A rich, complex and brilliant release about black history, identity, and channelling the idea of ancestry by British singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist joined by a stellar cast of fellow artists, including Wesley Joseph, Tom Skinner, ESKA and Grace Jones. A supremely produced mixture of hip hop, jazz, funk, trip hop, reggae, funk, gospel, and various African traditions, with many flavours that echo at times The Lost Poets to Gil Scott-Heron and beyond. In the stirring, chilling opening track, Two Things, we hear the Grace Jones reading from the diary of a slave owner, and opens up the sgtory of Priscilla, links the story of a girl who was captured on the west coast of Africa and sold as a slave in South Carolina in 1756. This, and the next, 7 Generations, set the tone and overall theme. The punchy and powerful Blood Ah Go Run, a former Song of the Day, is another standout, featuring reports from the New Cross fire of 1981 in which 13 young black people died, in which a racist firebomb attack was suspected. The album moves between settings, paces and styles, from the atmospheric classical strings of Streets to the narration and poetry of My Negritude, Prison, to the jazz poetry of Scenes (with Kwabs and Anthony Joseph) to Black Firework. Another huge standout is the dark, Prince-like funk of Amnesia. Full of profound lines and important perspectives, all the way to final track A Paradise, this is very impressive, passionate piece of work, mixing the personal and historical with a hugely talented team of musicians. Arranged in four chapters that scan through the album with film, some particular song highlights are also shown below below. Out on Transgressive Records.
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