Fed up with misogynist, racist, and myriad other dehumanizing aggressions she experienced in the music industry,
V V Brown
was certain she was done with music after the 2015 release of her third album. The singer/songwriter moved to the countryside and focused on parenthood and other pursuits such as a law degree, journalism, activism, and the authoring of a self-published children's book. While bonding again with the neo-soul and hip-hop that soundtracked her teenage years, she felt a creative spark that turned into a fire, and eventually linked up with
Sensible J
, a producer who has worked with the likes of
Ty
and
Sampa the Great
while also recording as one-half of
Remi
. The strutting funk anthem "Black British" --
Brown
's first release in eight years -- functioned as a strong return and statement of purpose for her fourth album.
has a lot to say regarding matters such as identity, marginalization, and racist hypocrisies, and expresses herself with more authority than ever, her voice sometimes stacked to add emphasis without making her sound overly didactic.
's organic production contemporizes
Soulquarian
-style hip-hop and on a handful of tracks is either partly or purely reggae, cresting with the post-punk bedding for "Am I British Yet?" -- a riveting spoken piece of autobiography from
Liam Bailey
, one of the LP's several guests. On the dubwise "Feel So Alive," another spoken track that just as sensibly could have been the album's title track,
celebrates her roots in the Windrush Generation. At its best, the album is as potent and apposite as
Solange
's
A Seat at the Table
,
Laura Mvula
Pink Noise
, and
Little Simz
No Thank You
. ~ Andy Kellman