Jorja Smith has returned with a new single, “Try Me,” released via her own independent label, FAMM. The new single is produced by duo DAMEDAME*, bringing in infectious drums.
“Putting yourself out there, in front of a world that has many opinions, as it only ever used to be me really being my own critic,” Jorja said about the song.
The new release comes with a new video, shot around the subrubs of Marseille, France and directed by Amber Grace Johnson. The video highlights the lanscape, detailing vaptivating sighs and more.
You can see the new video and hear the single below.
FKA Twigs and Jorja Smith have both managed to rise to the top of their respective fields: Twigs is a highly respected indie/pop/R&B/genre-bending artist and Smith’s voice earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2019. The two worked together on Twigs’ new mixtape Caprisongs, with Smith featuring on “Darjeeling.” Well, after making that song together, they both realized they’re actually cousins.
“I’d never met her before, and I jumped in her car with her… and I remember thinking to myself, ‘Gosh, that’s really strange: we’ve got exactly the same kind of skin.’ […] A few months later, I was on the road to go to LA and [Smith] left me a voice note saying, ‘You’re never going to believe this, but I’ve just spoken to my dad and he’s spoken to his sister and we’re related.’”
Meanwhile, Twigs has a lot going on right now. She recently launched her post-Caprisongs era with “Killer,” her first new song since the mixtape. She’s also expanding her acting profile, as it was reported last month she has landed a starring role in a reboot of The Crow.
It’s been over two years since Brent Faiyaz released an album, with his last effort being 2020’s F*ck The World. While the project only peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, it would go down to be one of the more celebrated R&B projects of that year. Since then, fans have been patiently waiting for the singer’s third album, and luckily enough for them, the wait for the upcoming project hasn’t been too grueling. He’s released records like “Mercedes,” “Wasting Time,” “Show U Off,” and “Gravity.” Thankfully, at long last, Brent arrived with the news that we’d been waiting for.
Brent announced the title for his third project and revealed its collaborators as well. Wasteland is set to arrive sooner than later, and in a trailer for the album, Brent revealed who helped him craft his next body of work. In total, the list of collaborators reads as follows: Drake, Raphael Saadiq, Alicia Keys, The-Dream, Tyler, The Creator, Nascent, No I.D., Paperboy Fabe, Mike Dean, Jorja Smith, Lil Rece, The Neptunes, Jonathan “Freeze” Wells, Mikeblud, OG Che’ The Sensei, Joony, DJ Dahi, Beat Butcha, Steve Lacy, Itai Schwartz, Jayne Andrew, Coop The Truth, Sam Wish, Malcolm Mays, and Jimi Cravity.
The records with Drake and Tyler The Creator have already been released, those being “Wasting Time” (prod. The Neptunes) and “Gravity” (prod. DJ Dahi) respectively. Jorja’s contribution could be the previously released record “Nobody But You” with Sonder, Brent’s group with producers Dpat and Atu.
As for an official released date, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to
You can view the album trailer in the video above.
After returning from a 3-year hiatus, Sol Blume has grown into one of the largest annual R&B events in the country while also playing host to an all-female headlining lineup that included Jhené Aiko, Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Walker, and Jorja Smith. The 2 day Sacramento festival saw 40,000+ total guests this year.
Headlining acts on Saturday night featured Jorja Smith and Jazmine Sullivan, followed by Jhené Aiko and Summer Walker who helped close out the festival on Sunday night.
Additional performers included Thundercat, Alina Baraz, Syd, SiR, Lucky Daye, Smino, Blxst, Tinashe, Majid Jordan, and DVSN, among many others. This year’s lineup also feature several acts with local Sacramento roots including Victoria Monét and Yelly.
The Black-owned, Sol Blume Music Festival will return in 2023 with dates to be announced. For more info visit here.
When Jorja Smith came to the studio to hear Ibeyi’s upcoming album, Spell 31, she fell hard for a track called “Lavender & Roses.” So much so that the French-Cuban twins asked the British R&B sensation to be on the track. The sweeping love song, talks about how no matter how much you want to help someone, they are at the mercy of their fate.
It’s a lot of forceful talent on one tune and it’s produced by XL Recordings boss Richard Russell. Ibeyi’s Lisa-Kaindé Diaz shared a statement on the mythological themes that play into the tune and its creation:
“We knew we wanted to create something with Jorja that would be different from what we’ve done previously that would allow us to connect with the true meaning of the song. When we came across the three sisters of fate from the Greek mythology that personify fate we knew immediately that it would be the right idea. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos are sisters, one of them creates the thread of fate, the other analyses it and the third one cuts it. “Lavender and Red Roses” is a song about the feeling we all experience when we love someone troubled. It could be a partner, a sibling, a parent, a friend. We wanted to talk about the pain of witnessing a loved one hurting, repeating patterns and getting lost. And how it triggers in us the desire to reach them, hold them tight and wash their troubles away with lavender and red roses. But the truth is you can’t save them, if they pull you into their darkness, you will have to protect yourself, and allow them to find their own strength and light, their own way.”
Ibeyi has also announced three special album release shows in New York, Paris, and London. Those dates are listed below and tickets are available here.
Watch the video for “Lavender And Roses” above.
05/01 – New York @ The Sultan Room
05/14 – London @ Hoxton Hall
05/17 – Paris @ Lafayette Anticipations
Spell 31 is out 5/6 via XL Recordings. Pre-order it here.
