Album Review: Jamila Woods - LEGACY! LEGACY!
While it cannot be said that Jamila Woods is an artist widely known to the general public, given all the tremendously adept work she has accomplished in multiple fields her lack of mainstream renown is quite unfortunate. Even ignoring her poetic history and activism work within Chicago (not achievements to be overlooked, certainly), her profile within the music world has been on a steady upward climb, both due to features on multiple Chance the Rapper projects and through the positive reception of her debut album, 2016's HEAVN. All the musical attention to come before, however, seems to be dwarfed by the excitement surrounding LEGACY! LEGACY!, and for good reason; her newest work is a triumph of neo-soul splendor, reveling in all that makes the genre great while simultaneously taking it to new heights. Even without its learned political edge, this would be an album worth celebrating, but that it demonstrates a maturity as deft as its musical allure is all the more impressive.
The songs which make up the record are all titled in reference, either directly or in a more subtle fashion, to a famous artist of colour whose life and work play into the lyrical themes of the track: soul singer Betty Davis, street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, poet and activist James Baldwin, and many more. It's astonishing how well Woods is able to personify such legendary figures, employing any and all tools at her disposal. While MILES, for example, has a noticeable jazz flavour in its instrumental, lines like "Don't call me a legend 'til I kick the bucket/Never could define me, so fuck it" and "I gave you the cool/I could do it in my sleep/Seven days out of the week" feel exactly at home in an homage to Miles Davis, one of the most forward-thinking and self-assured virtuosos to ever live. The electric guitar shredding on MUDDY is another inspiring tribute, with it and Woods' singing just as brusque yet talented as Muddy Waters in his heyday.
For as far-reaching as her messages often are across the record, Woods is just as emotive and affecting when she turns her lens inwards to more intimate matters, using the paragons embodied in her titles as poetic vehicles for admiration and precedent. It's clear from the beginning of EARTHA that the self-empowering feminism of Eartha Kitt is deeply important to Woods, and despite agonizing over relationship struggles ("I don't wanna compromise/Can we make it through the night?"), her attitude is ultimately one of laudable confidence: "Now I'm far too grown for your plot, for your palm/Will you root for me or will you leave?". Even more enthralled with the importance of self-worth is GIOVANNI, borrowing its refrain and themes from Nikki Giovanni's poem "Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)" and embodying the purest essence of hip-hop both in its breakbeat drumming and Woods' smooth, self-assured flow as she spits "I'm impressive, you can check my chart for reference/Moon- and sun-kissed, reverend blessed it".
As riveting as her words are throughout the album, every one of Woods' guests is at least as capable, their singing or rapping always a perfect complement to the music underscoring their contributions. The quiet fury on BASQUIAT, cultivated by energetic percussion and bass playing underneath Woods' declaration of "I'm a stovetop, baby/I smile in your face, but the oven's on high", boils over into white-hot rage when Saba spins a frustrated tale of media bias against artists of colour: "Want me dreadlocked and tatted faced/That's the story they'll gravitate". Similar injustice pervades through the synth-heavy SONIA, the relatively mellow piano melodies hiding the struggle of Woods to reconcile America's ignorance of the true horrors of slavery while Nitty Scott offers a more self-determining perspective, proclaiming "Never owe none, belong to no one/Now I only trust patterns, not apologies/First date questions, what's your ideologies?".
On the rare occasion when Woods is stretching too far outside her comfort zone, the results are perhaps not quite as stellar, certainly, yet somehow never feel too out of place. The album dabbles in a variety of subgenres and styles,and though most bend to Woods' will as her voice does an admirable job shifting between moods, the experimentation is not immaculate. The reprise of opening track BETTY which closes off the project is a particularly questionable decision, trading the original's three piano chords and slight trip-hop influence for an obnoxious Chicago house beat. From a lyrical perspective, the record's hooks are usually just as impeccable as its verses, with the possible exception of FRIDA and its vexing reliance on repetition, straining the enjoyment of what is already a sparse, unremarkable moment.
What makes LEGACY! LEGACY! so special is its masterful grasp of how to turn neo-soul on its head, adding in more mature and murky elements to the genre's emphasis on atmosphere to create a powerful experience that never skimps on the music yet delivers one of the most compelling sermons on black excellence ever recorded. That Jamila Woods has so clearly put so much of her soul and passion into every single song, however, is what makes it as captivating personally as it is politically, and her poetics are just as accomplished as the idols she pays tribute to throughout the record. In her desire to pen a heartfelt ode to each of the artists who have contributed to her own work, Woods has created something that is unmistakably hers, a celebration of black art to stand alongside everything it owes its existence to.
8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: GIOVANNI, MILES, BASQUIAT
https://open.spotify.com/album/5NzK7S7oQQnO8eLRf7kDJx