We're in the endgame now. Just a couple more days before the ball drops and one more day before we reach the number one spot. In second place is Blood Orange with Negro Swan.
If Solange's A Seat At The Table and Childish Gambino's Awaken, My Love had a love child, it would grow up to be Negro Swan. This album has all the soul and carefree swagger of Childish's record, matched together with the poignant skits and and subtle but stellar production of Solange's. This was no surprise to me given that Dev Hynes is a long time friend and collaborator of Solange's, however there's a difference to this record in comparison to Dev's previous Blood Orange records.
The title alone strikes up feelings before you even delve into the music. The juxtaposition of something often associated with ugliness, with something only ever linked with beauty poses enough intrigue to begin with. Dev's focus on depression, anxiety and battling with being on the outskirts of so many labels comes through in his beautifully poetic lyrics. Those sprinkled over the mostly cheery and funky beats balance out juxtaposition in the phrase Negro Swan very well. It's an album that you can dance and cry to all in one and that's definitely me favourite kind of album.
My favourite songs on this at the moment are "Jewelry", "Holy Will (feat. Ian Isiah)", "Nappy Wonder", and "Out Of Your League (feat. Steve Lacy)", but that's changed over the past few months and will no doubt change again. The choice of collaborators and feature artists on this album is well thought out and a great match for the songs that they're on. However, the lack of UK collaborators is quite clear in the album's overall sound, which makes sense in the context of the album. Although I would have liked to see Dev, having been raised in London himself, use this album to put some more eyes on his UK counterparts. That aside, this is a fabulous body of work that I will continue to return to over the next year and beyond.
Have a read of my thoughts on last year's runner up here.
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