It’s Tuesday morning at the local coffee shop where I’m supposed to meet Ekoh, the prolific local rapper. But right now, I can only see Jeff Thompson—and the exhilarated expression on his face as a pony-sized English mastiff wanders out of the restroom.
“Don’t worry,” the dog’s owner says, “he doesn’t bite.” The comment is directed more to me than Thompson, who’s already doubled over, petting the muscular dog without concern. “He looks like the dog from The Sandlot—‘The Beast,’” Thompson says, referring to the 1993 film about baseball-playing kids and their massive canine nemesis.
This is Thompson as most folks don’t experience him, enjoying a simple moment before his life as Ekoh beckons him back. It’s something the rapper admits he hasn’t done much lately, even since releasing latest LP The D3tour on July 20.
Still, “it’s a relief to have it out,” he says. “With the last album, I was figuring a lot of stuff out. With this album, I feel like I arrived at a place where I’ve been heading the whole time. [Fans] see the growth, sonically, and the different things that I’ve tried out and really coming into my own.”
The D3Tour finds Ekoh making some dramatic new turns. He strays from his signature rapid-fire to sing on “Dream Eater” and “I’m Not Alright,” and he introduces more modern production on bangers like “Whatdoyoudo?” and “The Edge.” Thompson credits the growth to a supportive engineer—and to his own current music rotation. “If my sound starts to change, it’s because my tastes start to change,” he says. “It’s not that I’m trying to do sh*t that’s not me.”
The song “Suicide Squad” is Ekoh’s love letter to the DC Universe, while “Firefly” touches on self-doubt and burnout. “It’s about the pressure of only being as good as the last thing you wrote [and] falling out of love with music because it’s your job,” he explains. “During the pandemic, it was worse, because I didn’t get to interact with the people. I didn’t get to see you. [But] at least I can be on this side of it, and I can remember what it’s like, and I know that feeling and that connection and the love of the music.”
The rapper reignited his relationship with fans last month in Colorado Springs, where he played his first show in more than a year. “It just felt validating, emotionally validating. Like they’re still here; they still care.”
That led to a new commitment on his part. “I’m gonna take time with every single person. You see me at a show and you want to talk? We’re talking.” And if a fan tells him his music changed their life? “They’re crying, I’m crying,” he says.
Ekoh’s next opportunity to make those connections comes August 8, when he’ll kick off his first-ever U.S. headlining tour at Virgin Hotels’ 24 Oxford, formerly home to Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel days. “I was like, we’re either playing there or I’m not playing,” he says, referring to the room as his favorite Vegas venue.
As we sip our drinks, Ekoh’s mind is clearly racing, as potential new song topics float by. “There is no off time. Anything could be content,” he says. “That dog could be content.”
The cycle never stops. That’s just the nature of The Beast.
EKOH August 8, 7 p.m., $16-$37. 24 Oxford, 702-693-5000. linktr.ee/ekohmusic.
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