Eora-based artist and producer Big Skeez today unveils his next chapter of new music, with latest offering ‘Go Back Home’ out via NLV Records.
A sonic pivot from the rousing ‘Work Don’t Stop’, ‘Go Back Home’ sees Big Skeez continue the narrative and openly reflect on his upbringing and current state of everyday life. Here, he shifts the gear into a different route of personal storytelling and draws listeners into his ongoing determination of returning to his African homeland.
Addressing the melancholy of his home in South Sudan most clearly with verses like “I lost touch with my people so I’m feeling off / I think I’m just giving up saying it’s my fault”, Big Skeez’s rare touch bends luxurious amapiano over raw basslines, and his art becomes as human as he is. Lifting his music into original territory, he reveals, “This song is about going back home to the motherland which is Africa. After so many years living abroad and growing up into a man, I’ve decided I need to go back home and meet my family.”
Looking into the inner recesses of his mind to focus on what the title suggests, the track shifts through time and concepts of freedom. As the next taste of what is to come from the stream of new music from Big Skeez, the proud sense of being simultaneously from and for a community still pulses tangibly through every aspect of his music, offering a different light to the surfeit of music that is currently emanating from his hometown.
The release of ‘Go Back Home’ follows a busy few years for Big Skeez having spent some time locked away in the studio, alongside his recent narration and soundtracking of the Western Sydney Wanderers, where he performed his single ‘Up’ in the launch, speaking to the mentality and attitude of the people in Dharawal Land / Western Sydney. It also comes off the back off his Shazam charting Human Movement-collaboration ‘House Check’ and impressive 2022 BIGSOUND run, which drew attention across local tastemakers: “There was so much to love about Big Skeez’s high energy performances, proving that he’s a crucial part of an exciting and growing scene in Australia” (triple j); “his bars are every bit as good as his ability to hype the crowd” (Double J); and “equipped with more than enough physical oomph to get a dance floor moving” (Music Feeds) amongst others.
Big Skeez‘s music is in constant conversation with his roots, whether they lay in Africa or in Dharawal Land / Western Sydney. Having drip-fed singles including ‘No Trace’, ‘Where Yuh From (with Gold Fang)’ and ‘Bang’, his sound is immersed in the sounds of Africa, Afrobeat, Dancehall, Reggae, and R&B, studied from his parents and “borrowed” from older siblings; the result is a wavy, melodically-driven Afro Swing iteration entirely his own, standing alongside global stars Obongjayar, J Hus, Burna Boy, and others.
‘Go Back Home’ is out NOW via NLV Records.