Biography
Kassa Overall functions as drummer, producer, rapper, and vocalist while maintaining a busy calendar as both supporting musician and headlining act. His abilities have taken him across edgy post-bop jazz and avant-garde contexts as well as hip-hop and indie rock settings. Although percussion remains his central instrument, he pursues electronic production with equal intensity and regularly integrates laptops and samplers into his work. After establishing himself as a New York sideman throughout the 2010s, he emerged as a solo artist through a series of mixtapes and the 2019 debut Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, followed in 2020 by I Think I'm Good. The privately released Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment reached listeners in 2021. Once the pandemic eased, two years of touring and session activity preceded his signing with Warp and the 2023 arrival of Animals.
Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1980, Overall developed his musicianship alongside brother and saxophonist Carlos Overall while absorbing jazz, world music, and hip-hop. Early lessons came from Seattle drummer Larry Jones, and by his teenage years he was already working local gigs. After high school he earned an undergraduate music degree at Oberlin, where mentorship arrived from Billy Hart, Michael Rosen, Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins, and additional figures. Upon graduation he moved to New York City and performed with Christian McBride, Donald Byrd, Vijay Iyer, Francis & the Lights, Mayer Hawthorne, Wallace Roney, Ravi Coltrane, Gary Bartz, Iron Solomon, Gordon Voidwell, and numerous others. He also spent several years as a core member of pianist Geri Allen’s Timeline band and continues regular work with trumpeter Theo Croker’s group. In his parallel roles as rapper and producer, Overall has joined Brooklyn hip-hop collective Das Racist, formed the duo Kool & Kass with former Das Racist member Kool A.D., and serves as DJ with Jon Batiste & Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
On his own, Overall has issued several respected mixtapes and singles such as the 2014 track “Cauliflower,” the 2016 release “Naked Light,” and the 2017 single “Cussing at the Strip.” His first full-length project, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, appeared in 2019 and included contributions from Arto Lindsay, Julia Chen, Theo Croker, and further guests. The follow-up I Think I'm Good reached audiences in early 2020 and likewise featured Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Parks, and Vijay Iyer among its collaborators.
After the pandemic period, Overall contributed to Brazilian singer/songwriter Marisa Monte’s commercially successful 2021 album Portas, performing on the title track and “Calma.” That same year he appeared on trumpeter Theo Croker’s Blk2life || A Future Past. He closed 2021 by issuing the mixtape Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment through his own Flu Note imprint, a project assembled while quarantined. In the next year he united with Croker and saxophonist Gary Bartz for the one-off single “Jazz Is Dead.”
Overall joined the Warp roster in late 2022, yet his initial 2023 output was a remix of Cecile McLorin Salvant’s version of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights.” March brought the paired singles “Ready to Ball” and “Make My Way Back Home,” the latter featuring Croker and Nick Hakim; both tracks fused rap, modal and post-bop jazz, funk, and electronics. April introduced “The Lava Is Calm,” again with Croker. May saw the release of Animals on Warp. The album title functions as a charged metaphor addressing the contradictions of being a Black man and entertainer in America. Its extensive guest roster encompassed Danny Brown, Lil B, Ish of Shabazz Palaces, Hakim, Laura Mvula, and instrumentalists Croker and Iyer.
Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1980, Overall developed his musicianship alongside brother and saxophonist Carlos Overall while absorbing jazz, world music, and hip-hop. Early lessons came from Seattle drummer Larry Jones, and by his teenage years he was already working local gigs. After high school he earned an undergraduate music degree at Oberlin, where mentorship arrived from Billy Hart, Michael Rosen, Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins, and additional figures. Upon graduation he moved to New York City and performed with Christian McBride, Donald Byrd, Vijay Iyer, Francis & the Lights, Mayer Hawthorne, Wallace Roney, Ravi Coltrane, Gary Bartz, Iron Solomon, Gordon Voidwell, and numerous others. He also spent several years as a core member of pianist Geri Allen’s Timeline band and continues regular work with trumpeter Theo Croker’s group. In his parallel roles as rapper and producer, Overall has joined Brooklyn hip-hop collective Das Racist, formed the duo Kool & Kass with former Das Racist member Kool A.D., and serves as DJ with Jon Batiste & Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
On his own, Overall has issued several respected mixtapes and singles such as the 2014 track “Cauliflower,” the 2016 release “Naked Light,” and the 2017 single “Cussing at the Strip.” His first full-length project, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, appeared in 2019 and included contributions from Arto Lindsay, Julia Chen, Theo Croker, and further guests. The follow-up I Think I'm Good reached audiences in early 2020 and likewise featured Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Parks, and Vijay Iyer among its collaborators.
After the pandemic period, Overall contributed to Brazilian singer/songwriter Marisa Monte’s commercially successful 2021 album Portas, performing on the title track and “Calma.” That same year he appeared on trumpeter Theo Croker’s Blk2life || A Future Past. He closed 2021 by issuing the mixtape Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment through his own Flu Note imprint, a project assembled while quarantined. In the next year he united with Croker and saxophonist Gary Bartz for the one-off single “Jazz Is Dead.”
Overall joined the Warp roster in late 2022, yet his initial 2023 output was a remix of Cecile McLorin Salvant’s version of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights.” March brought the paired singles “Ready to Ball” and “Make My Way Back Home,” the latter featuring Croker and Nick Hakim; both tracks fused rap, modal and post-bop jazz, funk, and electronics. April introduced “The Lava Is Calm,” again with Croker. May saw the release of Animals on Warp. The album title functions as a charged metaphor addressing the contradictions of being a Black man and entertainer in America. Its extensive guest roster encompassed Danny Brown, Lil B, Ish of Shabazz Palaces, Hakim, Laura Mvula, and instrumentalists Croker and Iyer.
Albums
Singles
