In her sophomore album LEGACY! LEGACY!, Jamila shows off her skills as poet, researcher, teacher, and rapper.

Jamila Woods garnered the attention of many after being featured on Chance the Rapper’s infectious track, “Sunday Candy”. Following this buzz, the Chicago native release her debut album 

 in 2017 and grounded herself as an R&B poet with promise.

In the past year, there have been several black artists who have written albums about the history and struggle of their ancestors and the struggle that still remains for black people today. However, few have created works so poignant and well informed as Jamila Woods. In her sophomore album 

, Jamila shows off her skills as poet, researcher, teacher, and rapper.

 is named after and pays tribute to trailblazers such as Miles & Betty Davis, Frida Kahlo, Zora Neale Hurston and Sun Ra. As Jamila channels these historic figures, she offers insight into her creative process which is both personal and deeply inspired.

Each legend functions as a muse for Woods to view herself in a way that is reflective of the past, while still looking forward. “I thought of it not so much as writing songs about these people, but thinking of the songs as self-portraits,” she told Pitchfork. “I was looking through the lenses of these different people, their work, things they said.”

In the album’s lead single “ZORA,” Jamila sings, “I’ve always been the only, every classroom, every home. Kiss of chocolate on the moon, collard greens and silver spoon.” The lyrics in “ZORA” borrow from the ideas of Zora Neale Hurston who wrote about what it felt like to be a colored person “thrown against a sharp white background.” Many of the motifs in 

 relate to feelings of alienation and the feeling of being othered. Yet, learning how to understand these feelings and move forward was something common among all of the tracks’ themes as well. Through their lessons, Jamila finds the strength to move forward.

The penultimate track “BALDWIN,” honors James Baldwin and brings the frustration and injustice of 

 to a more hopeful ending. Jamila sings “All my friends readin’ books you ain’t never read, We burnin’ brighter everyday.” She acknowledges the ignorance of others, but finds comfort in the bright future of her black peers.

“MUDDY” feels like the record’s climax, as Woods voices some of the anger that is phrased more eloquently and calmly in the tracks that preceded. The onset of the track begins with Jamila crying out, “Motherfuckers won’t shut up!” backed by a gritty guitar that separates the track from the rest. Standout feature, Saba, joins her for a powerful verse and in the call and response lyric, “Are you mad? Yes I’m mad!’. In “MUDDY” Jamila and Saba express their own anger, as well as the anger of her ancestors.

Betty Davis serves as the inspiration for the album’s bookend tracks: the opening track “BETTY” and the closing track “BETTY (For Boogie).” Both tracks feature the exact same lyrics and vocals from Ms. Woods, but differences in production and instrumentation give the two track different vibes. The opening track is rather speculative, while the uptempo “BETTY (For Boogie)” closes out the album with high spirits.

 is an extremely impressive flex of Jamila’s talents in terms of musicality, intellect, and activism. Every song is like a golden nugget, full of history and profound lyrics worth analyzing. Even when the references throughout the album are indirect, they feel well-informed and grounded in her deep love for history and activism. In her debut, 

, Jamila sang, “Black girl live in a bubble.” In 

, she finds strength from her predecessors to burst through that bubble.

On ‘LEGACY! LEGACY!,’ Jamila Woods is at her best

 functions as a means for Tyler to express feelings that he isn’t completely comfortable owning up to himself.

“DON’T GO INTO THIS EXPECTING A RAP ALBUM. DON’T GO INTO THIS EXPECTING ANY ALBUM. JUST GO, JUMP IN,” is the 

 that Tyler, the Creator posted the night before releasing his latest album, 

In his sixth studio album, Tyler, the Creator offers his most personal work to date. 

 successfully combines Tyler’s skill for abstract, non-traditional music making techniques with a very direct and easy-to-follow story arch. 

 details Tyler’s falling in and out of love – a piece of his life that he has adamantly kept private in the past.

The album opens with the N.E.R.D inspired “IGOR’S THEME” which establishes the idea that while this album is autobiographical, it is about a character that Tyler has created as a vehicle for his thoughts. Perhaps IGOR functions as a means for Tyler to express feelings that he isn’t completely comfortable owning up to himself. Elements of flamboyance like a blonde bob wig seen in teasers and the music video for “

” and the bright pink color palette seem symbolic of the character (IGOR) that Tyler has created to portray his love for another man.

Part of what has always made Tyler and his music so interesting is the element of mystery and unknown, similar to artists like Frank Ocean or Adele. It seems like Tyler is being pretty candid on 

, but so little is known about his personal life that his music still feels somewhat abstract. Its interesting to note that 

has been received with overall positive reviews, yet with most media outlets completely ignoring or overlooking Tyler’s direct references to a man.

In “I THINK” he (yet again) makes reference to his affinity for Timothee Chalamet saying, “Man, I wish you would call me, By your name ’cause I’m sorry”. While he has made references to gay or bisexual tendencies on previous records, it is not until now that he does so in such a clear way. If he was ever uncomfortable confronting his sexual preferences publically, then doing so on IGOR was a wise choice because the music steals the spotlight and speaks for itself.

In the same post where Tyler tried to rid listeners all expectations, he told fans “All songs written, produced, and arranged by Tyler Okonma.” Still, the renaissance man received helping hands from several of his longtime collaborators. Solange offers background vocals on several of the album’s tracks including “A BOY IS A GUN,” “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” and the standout track “I THINK.” Other notable features include Kanye West on “PUPPET,” Playboi Carti on “EARFQUAKE” and Santigold on “NEW MAGIC WAND.”

Overall, Tyler successfully uses mood to narrate the story of a forgone relationship. His meticulous production and arranging skills, paired with a clear storyline make IGOR an album that is both impressive and cohesive. If you’ve ever experienced the journey of love and loss, listening to this 39-minute album straight through will undoubtedly bring you right back into your feels.

Tyler, The Creator’s ‘IGOR’ is a 21st century masterpiece

An impressive debut from Gus and a good indicator of what we might expect from him in the future.

Just one look at twenty one year-old Gus Dapperton, and you’ll understand why many critics have referred to his aesthetic and style as idiosyncratic. His green bowl cut, eyeshadow, painted nails, and wardrobe inspired by the 80’s and 90’s feel well-represented in his debut full-length album, 

, listeners might misinterpret the album as one about polysexual people or Gus’ own coming out as polysexual. But it actually derives from a term he invented, “Polly people, poly as in ‘many,’” he said in an interview.

The album, which was written, produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely by Gus himself, draws inspiration from the color palette of his childhood– the colors of the clothes and various hair styles. His approach to songwriting stems from a desire to create songs that pair well with visuals. In an interview with 

, Gus explained the impact his childhood had on his music, saying, “I’m inspired by the sounds and the colors and the looks of my childhood. I had a bowl cut when I was a toddler and I have one now. And I’m also inspired by what I grew up listening to in my house, like ‘60s rock, ‘80s new wave, and R&B,”

The accompanying video for the album’s lead single, “

” is a clear depiction of this color palette — full of pastel purples, pinks, and blues and font that looks like a tribute to the theme of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

is impressively cohesive. Dapperton distinguishes himself from other bedroom/indie pop acts through his unique vocal performance. In 

, Dapperton’s vocals seem tame and somewhat average at the onset, but quickly unravel, showing listeners the slight growl that makes Gus’s music interesting. This vocal effect shines in “World Class Cinema” which sets a mood of teenage reminiscence with the lyric “I feel like I’m famous every time we’re alone”. His growl is equal parts intriguing and jarring, but effectively enhances the moody subject material that is often subdued or lost in the soft rock grooves that make up the album.

Dapperton’s ability to achieve a sonic consistency throughout the album is a confirmation of his talents in light of any criticism he may have faced after dropping out of a music program at Drexel University. In a profile in the 

, Gus explained “I couldn’t tell you what a note is — I can’t read music — but I can play the stuff if I hear it. I guess I like to learn by doing.” Evidently, he’s doing just fine with his self-taught process and Roland TR-626 drum machine which is ever-present throughout the entire record.

 is an impressive debut from Gus and a good indicator of what we might expect from him in the future. If the bedroom pop elements of 

 are tied to the angst of Gus’ early twenties, perhaps we can expect to hear even more of his rock influences and growl emerge in later records.

Gus Dapperton releases full-length debut

, Solange began dropping hints that a new album was on the way. Two days later, as Black History Month was coming to a close, 

appeared. While the Knowles sisters are no strangers to surprise album drops, Solange took it to a new level, deploying her latest album rollout by taking over the homepage of BlackPlanet, the black social networking community that was launched in 1999.

Her BlackPlanet page contained images, GIFS, and cryptics text interpreted best as lyrics from the songbird herself. Her use of BlackPlanet was fitting as both 

address themes of black identity, self-realization, and recollections of home. On both albums, Solange uniquely showcases the cities that have played pivotal roles in her life: New Orleans and Houston.

As the follow up to her 2012 new wave dance EP 

seemed to abandon traditional elements of song and lyric structure. This abandonment seems to ring even louder on 

. Through repetition, Solange meditates on themes related to her hometown of Houston. In “Things I Imagined,” the album’s opening track, Solange introduces the album as a recollection of home: both real and imagined. She repeats the phrase “I saw things I imagined” at different intervals and with different vocal inflections that sound almost like the singer’s internal dialogue or stream of consciousness.

 does not credit any featured artists, but many helping hands contributed to the project, including John Carroll Kirby, Pharrell, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Dev Hynes, The-Dream, Sampha and Cassie to name a few. Standout tracks include the heavily Pharrell-influenced “Almeda” and “Sound of Rain” which incorporate Pharrell’s bouncy and futuristic production, as well as his signature four-count intro.

Solange’s decision to omit the names of featured artists on the track listing can be seen best as her desire to distance herself from the work to give it a larger meaning. Following the release of her previous album, which was deeply personal, Solange told 

, “I realize how much wider, figuratively and literally, my work could be if I took myself away as subject.” With less of an emphasis on herself, she provides listeners with a lens of H-town through her use of samples and interludes from locals that are woven throughout the project.

While the album can at times be difficult to piece together or understand as a larger work, Solange offers us a second lens through the album’s 33-minute accompanying film co-directed by Terence Nance, 

The film enhances the album’s Houston inspired chopped ‘n’ screwed style with slow and dreamy visuals of cowboys, dirt roads, and snakeskin boots.

 and provides listeners with yet another thoughtful narrative from the R&B singer, but this time, in a way that feel less restrained, and much freer.

Tyler Beresford