing poems and lyrics. Soon he married the two with songwriting and rapping.
But don’t think of him as just a rapper. Like a lot of popular musicians today, rap is just one of the skills he uses to express himself along with singing, playing instruments, and producing beats that can tie all those elements together.
He recalls being inspired by the success of OutKast, and how their music was able to cross boundaries by embracing so many different influences. “It was so artsy and had such great storytelling. They made it okay for someone like me to sound the way I want to sound.”
That sound is wide and deep. Swayyvo can swing back and forth between melodic RnB hooks to rap bars that are dense with flow changes, punchlines, and multisyllabic rhymes. Along with producers Tiggy and Jared White, he creates layers of moody beats that utilize both looped samples and live instruments.
That translates to a unique live show. “It’s rare that you go to a show and see someone rapping over jazzy beats, then pick up a saxophone and rip a solo” he says with a laugh.
In addition to writing and performing his songs, he’s also managed to open up some doors for commercial licensing. His music has been featured in ad campaigns for big brands like the NFL,NBA, and Nickelodeon.
But despite the allure of big markets in big cities, Swayyvo remains committed to Chattanooga and its music community. He’s collaborated with local icon YGTUT on several tracks, including the new track McNaire. A remix of Red from his album Alone in the Noise had a feature from King Klown. He also hopes to collaborate with BbyMutha.
“I’m just trying to carve out room for myself, trying to be me, and trying not to conform to what everyone else is sounding like,” he says. “As an artist it can be hard to crack through all that noise and get people to accept you.”
Swayyvo will perform this Thursday, January 11 at the Woodshop along with Randy Steele and Alex the Band. Doors open at 7 and music starts at 8. There is no cover charge. He will also perform as part of Rhyme N’ Chatt’s Love Groove event on February 2.