Throughout his dense, lyrical albums, he ruminates on the role of the storytellers in understanding the past, interpreting the present and making the future. At the same time, he takes on the aura of a myth, rapping verses that mix metaphor and concreteness over languid, jazz beats. A word-loving, chess-playing, spiritual poet on a journey, dropping verses on his way.

Like any traveller, he has many names. He had his first success as Milo—when producing and rapping on lo-fi tracks as Scallops Hotel. He goes by other names too (the wise owl, himself; black Orpheus; Flows-A-Million) and has collaborated under more (Nostrum Grocers; Ruby Yacht). As with many of the best travellers’ tales, his story features a return to his home state Maine, and a new start in 2019, releasing some of his best music yet under his real name, R.A.P. (Rory Allen Philip) Ferreira.