Photo Credit: Jorge Olazaba
Bay Area collective Peach Tree Rascals make music that meets at the junction of alt-jazz, funk, hip-hop, and R&B. Their DIY approach of integrating multiple genres has given the group crossover appeal, which humbly began in 2018 in their hometown of San Jose, California. Since the release of the debut single “Glide,” the group has released 8 more singles accumulating in over 10 million streams to date.
Today, the group shares “Mariposa” (translation: butterfly in Spanish), their third single of the year born from rapper Joseph Barros’ penchant for playing guitar. From the melodies to lyrics, Barros cultivated the framework from “Mariposa” in one day. After sharing with the other guys, “Mariposa” blossomed into a humanistic story about growth and acceptance. “Mariposa” is about shedding your skin, flawed and all, and like a caterpillar, amending into the being you were meant to be.Accompanying the single is a music video shot in various spots around Yosemite, a location that’s become a spiritual second home for Peach Tree Rascals. The clip consists of composite shots from dusk to dawn drawing from the kaleidoscope colors of nature.
Of the “Mariposa” music video Peach Tree Rascals says:
“Mariposa’ literally means butterfly, and represents improving and growing as a human. Butterflies grow into themselves and their beauty, regardless of any flaws that come up along the way. Yosemite plays a big role in our creative muse. We often do trips up there to write and think of video concepts. The name originally came from Mariposa Grove in Yosemite. Seemed like a no brainer to name the song after one of our favorite places on the planet.”
“Mariposa” follows the release of their single + music video “Summa,” an upbeat, carefree bop capturing the freedom of summer and chaos of disenchanted youth. The track garnered strong praise from Billboard, The Line of Best Fit, This Song Is Sick, ELEVATOR, Ones To Watch, and more.
Peach Tree Rascals is comprised of producer/mixer Dominic “Dom” Pizano, rappers-singers Issac Pech, Tarrek Abdel-Khaliq, Joseph Barros, and creative director Jorge Olazaba. The five-piece collective first met in high school in the Bay Area.
Issac, a solo rapper at the time, wanted to expand his horizons and started collaborating with Tarrek, Dom and Joseph. Jorge rounds out the group, taking the lead on photos and music videos that help amplify Peach Tree Rascals’ cross-genre appeal.
Many of the Rascals are second generation Americans with parents who immigrated from Mexico, Philippines, and Palestine. That immigrant mentality comes through in the way they approach the project and their work ethic. For the guys, Peach Tree Rascals is their extended family, and they’ve self-funded the project through various jobs including working at Red Lobster and their local print shop.
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