Storyboard P Steps Into the Spotlight as a Recording Artist With “I Be A Fool”
It’s not every day that an artist is hailed as the Basquiat of anything, let alone the Basquiat of
It’s not every day that an artist is hailed as the Basquiat of anything, let alone the Basquiat of street dance, but that’s exactly how The New York Times described the potentially indescribable Storyboard P. For decades, he has occupied a singular place in contemporary culture, rising from the ashes of a tumultuous Brooklyn upbringing to irrevocably revolutionize hip-hop tradition. Storyboard built his reputation through a movement language he calls “mutation,” a style that blends street dance, mime, animation, illusion, and pure improvisation, inspired by the unpredictable, uncontainable energy of stop-motion animation.
His work has appeared everywhere from underground viral clips to collaborations with Erykah Badu, who took him under her wing when he fell severely ill during the pandemic, in part sparking this new chapter, as well as Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Usher, and most recently Drake’s “High Fives” and “Little Birdie” music videos, while earning recognition from institutions ranging from MTV to Harvard. Yet despite becoming one of the most influential and widely imitated movement artists of his generation, Storyboard P has always considered himself more than a dancer. Impossible to contain within any one discipline, he is embarking on a new mission to be known for his vast creative spirit, encompassing but never limited to writing, music, and design. With the first installment of a massive 4-disc studio album now out in the world, “I Be A Fool” sets the stage and reintroduces the Storyboard P that has been there all along.
Soulful, honeyed, quietly intoxicating, “I Be A Fool” drifts like wisps of smoke over a late-night scene, threaded through a timeless, shimmering groove that could only be penned by a true pioneer. Deep in the most prolific chapter of his career, the track came together at lightning speed, with Storyboard P writing and laying everything down in just about a half hour, a good sign that the studio may well be his forever home.
His evocative lyrics move through impressionistic, hazy vignettes, weaving the cosmic and the intimate in the same breath. Rather than rushing toward anything physical, two mysterious confidants are simply trying to get loose, reaching for something beyond. The narrator wants to talk, listen, and get inside someone’s mind and heart with no walls between them. “We don’t have to get undressed,” he offers, as nonchalantly as ever, “We can talk about our youth.” It opens the door to the kind of vulnerability most songs don’t slow down long enough to reach. For an artist whose work has always lived at the intersection of the tangible and the otherworldly, “I Be A Fool” shows that this formidable, ever-emerging creative force has found his voice at last.
Storyboard P’s debut music video even carries its own tale of renewal. Shot in a Newark warehouse in 2010, the footage originally accompanied a completely different song, becoming one of Storyboard P’s earliest breakthrough visual pieces and attracting millions of views long before the mainstream music world caught up to his artistry. Re-edited to match the rawness of “I Be A Fool,” Storyboard P makes this unassuming space entirely his own. A syringe poking out from his shoe, he glides silently, silkily, almost like an apparition, a phantom of Michael Jackson and Prince melded into one. It’s hard to tell when his feet are on the ground or hovering just above it. Every movement feels superhuman and nonhuman, confined and freeform all at once. There is no other word for it besides spellbinding. The energy culminates in a final, lingering shot, his hand reaching for the stars, pulsing, as if to pluck them from the sky and pull them down into his orbit, right where they belong.
How does “I Be A Fool” introduce fans to a different side of who you are as an artist?
It introduces fans to a different side of me because, for one, I’m singing. People are used to seeing me dancing. I did the writing, so it brings listeners into a side of me that only this can expose.
How did growing up in Brooklyn shape your creativity?
Growing up in Brooklyn was challenging and rough. It shaped me into who I am. It taught me to never give up. It taught me to stay resilient and how to carry weight n pressure. My creativity came from not having much and compensating for this.
Do you see any connection between the way you create movement and the way you make music?
There is a connection I make music how I dance when I flow over a track. No breaks, no resets
You’ve always done things your own way. How important has originality been to your journey?
Originality has always been important because it’s how I make my statement. I refuse to not be Original n do something less than that
What have you learned from working with artists like Erykah Badu, Drake, and Beyoncé?
I’ve learned that even tho you may work with big artists you still have to keep your original movement together because it’s how u arrived at that level, and you can’t lose yourself keeping up with their movements
The song focuses on real connection. What inspired that message?
It was how I was feeling for a while. So much surface-level interaction out there, and that I was receiving at the time. I wanted something deeper
Since the track came together so fast, did it feel different from your usual creative process?
It was different because it came to me like water and I usually spend long hours on my work, finalizing it and ironing out the kinks
• What memories come to mind when you watch that 2010 footage today?
How classic it was. Then and now. That’s why I used the footage to bring out a new song. When it’s timeless. It can be used whenever.
What can fans expect from the rest of the four-disc project?
The fans can expect loads of rhymes, some melodies, and harmony.
Anything you’d like to say to the hip-hop community that’s supported you over the years?
Well. Thank u for being patient with me. I’ve been in and out of the hospital lately. And I take 5 medicines, but I’m still working and plan on giving a beautiful layout of material so stay tuned
Follow Storyboard P
