The music industry’s finger is often on the pulse of many up-and-coming trends. George Watsky is both embracing these changes and using them to his advantage.

With a blend of hip-hop, pop, rock and jazz, Watsky is taking his music on the road for the COMPLAINT tour, with 30 stops across the country, including a performance at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse on Feb. 23 at 8 p.m.

The musician has risen in popularity within the digital music sphere with his raps on Epic Rap Battles of History, portraying William Shakespeare, among others. He has also appeared on the NAACP Image Awards and at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Watsky said that people who come to Saturday night’s show at The Westcott can expect his same style of music and performance, as well as a cross-section of all of his work.

“It’s this intersection of hip-hop and jazz and rock and pop music,” he said, regarding the tour’s sound.

Watsky released his fifth studio album, “COMPLAINT,” in mid-January. While he said it maintains a similar sound to his past records, he added that he tried to simplify things this time around.

While remaining loyal to a signature style that fans have come to love, his track “Limo 4 Emos,” showed off his signature hip-hop and pop vibe, falling in line with his entire body of work.

Watsky admits he’s struggled to simplify his music, which is typically a fusion of multiple different styles and genres. However, he said he didn’t struggle to come up with music for his newest album.

Along with his music, Watsky said he’ll be performing some of his original poetry. With this set as one of his biggest headlining tours to date, music and poetry aren’t the only things fans on the tour have experienced.

While playing a show at The Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado on Jan. 30, fans could experience the show live in virtual reality, made available through some of the major VR headsets, including the NextVR App for Oculus Go. This was a new venture for Watsky to spearhead. He said his motivation for trying to mesh his music with VR was for one simple reason: his fans.

“It’s kind of the impossible burger,” Watsky said, adding that the virtual reality is an artificial way of creating real moments for his fanbase.

He was first approached about shooting a VR show during his last tour, he said, and looked forward to maintaining the excitement of a live show while making it more accessible for his fans of all abilities.

With five studio albums under his belt, Watsky said he considers himself a writer for multiple mediums. While he has still been focusing on his music, he said he wants to continually experiment and try something new, with plans to complete a novel in the coming future.

Published on February 17, 2019 at 9:06 pm

Contact Kerri: kmcanene@syr.edu