ROAR TAYLOR | INTERVIEW + TRACK REVIEW

Some artists chase the room. roar taylor would rather earn it. The Chicago writer builds songs the way a poet builds a case, word by word, line by line, until the meaning arrives on its own terms. There is no shouting for attention here, no trend to ride. What you get instead is a lyricist who treats language as the whole point, someone who names Stevie Wonder, Lupe, André 3000 and Black Thought not as flexes but as a lineage he is trying to write his way into.

His upcoming EP while mortals sleep takes its title from a quiet provocation, the idea that most people move through the world half awake, connected to their own tasks and blind to everyone else's. roar is paying attention to the things the rest of us walk past. In the interview below he talks about what great writing owes a listener, the belief he held at eighteen that his pen has since dismantled, and the line he wrote that felt less invented than discovered.

TRACK REVIEW - "ooh wee"

Some songs don't ask for your attention. They earn it within seconds. All That Matters (Ode To) is one of those tracks.

A beautifully textured opening sample drenched in delay and echo immediately creates a sense of space, before a laid-back hip-hop groove and warm, soulful keys settle beneath it. It's the kind of introduction that invites you to lean in, quietly promising that what follows genuinely matters.

When Roar Taylor's vocals arrive, that promise is fulfilled. His delivery feels remarkably honest, stripping away any sense of performance in favour of genuine expression. Every line carries emotional weight without becoming melodramatic, allowing vulnerability to speak for itself. This isn't someone trying to impress the listener. It's someone opening a page from their own journal and trusting you'll understand.

One of the track's biggest strengths is the way Roar Taylor constantly reshapes his flow. Melodic passages effortlessly give way to tighter rhythmic cadences before easing back again, creating a natural push and pull that keeps the listener completely engaged. His confidence never overshadows the emotion. Instead, the changing vocal rhythms become another storytelling tool, mirroring the highs and lows woven throughout the lyrics.

The production deserves equal praise. The shimmering keys, spacious delays and restrained beat leave plenty of room for the songwriting to breathe. Every element serves the emotion rather than competing with it, resulting in a mix that feels polished while remaining deeply personal.

You talk about writing as if it's a responsibility rather than a talent. What do you think great lyricists owe their listeners?

I believe a lyricist owes their listener an experience. The lyricist should take the listener on a journey, with a vivid narrative that paints a picture and colorful, descriptive language that showcases the lyricists' viewpoint.

Most artists are trying to be heard. Your music feels more like it's trying to be understood. Was that a conscious decision?

Yes, my musical choice was to provide material that engages the listener thought processes. To give them a frame of reference and allow them to connect the dots. Hopefully they glean a few, "aha!" moments during subsequent listens.

If I took away the beat, the melody, the production and left only the words on a page, what would still remain of roar taylor?

The essence is there on the page. The words are poetic and convey complete messages. If you follow along closely, you can find melody in the words, much like the interpretations of the Odyssey centuries later.

You've cited Stevie Wonder, Lupe, André 3000 and Black Thought as influences. What do they all understand about language that most artists don't?

These men are elite storytellers and have contributed to the conscious of the culture. They have had mainstream success but their work is complex and the technical merits of their abilities are numerous in nature. The poetic commentary they have provided is astronomical and their music gains replay value.

What's a belief you held at 18 that your writing has completely challenged or dismantled?

At 18, I simply believed I knew all there was to know about the world. I was grown in my eyes but my writing has challenged that thought process simply by providing the nuance that life experience gives us all through time.

The best lyricists often notice things other people walk past. What's something you've been paying attention to lately that nobody else seems to be talking about?

The thing i have noticed is the causation of events, places and things. The dots people fail to connect or simply ignore when attempting to sequence events, understand how places came to exist and things that seem out of place but are almost certainly guaranteed to be explained in a manner which will satisfy most.

When you're writing, are you trying to find answers, or are you trying to ask better questions?

When I sit down to write, I set out to explain, to the best of my knowledge, happenstance around me but there are certainly questions raised with some answers.

Your upcoming EP is called while mortals sleep. What do you think people are asleep to right now?

The sleep that I describe is the general disregard for others. For instance, an Uber driver who blocks off traffic is not doing so maliciously, that particular driver is only focused on his task while inadvertently preventing others from completing theirs. It seems as if people are only concerned with things that affect them directly, which speaks to the sleep in the title.

Is there a line you've written that felt less like something you created and more like something you discovered?

One line that comes to mind is from my song, "ooh wee," it goes as follows.. "you a Tom, game was won when Rose knee went.." It describes an event, Derrick Rose tearing his ACL when the team seemingly had the victory in hand. Figuratively, it details a person wasting energy on a futile task. That line was very much a discovery.

Imagine someone finds your music 50 years from now with no context about who you were. What's the one thing you'd hope they learn about you from your lyrics alone?

My ambition resides in the listeners ability to embrace the wordplay. The context may not matter very much but the delivery and lyrics will embody a time but not be dated in its subject matter.

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