To keep things Moving Forward, rapper writes musical

"Well. How can I tell you this without giving you everything?"

That's Little Rock hip-hop musician Bobby Tillman, also known as itsjusbobby, describing Moving Forward, his new -- and first -- musical, which debuts Friday at the Ron Robinson Theater.

Themes of communication, physical and social discomfort, individuality, racism, religion and finding a place to fit in all play a part in the production, which features a cast of eight people, including Tillman, and live instrumentation. And instead of specific characters, it focuses more on ideas and concepts.

"The old rules almost don't apply anymore," he says of the musical's inspiration. "Racism is not a secret anymore. People are actually discussing it. Religion is being discussed out loud. People are willing to have these uncomfortable conversations they should have had a long time ago. Moving Forward is about us going through that transition."

Tillman, 32, has four solo records to his credit and has appeared with his brother, the prolific rapper Adrian "607" Tillman, in the duo Ear Fear. He also has had a hand in the recording collective LabRatz.

The musical came about in part as a result of his new album, also titled Moving Forward, which will be released in the next few months at itsjusbobby.com, where many of Tillman's earlier recordings can be heard.

A new solo project is all fine and well, but the idea of having a typical rap show to celebrate the album's release wasn't too inspiring, and Tillman started thinking of other avenues that would attract a more diverse crowd.

"I thought, maybe I can put together a musical, so I started talking to people and it started coming together," he says.

The writing process for Moving Forward was grueling, with Tillman plowing through multiple rewrites -- 17 in all -- before he was happy.

"I was originally just going to talk about myself. It was all going to be about me," he says, adding with a sarcastic laugh, "like I'm that interesting. But once I started writing, it was crazy emotional. Having to deal with memories from the past and things my family went through."

Weekend on 03/23/2017