Inspired by chapters from The Alchemist author Paulo Coelho’s lesser known book, Manuscript Found In Accra, “Solitude” extols the benefits of time spent with oneself. With rapid fire bars over a stripped down raw instrumental, driven by live drums and upright bass, emcee’s JSWISS and Dizzy SenZe trade verses over composer Michael Leonhart’s gritty production. This early effort from Michael Leonhart & JSWISS as a duo is what led to their full length Bona Fide album, released in 2022.

Dizzy SenZe has carved out a strong presence as a respected lyricist in New York City’s freestyle and cypher scene with strong showings at popular emcee challenges like End of The Weak. While JSWISS and Dizzy have known each other for a few years prior to this collab, “Solitude” is their first time appearing together on a song.

“Solitude” features Homer Steinweiss (Amy Winehouse, Menahan Street Band, El Michels Affair, The Dap-Kings) on drums and bassist Joe Martin (Donald Fagen, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel)—who was in the mix for JSWISS’ first performances with the Michael Leonhart Orchestra at Jazz Standard in 2019. The undeniable chemistry between Leonhart and JSWISS during these live shows inspired them to start writing and recording new music.