Spectreview: Jamila Woods – LEGACY! LEGACY!

-FUCHSIA PINK-

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“My weaponry is my energy
I tenderly fill my enemies with white light”

Jamila Woods’ work as an artist and a community organizer in her hometown of Chicago already situates her as an ideal role model for the black community, but she also understands the cruciality of making sure her message reaches outside those walls. From her guest spot on Macklemore’s hamfisted but well-intentioned “White Privilege II” to her own creative output, Jamila strives to spread empathy and understanding of the plight of the Black American to all people, without minimizing her culture or sense of identity in the process. It’s an admirable crusade, even if she knows that there are tragically those who will refuse to listen, but LEGACY! LEGACY! is her most passionate statement yet in that regard. Explicitly linking each track to a revered black poet or musician allows Woods to frame her own poetry within that revolutionary spirit, though often her lyrics in these tracks are less interpretations than dedications with specific references. Don’t interpret this as oversimplification though; it’s a decision that allows their iconography to be reframed for accessibility’s sake. Sonia Sanchez’s jazz-inflected slam poetry becomes the knife-sharp refrain of “SONIA,” while Bette Davis finally gets her due as a pioneering musician rather than the wife of one on the ultra-smooth “BETTY.” True to her life’s work, Woods isn’t necessarily shooting for the intellectual, instead making sure that her words are as laser-focused and easy to follow as needed, resonant to all comers.

The music surrounding Jamila’s words is justifiably resplendent, a silver cauldron of canny pop-forward beats, buttery R&B and lush neo-soul. There’s enough variation in her compositions to retain interest, particularly in the album’s climax, “BASQUIAT,” where a slinky bass line anchors a gorgeous series of twists and turns that culminate in a firebrand verse from Saba. On the whole the music’s not terribly imaginative, and one wishes the specificity Woods lent to her lyrics would have carried over to her compositions, but these are nitpicks for an album that has its whole heart set on communal enjoyment (hence the club-mix reprise of “BETTY” as a closer). LEGACY! LEGACY!, in its updating of revolutionary voices and its overarching accessibility, is yet another wonderful entry from a polyglot devoted to the advancement of black culture.

Recommended for all ages and all faces.