Rodney Hulsey, better known as PawPaw Rod, is the artist to add to your playlist if you’re a fan of Steve Lacey and Channel Tres. Perfectly curated music with influences from all over the world. No wonder, as he calls himself a “military brat,” meaning he moved around frequently during childhood. He has spoken a lot about how constantly relocating shaped his sound. His genre-bending music pulls from Motown, funk, neo-soul, indie rock, R&B and pop.

The Hawaiian-born singer released his new album Picture Day yesterday. The concept behind the album is pretty personal. Because he moved around so much as a child, school picture days became symbolic to him. He describes the album as a collection of emotional photographs documenting different moments in his life, capturing identity, memories and relationships.

Our favorite song on the album is ‘Give It To Me Straight’. All the above-mentioned genres blend beautifully together in the production. There’s however one more genre being explored at the forefront. The song has that old-school ska feeling to it. We couldn’t think of a better soundtrack for our weekend!