Traversing The Map

The Soul Rebels trombonist Corey “Passport P” Peyton raps with global ambition.

- Amanda Mester

“I ’m looking at life through a wider frame,” Corey “Passport P” Peyton says in the intro track of his new solo rap project, Global Ambition. It’s a reflection of the broadened horizons resulting from a career largely built on the road. The 30-year-old New Orleans East native has crisscrossed most continents, first as a trombonist in Hot 8 Brass Band and now as one of the newest members of the Soul Rebels, whose current résumé boasts collaborations with hip-hop giants like Rakim, Nas, DMX and more.

“When I first started going overseas, it broadened my view a lot. And that’s what my new project is about—looking at things from a different perspective, because I understand how fortunate I am to have traveled to all these places.”

But even before informing that expanded perspective, his travels quite literally assigned him his identity. “The name ‘Passport P’ came from me losing my passport while on the road. I was with Hot 8 at the time. It was a joke at first, because I was just getting high and losing my passports. I lost it in London once. A bunch of times I had to get a new one expedited. I came back home one day and got on Facebook and changed my name to Passport P to remind myself about my passport issues. Then... it stuck, and people started calling me that in public. To this day, some people come to a Soul Rebels show and call me Passport P. And I haven’t lost my passport in a while [laughs].”