Performing cuts from her newly released debut.
On the heels of her debut album’s release, singer-songwriter Jorja Smith commandeered the D.C. office of NPR to feature in the newest episode of their Tiny Desk Concert series. Accompanied by a four piece live band, the British singer performed unique interpretations of three popular cuts.
The intimate set opened with a soulful rendition of ‘On My Mind’ that saw the single’s garage-leaning production traded out for nimble, ghost note-ridden drums and rhodes-evoking keys. Smith then performed ‘Teenage Fantasy’ before closing out proceedings with an objectively flawless performance of her hit anti-injustice single ‘Blue Lights’.
Smith’s long-awaited debut album Lost & Found released on June 8th after three years of preparation and a meteoric rise that saw co signs from Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Over the course of twelve tracks, stylistic shifts enable Smith to prove herself well-versed in the realms of jazz, dancehall, trip-hop and contemporary R&B while displaying a raw and frank penchant for self analysis in her lyricism. The continual thread throughout is a sense of minimalism that allows for Smith’s vocal to take centre stage and soar. Perhaps what’s most compelling is that the album boldly features, well, no features, serving as a clear statement that Smith wishes for her success to be defined solely by her own artistic merit.
Listen to Lost & Found in full below.
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
Fruit and Grooves Collective 