Kassa Overall is a drummer, producer, rapper and singer. His wide-ranging talents allow him to play in a variety of settings, including hip-hop, indie rock, and avant-garde settings. Although percussion is his primary focus, Overall also has a passion to electronic-based production. He often uses samplers and laptops in his music. After his first appearance in New York as a sideman, Overall became a solo artist and released mixtapes as well as his 2019 debut, “Go Get Ice Cream and Jazz”.
Overall was born in Seattle, Washington in 1980. He grew up listening to jazz, world music and hip-hop. Larry Jones, a well-known Seattle drummer, taught him early and he was already performing gigs by his teens. He continued his education in high school and earned his Oberlin undergraduate music degree. During this time, he was able to gain valuable mentorship from luminaries such as Billy Hart, Michael Rosen. Elvin Jones. Billy Higgins. He moved to New York City after graduating and began performing with a number of musicians, including Vijay Iyer and Donald Byrd. He was also a member of pianist Geri Alley’s Timeline band for several years and continues to work with Theo Croker’s group. Overall is a producer and rapper who has worked with Brooklyn’s hip-hop group Das Racist. He also joined the duo Kool & Kass, which includes former Das Racist member Kool A.D. and DJs on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s house band Jon Batiste & Keep Human. Overall is a solo performer and has released several well-received mixtapes and singles including “Cauliflower”, “Naked Light” and “Cussing at the Strip”. Overall’s full-length debut album, Go Get Ice Cream & Listen to Jazz was released in 2019. It featured guest performances by Arto Lindsay and Julia Chen as well as Theo Croker. His second album, I Think I’m Good, was released in 2020. It featured a variety of guest performers including Vijay Iyer, Aaron Parks, Sullivan Fortner and Aaron Parks.
