The last time we heard from Kokayi, he and fellow D.C. natives Tabi Bonney and Alison Carney had written, recorded, and performed “Higher Stars” in one day. This time, Kokayi goes at it alone on “RoxTar,” a genre-blending, mind-splitting, pop-rock fusion that pays homage to his favorite rock bands, and dispels any myth that black people can’t resonate over electric guitars.

“Why do I have to be a black rocker?” Kokayi asks in an interview. “Why can’t I just be a rock star? We don’t get a chance to just be us. I don’t stick myself in one category.”

“RoxTar,” the first single from Kokayi’s forthcoming Robots & Dinosaurs album, is an energetic electro-punk song with an impressive guitar solo from Stan Cooper and Kokayi’s masterful cadence and word play. He salutes D.C. bands Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Bad Brains, not to mention Anthrax, Megadeth, and Stone Temple Pilots, among  other acts. “Puffin’ on the Sevendust ’til I’m long in the tooth/I ain’t Fugazi bitches, listen I am the truth,” Kokayi raps.

If “RoxTar” is a preview of Kokayi’s upcoming material, then Robots & Dinosaurs is a must-have when it drops. Either way, expect the unexpected.

Download “RoxTar” here.