2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 9

Chicagopoetturnedneo-

soulsingerwhorespects

herelderswhileforging a

legacyofherown

W

henJamilaWoodsfirstbeganwriting

asa teenagerinChicago,sheloved

personapoems.That’swhenthewriter

adoptsthevoiceofanotherbut,assheexplains,

self-revelationis alwayspartofthedeal:“evenif

it’swritteninthevoiceofsomeoneelse,it’sabout

whatdrawsmetothatpersonorwhatI seein

myselfandmaybeprojectingontothem.”

Thatdefinitionappliesequallywelltothelyrical

strategythathelpsmakeWoods’secondalbum

sucha marvel.The29-year-old’sfollow-upto

2016’sHeavn,Legacy!Legacy!seesWoodspayher

respectstoa widevarietyofliterary,artisticand

musicalinspirationswhosenamesdoubleas

songtitles(“SunRa”,“Basquiat”,“eartha”).

YetWoods’ownsensibilityneverfails

toshinethroughhereffortstocapture

somethingineffableabouther

subjects.Setamidmelodies,rhythms

andtexturesthatsynthesisethe

vibrancyof’90sneo-soulwiththe

experimentalbentofcontemporary

R&B,Woods’wordstranscendmere

hero(orheroine)worship.Instead,

theyfitintoa longertraditionofblack

creativeexpressionatitsboldest.

“Iwasalwaysraisedwiththisideaof

respectingmyeldersandancestors,”

saysWoods,whowasalreadya rising

staronChicago’sliteraryscenebefore

collaborationswithChanceThe

RapperandMacklemorebroughtmore

attentiontohermusicalendeavours.

“Iwenttoa schoolstartedbyhaki

Madhubuti,thisamazingpoetwho

started an Afrocentric school all about

honouringourhistory.SoI’vealwayshadthis

sankofaideaofknowingyouhavetolookback

beforeyoucanmoveforward.It’snotaboutsaying

anyoneofthesepeopleis perfect;it’smoreabout

sayingtheircontributionwasimportant.”

Indeed,perfectis nota wordanyoneusedfor

MilesDavisasa humanbeing.Yethisessenceis

presentbothinthesuggestionsofOnTheCorner-

stylefunkinLegacy!Legacy!’s “Miles”andthe

braggadocioinlineslike“There’llnevabeanother/

I’mbetterthanyourbest.”Asshesaysofherlyrics,

“Iwasthinkingaboutthebalanceoffeminineand

masculineenergyandhowI wantedtomanifest

moreofthatassertivenessandmorethings

associatedwithmasculineenergy.Thesong

becamea coolexperienceinembodyingthat.”

Sheis thrilledthatLegacy!Legacy!turnedoutto

be“areallyhealthymarriage”ofthetwosidesof

hercreativepractice,bothmusicandpoetry.“I

rememberatdifferentpointsfeelinglikeI couldn’t

doboth,”saysWoods,whocontinuestoworkfor

YoungChicagoAuthors,thesamenon-profitgroup

that gavea starttoherandChanceTheRapper.In

fact,theLPshowcasesherremarkable

versatilityasa vocalist,thankfully

eschewingthestentorian,stilted

orstaccatostylemoretypicalof

performancepoetstryingtoadaptto

musicalcontexts.Whenaskedabout

thesingerswhoshowedherwhatshe

coulddowithherownvoice,it’snot

surprisingtohearWoodsciteerykah

Badu.Lessexpectedmaybetheimpact

ofIncubusandTakingBackSunday,

twofavesfromhertimeata largely

whiteschool.SaysWoods,“Withemo,

sometimesthesingersarenotso

concernedabouthowgoodtheysound

• it’sabouthowmuchthey’reemoting.
  I lovethat.” JASON ANDERSON

Legacy!Legacy! is out now on

Jagjaguwar

Jamila Woods

THEFLAMINGLIPS

King’sMouthBELLAUNION

MickJonesnarratesa

typicallyfriedstoryabout

a giantkingwhosehead

absorbstheuniverse;also

doublesasCoyne& co’s

finestcollectionofsongssinceYoshimi...

MATTSON 2 ParadiseCOM PANY

SanDiegotwinsin theorbitofToroY Moi

andMoneyMarkadddazedvocalsto

theirsupremelychilledslackerjazz.Think

GaborSzaboguestingwithReal Estate.

VIOLENTFEMMES

FEAT.TOMVERLAINE

“HotelLastResort”PIAs

TwovinegaryUSart-punkinstitutions

exchangewitheringglancesonthe

Femmes’newalbum:“I don’ tlaugh,

but I chortle/WhenI passbythe gym.”

P E T E RCAT

RECORDINGCO.

BismillahPANACHE

No,it willnotletyougo.

Addictivelydreamyand

occasionallyprofane

postmoderncrooningfrom

NewDelhi’sanswertoGrizzly Bear.

C R AV E NFA U LT S

NunroydWorksEPLOWFOLDWORKs

Thirdin a trilogyofcompellingmodular

synthtransmissionsfrompost-industrial

Yorkshire,tracingthelineagefrom field

tofactorytowarehouserave.

TRASHKITHorizonUPsETTHERHYTHM

IndustriousUKtrio– theyshare

memberswithBasJan,SacredPaws,

ShoppingandBamboo– fuseAfrican

rhythmswithquizzicalpost-punk, to

invigoratingeffect.

BEAK>“LifeGoesOn”I NVADA

FirstnewmaterialfromtheBristol

prowlerssincelastyear’ssuperb>>>

album– a surly,cowbell-drivenKraut-

grungethrowdowninspired by Mexican

scrapcollectors.

75 DOLLARBILLIWasRealTA K :TI L

Morehypnoticmicrotonalfuzzand

extendedbox-percussionjamsfrom

thejunctionwheredesertritual meets

avant-gardehappening.

HACKNEYCOLLIERY

BANDFEAT.MULATU

ASTATKE

“Netsanet”

VEKIRECORDs

Hipsterbrasstroupe

transcendnoveltystatuson

thisshimmeringcollaboration with the

Ethio-jazzgodfather.

THEQUIETTEMPLE

TheQuietTemple

POINTOFDEPARTURE

Tenebrous,jazzymanoeuvresfrom

Soulsavers,DukeGarwoodandvarious

currentandformermembersof

Spiritualized.Keymoodsettersinclude

“The Last Opium Den (On Earth)”...

UNCUTPLAYLIsT

On the stereo this month...

I’M

NEW

HERE

“Thewayshe

utilisesher

talent,heritage,

communityand

culturemakes

hera necessary

componentof

today’smusic

scene”Peter

Cottontale,The

social Experiment

I’M YOUR FAN

BRADLEY MURRAY; JOHNNY NUNEz/WIREIMAGE