Why do I wish I’d discovered Rapsody’s album earlier?

Because it is brilliant!

The album opens with Aretha Franklin singing “To be young, gifted and black”; these words encompassing everything that Rapsody is and what she shows on this album. The use of Aretha’s sample, the church-inspired chords infused with a heavy but bop-like drum line, ultimately set a positive tone for the rest of the album. After the first 25 seconds of Laila’s Wisdom, I thought to myself “Yup, this is going to be good. Why did it take me so long to listen to it?!”. 

The North Carolina Native uses 14 tracks to explore her own identity and also looks into politics, race, love and blackness. Despite exploring heavier and thought-provoking topics, Rapsody keeps it light and humorous on the two-step vibe track, Pay Up. The song offers an interesting perspective on what we consider “gold diggers” and as TLC coined them “scrubs”. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album and as soon as I heard it, it was on repeat. Power featuring Kendrick Lamar looks into the various forms in which power comes and the lengths to which people go to keep their power. Rapsody raps about power from the streets to political power. The best line on the track is “They say a good shepherd shouldn’t trip over what they heard”

My reaction after hearing that metaphor:

This album is where funk and jazz melodies meet a typical hip-hop sound and flow.  Examples of this perfect cohesion are heard on tracks like Sassy, A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love and U Used to Love Me. For these reasons, I would consider it somewhat of the baby sister to Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly. Moreover, both albums have features from the brilliant saxophonist, Terrace Martin.

“Black & Ugly”  featuring Bj The Chicago Kid is a stand out track on the album and another one of my favourites. BJ’s ability to sit so effortlessly and perfectly on any hook is formidable. If Rapsody and B.J The Chicago Kid were to ever make a joint project, it would certainly be sublime! Black & Ugly is as personal as it sounds and is more in-depth than other candid tracks like “Ridin” and “Nobody”. It looks at Rapsody’s insecurities regarding her appearance as she says on lines like “So concerned with my weight”. The latter part of the album focuses on blackness; from being proud of being black as well problems within the black community like colourism.

Rapsody’s story telling ability is second to none. One story on the album is her reluctantly coming to the end of a relationship on “A Rollercoaster Life called Love” as she is somewhat tired of having to ask the contentious “what are we?” question. A Rollercoaster Life called Love transitions perfectly, both thematically and sonically into the next track, Knock On my Door. Leaving an old relationship, Rapsody attempts to rebound and “shoot her shot” with a new neighbour.

I feel that on this album there isn’t a stand-out mainstream single. Usually singles are used to captivate listeners in the lead up to the release of an artist’s album. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many great tracks on the album but I’m speaking regarding a single/singles that can be successfully marketed in the mainstream realm. Laila’s Wisdom lacks that but it does not diminish the excellence of this album. However, would you argue that an album is only as good as its singles?

Rapsody’s album is with filled with brilliant lyricism and witty wordplay. I wish I had this album earlier for two reasons; first because it is amazing and also because I would have put it amongst my Best Rap Albums of 2017. Laila’s Wisdom is in a lane of its own entirely and deserves the Grammy nomination it received. Rapsody proclaimed her superiority on “You Should Know” when she said “Some rappers are nice to me just as a gesture, they really are afraid of me because they know I go that hard”. And very afraid they ought to be!

So if you haven’t heard the album, waste no more time:

Rapsody is performing at The Jazz Cafe, London on March 7th.

https://www.seetickets.com/event/rapsody/jazz-cafe/1184450?aff=id1songkick