– THE CHARM OFFENSIVE –

I was recently advised by someone much younger and cooler than me that the name of the social media network VSCO is actually pronounced ‘Visco’. Smarmy little bastard. I was just revelling in the fact that I – a 35-year-old who thinks Tik Tok is a single-calorie breath-mint – even knew that the fucking thing existed, only to out myself as the ‘Bookface’-loving Grandad that I really am.

It is in such circumstances that one takes great joy in hearing phrases that one knows and understands still being co-opted by young, cool people as a form of social currency. It makes this 35-year-old fogey feel sorta still in touch.

‘Made it’, like the terms ‘humblebrag’, ‘don’t sleep on me’ and ‘sorry, not sorry’ (punctuation optional) – is part of the youth lexicon that I believe is still relevant; albeit not acceptable for someone like me to actually use (out loud).

And isn’t it great that all of the above are essentially empowerment slogans. Yes, this is the self-congratulation generation and Teyana Taylor (whose video for this song depicts a self-congratulation generation graduation) is clearly as confident as they come.

Having boldly called her latest album, ahem, The Album, the Pharrell-signed slash-master (songwriter/actress/dancer/choreographer/director/model) proudly exclaims on Made It that ‘self-love is the best love’ (not, I believe, an onanism reference).

And why shouldn’t she be brimming with unbridled self-confidence? Made It is a muscle-flexing, full-fat chunk of funk, so horny (again – not a sex ref) it got me rubbing my thighs (sort of a sex ref) in delight.

And plenty more besides me are on the ‘Teyana train’; The Album features guest appearances from pretty much the holy trinity of the 90s soul sisterhood, Lauren Hill, Erykah Badu and Missy Elliot, amongst others.

So hey, Teyana, if you’re reading this and I’ve made you feel a little bit ‘cringe’, my most sincere apologies. But I think you’ve got enough confidence, not to have your ego too badly bruised, eh?

If you like this try my review of Morning Matters by Yazmin Lacey.

The Album is out now on Def Jam.

HEAR MORE HERE

COMPRO ORO: BEN
GIA MARGARET: FOR ZOYA IN CHINA
KELEKETLA!: FUTURE TOYI TOYI
ANGELA TURONE + CHRIS PLATT: A FELICIDADE

THE OUTRO

And so we reach a cease-fire for this week.

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

And, as a special treat, you can find these five selections featured on the wonderful Jazzfuel New Jazz Releases playlist. Find out more about founder Matt Fripp and the site he set up to support and celebrate the global jazz community at https://jazzfuel.com/

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.

Until next time, love and noise.

– SV –