Jorja Smith | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Jorja Smith is an English singer and songwriter whose heartfelt and streetwise R&B; has invoked comparisons to the likes of AlunaGeorge, Rihanna, and Amy Winehouse, the latter of whom the Walsall-based artist cites as her biggest influence. Within a three-year span, Smith appeared on the U.K. indie chart with her moody, MOBO-nominated debut single "Blue Lights" (2016), nearly cracked the Top Ten of the U.K. dance chart with "On My Mind" (2017), and after three additional MOBO nominations crossed into the Top 40 with the Stormzy-assisted ballad "Let Me Down" (2018). During this time, Smith also contributed to Drakes More Life playlist and the Kendrick Lamar-guided soundtrack for Black Panther, audience-expanding releases that intensified anticipation for her own Lost & Found (June 2018). Smiths album debut, a Top Five U.K. hit, was acknowledged with three Brit Awards nominations and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Raised on reggae, soul, and hip-hop, Jorja Smith was encouraged to pursue music by her musician father. She started performing at the age of eight, shortly thereafter began writing original songs, and later earned a music scholarship. After she completed her studies, she made her recorded debut in 2016 with "Blue Lights," a hip-hop soul single inspired by racist police motives. The song, issued through her own FAMM label, reached number 22 on the U.K. indie chart and was nominated for a MOBO award in the category of Best Song. By the end of 2016, she also added the Maverick Sabre collaboration "A Prince," the powerful "Where Did I Go?," and the five-track EP Project 11 to her discography. Smiths international profile was elevated in 2017 with contributions to Drakes playlist More Life. Both of the songs on which she appeared, "Jorja Interlude" and "Get It Together," charted in multiple territories. A handful of additional solo singles, beginning with "Beautiful Little Fools" and "Teenage Fantasy," and concluding with "On My Mind," arrived throughout 2017. The last of the batch reached number five on the U.K. indie chart and peaked at number 54 on the pop chart. MOBO nominations followed for Best Female, Best Newcomer, and Best R&B;/Soul Act. In early 2018, Smith released the conflicted ballad "Let Me Down," which featured grime artist Stormzy and eventually peaked at number 34 on the U.K. chart. Just as notably, she appeared on the Black Panther soundtrack with "I Am," a collaboration with album orchestrator Kendrick Lamar. This activity neatly set up the June arrival of Lost & Found, Smiths first album. A number three U.K. hit, it prompted Brit Awards nominations for Album of the Year, Breakthrough Act, and Female Solo Artist. In the U.S., it reached number 41, and Smith was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best New Artist. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 2 Title: Project 11 Released: 2016-11-17 Tracks: 5 Duration: 18:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Something in the Way (04:35) 2 So Lonely (03:19) 3 Carry Me Home (interlude) (01:05) 4 Carry Me Home (04:42) 5 Imperfect Circle (04:34) |
 | Album: 2 of 2 Title: Lost & Found Released: 2018-06-08 Tracks: 12 Duration: 46:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lost & Found (05:15) 2 Teenage Fantasy (03:46) 3 Where Did I Go? (03:11) 4 February 3rd (04:01) 5 On Your Own (04:02) 6 The One (03:17) 7 Wandering Romance (04:35) 8 Blue Lights (04:10) 9 Lifeboats (Freestyle) (02:52) 10 Goodbyes (03:50) 11 Tomorrow (03:52) 12 Don’t Watch Me Cry (03:12) |
| Lost & Found : Allmusic album Review : Within two-and-a-half years of uploading "Blue Lights," Jorja Smith crashed the Top 40 in her native U.K., recorded with and opened for Drake, racked up a bunch of Top Ten U.K. indie singles, appeared on the Black Panther soundtrack, and won the Brit Critics Choice Award. She also received additional acknowledgments via the MOBO Awards and BBC Music Sound of 2017. These and other developments and accolades increased anticipation for Smiths debut album. With one-third of the independently released Lost & Found previously issued, its arrival is somewhat anticlimactic on first contact, but the known and new material coalesce into an assured and complete debut. Had Smith arrived in the post-new jack swing 90s, her work would have been classified as hip-hop soul, what with the streetwise, wise-beyond-her-years perspective, captivatingly raw emotional content -- with an aching, slightly coarse voice to match -- and favoring of breakbeats and mellow, slightly rugged grooves. Standout "Blue Lights" inevitably reappears with its mournful rumination about the terror of racial (racist) profiling. Other than that cut and "Lifeboats (Freestyle)," on which Smith raps metaphorically about inequality and turning a blind eye to those in need, Lost & Found focuses on romantic pitfalls and impasses. In multiple instances -- the opening title track and following "Teenage Fantasy," two highlights -- she frets about lovers who dont want what she wants, and otherwise regrets wasted time, miscommunication, and dead ends, only rarely looking back with a low degree of fondness. A powerful tool for repairing a broken heart and indicative of an even brighter future, Lost & Found is satisfying and promising at once. | ||