The Austin based R&B project Blk Odyssy kicked off the first night of their tour in celebration of their latest release, 1-800 Fantasy, at Antone’s Nightclub. While Blk Odyssy has traditionally gone in a more smooth, relaxed , and jazzy direction with their sound, 1-800 Fantasy took the band in a completely new direction and Austin fans were among the first to experience the new sound live and in person.
Originally hailing from Plainfield, NJ, the now Austin based Juwan Elcock, mastermind and frontman of Blk Odyssy, is on a fast track to becoming one of the biggest R&B artist to come out of the city as he continues to break barriers and deliver some of the smoothest and innovative styles of R&B in recent years.
Elcock began pursuing his career in Austin, TX in 2015 after wanting a change of scenery from his east coast roots. He initially started out performing under the name Sam Houston and experimented with different styles of genres from R&B and soul to rock and Americana, all in the pursuit of trying to make his musical endeavors come true. After bouncing around different genres and projects, Elcock, along with various friends he met throughout his musical career, joined together and created the genre blending, alternative R&B project known as Blk Odyssy.
Blk Odyssy is a completely unique and one of a kind band that deliver an almost completely new sound to each album they release, all while maintaining their signature style of experimental sing/rap R&B created by Elcock’s soulful and melodic voice, complemented by an extensive range musicianship and meaningful and conceptual lyrics. Each album has its own conceptual story and sound and that’s consistent throughout, which really reinforces the narrative and emotion the projects are intended to convey, almost like a movie or different episodes of a TV show.
In 1-800 Fantasy, Elcock tells the tale of a one sided romance between a teenage boy and a phone sex operator, and takes you on highs like opening tracks “Hello” and “XXX” and tumultuous lows like closing tracks “Chasing Fantasies” and “Last Resort”. While the previous two projects from the group lean heavier into their R&B, jazz, and soul influences, the latest project from the group leans heavier into a pop-punk sound with R&B and rap elements mixed in, which set the tone well for the boy-meets-sexworker concept.
After praise from the last album Diamonds & Freaks, Blk Odyssy has only been building more momentum, especially upon releasing hit singles “XXX” and “Stank Rose” featuring Wiz Khalifa and Joey Bada$$, respectively. It really shined through in Austin when fans showed out for the sold-out kick off show of the first night of the tour.
The Pittsburgh based, Spillage Village affiliated artist Benji. was the first performer of the evening. After getting a crowd warm-up consisting of hip-hop and R&B classics from his DJ, Benji. met the audience with a fun and humble presence that brought a warm welcome into the room. The multi-instrumentalist/singer played a mix of new and old tracks with a feel good, positive sound and energy, and a classic, easy listening traditional R&B feel. Benji. was a fun performance to watch and a nice ease into the next performer.
The Californian singer/producer Asha Imuno was up next, and he let his individuality be known and present as soon as he hit the stage. With an outfit consisting of Dickies clothing from head to toe and what looked like medieval knight gloves, the artist made a statement before he even opened his mouth. Within the first couple songs you were watching this artist sing, rap, and create loops, all while bouncing all over the stage and giving the crowd love and props throughout.
Despite having more of a chill, relaxing vibe through most of his tracks on wax, Imuno really brought the energy to the stage and took the show up a level. Playing songs from his latest LP release, “Pins & Needles”, and the mesmerizing latest single “eXCITING :)” , Imuno brought his songs to life and showed that he was there to turn up and create a great atmosphere. There was a lot to unpack from the set from how he was able to give his songs a new breath to how he matched the crowd’s energy, the rising artist proved why he belonged on this tour and why he’s an artist to keep an eye on.
The crowd marinated in the energy from the two previous performers as they patiently waited for the headliner of the evening. After an appropriate amount of excitement was built, Blk Odyssy came out to the ominous album intro “HELLO?” and then straight into the high energy pop-punk single “XXX”. The Band gave the crowd a taste from their entire catalog from some of their latest singles to their earlier tracks like “Benny’s Got A Gun” and “Adam & Eve”. In true Blk Odyssy spirit the band really showed their versatility both musically and through mood, taking the crowd up and down, through various projects and genres throughout the band’s phases.
Suddenly, Juwan walked off stage as the band continued to play, as the music stopped and the crowd continued to cheer as Juwan and the band hit the stage again performing crowd favorite “Ghost Ride” and eventually bringing out frequent collaborator LARA’ to perform a song with. The first night of the Fantasy House tour went off without a hitch, beautifully showcasing the band’s work as well as capturing their live energy, there is no better place than Austin to see how far the project has come and feel all the love the artists are receiving in their city.
I’m a photographer currently based in Austin after recently relocating from Denver, CO. I graduated from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. I love music of all genres and have been going to live shows since I was 5 years old. Some of my favorite artist currently include Freddie Gibbs, Lola Young, Ivy Lab and Knocked Loose, but that is always subject to change.
