BRONZEVILLE — Vocalist and songwriter Sir the Baptist kicked off day two of the "Aahh Fest!" Sunday with a performance so energized, he ended up jumping off the stage and into the audience.
"Aahh Fest is dope," the Bronzeville-born performer said.
He said he loves performing in his hometown because there's "so much work that needs to be done," referring to the conscious message his lyrics carry.
The two-day music festival was created by hip-hop artist and South Side native Common in 2014. This year, J. Cole headlined the second day of the fest at Union Park on the Near West Side. Performers included South Side native Jeremih, the Roots, Ice Cube, Bilal and more. R Kelly was a special guest performer.
Sir — whose real name is William James Stokes— has said in the past that he's "not anti-God," but "anti-religion." His music combines soul, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, doo-wop, pop, and gospel. On Sunday afternoon, his backup singers performed with the passion of a fired-up gospel choir.
In one song, "Raise Hell," he raps: "Born a sinner and I’m bout to sin again tonight / You gonna have to forgive me ... / I'mma raise hell until I reach heaven’s door."
The video includes footage from protests around the country, including poignant scenes from protests in Baltimore of Freddie Gray's death. In other scenes he appears to be in a church and his eyes at times appear to indicate he is possessed.
"I done been to the water / I done been baptized," he sings. "Now I need a new water / Sipping on that new wine / I know what's best for me sorta / I want heaven when I die but / There's this one thing that I can’t seem to change."
Sir just released a new song featuring Donald Lawrence titled "What We Got." He also got to work with Nate Parker on the much buzzed-about “Birth Of A Nation” film soundtrack. He's working on his full-length debut project, “PK: PREACHER’S KID,” which will come out later this fall.
Sir said he wants his listeners to really pay attention to his lyrics.
"They need to get the songs and understand the meaning behind them, and I take time to do that," he said.
After he leaves a stage, Sir said he hopes the audience feels enlightened.
He grew up a preacher's kid, but as an adult he rebels against the structure of religion. Sir, who's signed with Atlantic Records, said he loves music, but it's more of a "hobby."
His interests are more in organizing anti-violence public demonstrations in his home city, black economics and social injustice. He said he wants to help the community he grew up in and use his platform “for a greater good."
"My purpose in life is something bigger," he said. "My purpose in life is to feed people, and they seemed like they responded well."
Most of the summer he has been on his "Follow the Robe Tour" which has put him on stage at Chicago's Manifest, Lollapalooza, Brooklyn's Afropunk Festival, Atlanta's Shaky Beats Festival and Houston's Free Press Summer Fest.
At Lollapalooza, Sir climbed out of a casket and began performing on a church pew, while addressing issues in Chicago, as well as nationwide.
Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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