R. A. P. Ferreira is performing at the Soda Bar on April 11 in support of his newest album, “The First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap.” Recorded in collaboration with Japanese DJ and producer Fumitake Tamura, Ferreira describes his latest record as “an exercise in trust” between him and Tamura. After becoming friends online, Ferreira took an opportunity to tour Japan, allowing Ferreira and Tamura to meet in person, evolve their friendship, and, through this record, embark on a musical exploration of rap, blackness, internationality, art, and poetry. 

Ferreira is a poet, writer, and rapper based in Tennessee, but he seems to be constantly moving in every moment of his life. Born in Chicago, raised in Maine and Wisconsin, and traveling the transmundane ever since, Ferreira’s observation and exposure to the American cultural landscape informs his artistry. Ferreira slowly built up his fanbase and music community from 2010 to 2020 until his popularity exploded with his first studio album, “Purple Moonlight Pages.” The project made waves in the experimental hip-hop scene, especially with fans of abstract, spoken-word, and poetic hip-hop, drawing comparisons to Open Mic Eagle and Koreatown Oddity.

Ferreria’s performances are eclectic and odd, while also insightful and unique. Sometimes, he’s alone with a sampler and beat machine, shaking the walls and ceiling with bass drones and sirens. Sometimes, he’s throwing a party on stage, inviting the rest of his tour posse and spit verses and freestyles over his beats; other times, he’s sitting on stage alone with a shimmering, antique resonator guitar on his lap, thinking out loud; what’s consistent about the tone of his shows is a sense of intentionality, reflection, and poeticism in his actions. 

Ferreira will be supported on this tour by Psalm One, the moniker of writer and rapper, Cristalle Bowen. Bowen is an author and rapper based out of Chicago who redefines multi-dimensionality. She has released and toured studio albums, published a memoir, worked professionally as a chemist, and is a published essayist and reviewer for Chicago Reader. Bowen is likely touring songs from her 2023 EP, “THE RETURRN OF BIGG PERRM,” a collection of tracks that combines hip hop and R&B in a way I can only describe as evoking the same vibe as a collaboration between MF Doom and Erykah Badu.  

The 21+ show will be held at The Soda Bar in San Diego on April 11th, and doors open at 7:30 P.M. Based on my experience, don’t expect any hard start time; just vibe out and enjoy the atmosphere until something happens. Tickets are available online or at the door for $22.15 on Soda Bar’s website.