premiere: future-funk quintet on high resurrect the 1970s with their vibrant single “jailbird’s theme”

The first thing you need to know about On High is that the pair is virtuosic, back-breaking creatives who came together to give birth to a vibrant debut project, “Never Die” and it’s first single ‘Jailbird’s Theme’. A straight-forward cry of resistance, determination, and electricity, Kareem Bunton and Konstance Patton unfurl a heady mix of jazz, funk, and EDM with razor-sharp lyricism, courtesy of writer Bunton who paints shimmery visuals over lush soundscapes that defy the boundaries of genre. A treat for both old-school R&B heads longing for the days of Curtis Mayfield to the eclectic funk junkies of the SoundCloud era, On High’s latest single “Jailbirds Theme” has got something for everybody.

“‘Jailbird’s Theme’ is such a familiar story that I probably shouldn’t take credit for writing it. Every black family has a son, brother, or father who was taken from them by the streets and prison industry,” says Kareem Bunton. “Burdened with harsh charges for relatively minor crimes there are generations of black men who are stuck in a hellish limbo. Stunted, ostracized, and rejected with no avenue for redemption. Jailbird’s Theme is a song about the path from preschool to prison that so many are destined to walk unless things change in America.”