At only 21 years old bassist, Kenneth “Gizmo” Rodgers has a resume musicians twice his age would kill for. He’s worked with Lalah Hathaway, Bilal, Talib Kweli and Meshell Ndegeocello—who he counts as a friend.

His upcoming 13-track debut album, Red Balloon, is described a veritable “labor of love” recorded over the course of three years in Boston between gigs and school (he attends Berklee College of Music)

“When you see a little kid let a balloon go at a carnival, everybody kind of looks up at it as it floats away, the balloon seems to float around, trying to find its way. I feel like that’s how most people are. We’re all trying to figure out who we are, what we want to do, and what we stand for—all striving to be special, loved, or valued in some kind of way. But if the pressure gets too high, it pops at some point.”

The project’s latest single, “Lift Me Up” features Washington D.C. based vocalist, Nick Hakim which musically questions what happens after we leave the earth.

Red Balloon will be out later this year.

TAGS: Berklee College of Music, Bilal, Jazz, Kenneth “Gizmo” Rodgers, Lalah Hathaway, Me'shell N'Degeocello, Nick Hakim, Talib Kweli