Makaya McCraven

Makaya McCraven is a jazz drummer, producer, and composer who works primarily in the fusion genre, but only in the broadest sense of the world. He has built a career on creating a jazz-based hybrid music that incorporates hip-hop, funk, and electronic as well as various musical traditions from around the world.  A technique that he often favors is to record his extended improvisation sessions then create the final product through mixing and editing, which is how he captures a sound that is both spontaneous and cutting edge at the same time. This method also informs the shadings of the music he creates, though as a drummer, he is fairly focused on the groove and beat construction rather than flashy gestures. His 2021 album is a reinterpretation of Gil Scott-Heron's last recorded album, I'm New Here.