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When you consider an excellent, southern gravy, it’s the perfect accompaniment that units a meal off. It’s the unsung hero on the desk — whereas presumably meant for simply an entree or a facet, the flavour bleeds over into the remainder of the plate, and but, nonetheless manages to make every part style appetizing.
That’s the thought course of behind BJ The Chicago Kid’s newest album, Gravy. “The gravy is simply what it’s, the gravy has existed lengthy earlier than us, and actually, the gravy is nothing however the granddaddy of the sauce,” BJ explains. “It’s the swag, it’s the umph, it’s the arrogance. It’s the fearlessness, the audacity, the boldness. That’s precisely what it’s.”
The seven-time Grammy nominated artist, a proud church child, lends himself effectively to the execution of the album, which was co-produced by Yeti Beats. Launched in November, a lot of the album was conceived in 5 days on the famend Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. “To be in that studio alone was magical, Royal Studios, the place Al Inexperienced created all of his hits, and plenty of different folks created hits that we got here to like over time and we by no means knew the place it was recorded or its origin started. That’s the place — it’s like recording in a museum,” BJ says of Royal Studios. “All the pieces was paused from when Al Inexperienced left and pressed play once we walked within the door. All the pieces was nonetheless there the identical, so we received to the touch and play and report and create on the identical stuff that our heroes have. These historic songs that we’ll by no means ever let go have been recorded on, that was a second in itself.”
It’s maybe why Gravy feels laced with a grooviness that we haven’t seen because the daybreak of our beloved Black artists like Al Inexperienced. The album marks one other contribution to the seeming uptick in funky, 70s-esque music we’ve been getting a style of as of late. The album is inundated with chord progressions that really feel someplace between Motown, Chicago stepping music, and disco, making a fusion that units the proper backdrop for the soulful and danceable vibes all through the tracks.
The album options fellow R&B heavyweights corresponding to Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Hearth, Andra Day, The Indications, and Robert Glasper, plus appearances from Chloë Bailey, Coco Jones, Cory Henry, and rapper Freddie Gibbs. “Having him on the album, he was an inspiration to my life and my profession,” BJ remembers of working with Bailey. The objective with Gravy was to create a timeless album, and very similar to meals, the richness of gravy parallels the depth in music, the place each observe contributes to the general concord. This connection is especially apt, on condition that a lot of Gravy is paying homage to a movie rating, a deliberate alternative made by BJ that enhances the album’s immersive high quality. “I actually wished to create a time capsule,” BJ says. “All of these items collectively, makes it its personal factor. They’ve invited that very same timeless recipe inside their very own craft individually, so to return collectively and do it, makes it much more a very superb sort of gumbo.”
In selecting the title Gravy for the album, he encapsulates the essence of Blackness. “I’m a [n-word.] That is what we do — it’s sure issues which can be in our blood that make us really feel good. I feel this album is a soundtrack to a feel-good time, whether or not you’re taking part in playing cards, a Friendsgiving, washing your automotive, otherwise you want a second away from the world we stay in. It’s that point so that you can recharge you for that particular individual you already know you’re — it’s that bridge to no matter else you’re attempting to do, so gravy is that on a plate too. Even when it will get on stuff that it doesn’t belong on, it nonetheless makes it style somewhat bit higher typically. It’s that gravy to life.”
BJ The Chicago Child has all the time been an artist to dabble and dibble throughout genres, however on Gravy, he additional solidifies this notion with melodies that seamlessly traverse the musical spectrum, showcasing his versatility in mixing influences right into a cohesive and infectious expertise. “It’s loopy, [growing up] my dad performed plenty of Luther Vandross, and Babyface,” BJ explains. “If you hear ‘Greatest Night time,’ that jogs my memory a lot of a Luther groove on that piano. In an ideal world, Luther can be singing the hook. With Babyface, it helped me perceive the simplicity of writing songs that also imply the world to folks. He finds the thinnest thread and makes it crucial thread all through the entire garment.”
Rounding out at proper beneath an hour, Gravy takes you thru a world of feelings, with no skips. You’ll really feel the soul on “By no means Change,” with Phillip Bailey, the haunting but stunning heartbreak of “Liquor Retailer In The Sky,” the arrogance of “Get Free,” and the sweetness of “Honey.”
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It’s on the observe “Liquor Retailer In The Sky,” with Gibbs the place you may sense the embodiment of gravy. It’s the place it turns into extra than simply an enhancement to a meal, nevertheless it turns into a comforting embrace in a heat, familial gathering, wrapping itself across the meal, very similar to laughter envelops a room. It’s what turns into a passing reminiscence when these you like have handed away. Simply as a well-made gravy enhances the flavour of a dish, including depth and richness, the bonds of kinship deepen with every passing second.
“It’s merely a track of lacking somebody that you already know would like to see the place you are actually. Would’ve like to proceed the journey with you that will help you get the place you’re. Any person that you simply miss that you simply nonetheless take into consideration on a regular basis. These recollections, these ideas that you simply cherish, this track is that,” BJ provides. “Within the hood, some folks drink collectively, this track is the place we meet once more, within the ‘Liquor Retailer In The Sky.’”
Nevertheless, tracks corresponding to “Honey” and “Get Free” take a extra upbeat strategy, infusing the album with vibrant vitality and infectious rhythms that invite listeners to let unfastened and immerse themselves within the full of life soundscape.
“It’s theater of the thoughts,” BJ says of the album. “All the pieces there [on the album] is there for an intentional function, to create an intentional world and a universe so that you can type of dwell in and see and really feel various things. All the flicks in our head are completely different. It’s all the time fascinating to see what folks do with the track, or what the track does for them. As an artist you simply put it out.”
‘Gravy’ is obtainable on all streaming platforms.
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