Sélébéyone

Sélébéyone is an experimental musical, sonic, and cultural project that assembles a vast collection of disparate electro-acoustic sounds, disciplines, genres, and languages -- English, French, and Wolof. Originally a collaboration between American saxophonist/composer Steve Lehman and French saxophonist/composer Maciek Lasserre, the collective also included Senegalese rap sensation Gaston Bandimic and American underground rapper HPrizm (aka High Priest of Antipop Consortium), and a rhythm section composed of keyboardist/producer Carlos Homs, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Damion Reid. Their eponymous 2016 debut won global praise for its collision of sounds, textures, and transcultural approaches to jazz and rap. After touring the U.S. and Europe for more than two years, Sélébéyone's members went back to individual projects but committed to record again. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, they returned in 2022 with Xaybu: The Unseen as a quintet without Homs or Gress.