Evaluation | Sa-Roc Shines at Santa Barbara’s SOhO

Sa-Roc, also called Assata Perkins, graced SOhO Restaurant and Music Membership on August 24 along with her magnetic stage presence, ceaseless smile, and seemingly boundless power — even ending the evening with a brand new track.

However, past her spectacular stage presence, Sa-Roc’s lyrical composition equally shined. Woven into her tracks are a myriad of non-public anecdotes she rigorously crafts into eloquent lyrics delivered with ardour. She maintains an simply recognizable but authentic sound by way of groovy melodies and dynamic beats.

Sa-Roc crafted an all-encompassing efficiency by way of seamless transitions the place she delved into varied personally vital topics that parallel her songs, essentially the most distinguished being authenticity, transformation, vulnerability, and self-love.

Sa-Roc first paused her efficiency to debate authenticity. She pressured the significance of being unapologetically oneself. To that, she sang “Without end,” a tribute to authenticity and a high observe on her album The Sharecropper’s Daughter. Although every observe is impressed by her personal life, she inspired the viewers to attract upon their particular person experiences, fostering an atmosphere the place everybody comes collectively by way of their shared struggles moderately than being divided by them. “Unapologetically vow tonight to be you and solely you,” she exclaimed to the gang.

As one observe reworked to the subsequent, transformation itself turned a paramount theme.

She invited the viewers to lean into change. For the theme of transformation, she sang “MetaMorpheus,” — a 2016 observe from her MetaMorpheus EP, highlighting the great thing about change  — stressing that one’s potential is boundless.

Within the final a part of the live performance, Sar-Roc spoke in opposition to “hustle tradition,” which is an concept that helps overworking as the one path to success. As a substitute, she known as on the viewers to stay within the second and never give in to the hustle tradition usually perpetuated by a sure subset of profitable folks. To that, she sang a brand new track, “Tender Life,” an ode to comfortable dwelling.

Closing out the evening,  Sa-Roc spotlighted self-love. Her 2018 single “Goddess Gang” — a tribute to ladies — completely segued the viewers into this message. By means of her self-love speech, Sa-Roc championed confidence among the many total viewers. Her inclusivity left no fan out.

Conserving the theme of self-love alive, she sang “Without end” for a second time and curtained the evening with a shifting testomony. She wore a smile, fanned herself, and requested the viewers to repeat the phrases “I really like myself.” We fortunately obliged.