– THE CHARM OFFENSIVE –

It’s August in the UK so that means we’ve already exhausted our quota of three annual days of sunshine.

Fortunately, 18 months after forcing me into the whitest admission of my life, Soca royalty Nailah Blackman has cajoled me into once again reviewing her with yet another slice of the Caribbean-flavoured, sun-drenched sauciness with which she has become synonymous.

That’s right, the granddaughter of Ras Shorty I has released her debut EP The Reel and Sweet and Loco is the super-catchy, singularly kooky first single off the record.

Very much like the saccharine brand I sense Ms. Blackman is hinting at in the song’s title, I’ve always had a suspicion that is less good for you than her initial sweetness might imply.

Sure, she’s the proud owner of a voice that flows like warm chocolate and eyelashes like a matador’s cape but, like our taurine friends, I feel I’d be well served by giving her a swerve.

And it would appear Ms. Blackman would agree:

“I’m the chocolate that you love, sweet and nutty / You cannot keep me locked up, free my body / You with a bad gyal / Pull up on me, get mad love / Just don’t tell me what to do”

All of this is underpinned with a cool Afrobreat groove and typically tight production from Team Salut (GPK and Mr Wood).

The net result is a track that features all the tropical flavours one would expect from the self-styled ‘Watermelon Gyal’… just keep your eyes peeled for pips.

The Reel is out now.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

BATTLES: TITANIUM 2 STEP
GRUFF RHYS: PANG!
OSCAR JEROME: GRAVITATE
JAZZMEIA HORN: GREEN EYES

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –