If you’re a fan of the layered harmonies that were prominent throughout the 90’s era of R&B, think BOYZ II MEN and XSCAPE, then it’s time you dive into Low.bō. The 23 year old musician has always had music in his life since an early age, with his family having him join a few choirs at school and his local church when he was 4 years old. It instilled a passion for singing in him, one which kept going throughout his adolescence, but he never though of pursuing it as a career. That was when the pandemic hit, he began to work on his craft and meticulously create swirling pieces of alt R&B that he became enamoured by. Cut to a few years in the future and we’re reviewing one.

A subtle bassline that gets you into the rhythm of the piece, and a looping drum-beat make up the production, shifting the mood into a sombre territory that relates to the title Down On My Luck. As his voice enters the fray we begin to witness his frustration at the modern capitalist society he finds himself living in. Being trapped in a cycle of 9-5’s, office cubicles, working to survive, and watching the sunlight pass your window in a prison you can’t escape. He paints a vivid picture through his expressive dialogue that relates to the common man, something everyone goes through and thinks but doesn’t express due to fear. Luckily he’s here to be our voice.

“I work a 6-6 job that I don’t enjoy working and just not having the time to explore other outlets of my life such as romance or just simple pleasures because of being stuck at a job and being caught up in the cycle of capitalism and survival, Down on my luck just became the manifestation of that. Fuck a 9-5, Fuck a catch 22, live your life as free as you can.”