Some people are too quick to assume that hip-hop, soul, and blues music are easily intertwined. All three forms, of course, were born within the black struggle. But trying to combine all of those genres in one group sound is a difficult assignment. An artist would be better off merging hip-hop and soul or soul and blues, but all three?  Seattle's Black Stax is making an honest go of it.

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The talented three-piece group is comprised of soulful vocalist/actor Felicia Loud (who most recently starred in Strawberry Theater Workshop's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill)  and rappers Silas Black and Jace ECAj of Silent Lambs Project. Their sound is one that's rooted in the blues, but when Silas and Jace combine their gritty lyricism over Loud's singing and the trumpet playing of stand-in member Owuar Arunga, they create a sonic texture unlike any other group in the region.



They've hovered around each other for years in Seattle's urban music scene as fans of one another, but it was roughly a year ago that they decided to unite as a group. After playing a handful of key shows around town at venues like Electric Tea Garden and The Rendezvouz, Black Stax are preparing to release an album this summer—expectations are daunting— called Talking Buildings due out May 18.

"For Seattleites," Loud say, "they’re really going to expect us to come with it. So that was our focus, writing the music and getting to know each other. The focus had to become, how do we become a better machine as opposed to just putting out music and playing lots of shows."

Based on the route they chose and the songs they've created, their formula is working. It's thinking man's hip-hop on one hand yet soul-stirring and ragged  like the music of their namesake, famous '60s label, Stax Records. The album's first lead single, "I Love My Life," is the best, and although you won't hear Silas and Black rapping on it, you can certainly hear the essence of what Black Stax is all about.

Black Stax hosts their album listening party tonight at Pun(c)tuation (705 A, E. Pike St.) with a live performance from the group starting around 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.