“This is heady, haunting, sexy, soulful, heartbreaking stuff.” – DownBeat
In every Lady Blackbird song is the unmistakable sound of freedom. Lady Blackbird has imbued her compositions since 2021’s critically acclaimed debut Black Acid Soul with a journeying independence. Here, her mighty voice effortlessly embodies buffeting power, heart-rending yearning and soft, whispered balladry. Hers is an instantly recognizable sound, a musical embrace of jazz, classic soul, gospel, psychedelic rock and pop. Moreover, she is capable of evoking joy one moment and heartache the next.
Yet, it is only now that she is embracing the full breadth of that musical freedom in her most personal and ambitious work to date: Slang Spirituals. “This is my journey of becoming,” she explains. “It’s me rewriting the book to show the world who I truly am. From being labelled a sinner to finding my acceptance.”
Lady Blackbird puts her sweeping, cinematic vocal power to use on eleven powerful tracks. Here, she employs soulful orchestral fanfares, finger-picking folk storytelling, euphoric gospel empowerment, and psychedelic soul. Slang Spirituals not only embodies the freewheeling, emotive Lady Blackbird sound but that also taps into deeply vulnerable lyrics that recount the singer’s challenging ascent to musical stardom.
Blackbird was raised in a religious Christian household in a small town in New Mexico. Here, she began singing as soon as she could walk. By twelve, she signed to a Christian record label and began working with rap-rock crossover group DC Talk.
Once she found her sound, her timeless voice overlaid with atmospheric, stripped-back acoustic instrumentation, she became a runaway success. Next came touring with Gregory Porter and features with Moby, Trevor Horn, Bakermat, Nitin Sawhney and Billy Porter.
Recommended for fans of Judith Hill, Gregory Porter, Sharon Jones and Michael Kiwanuka.
LEARN MORE: https://www.ladyblackbird.com/
- Genre:
- R&B/Soul
