Aja Monet’s The Color of the Rain settles in as one of the weekend’s essential releases

Aja Monet’s The Color of the Rain was one of the key 22 May releases, and by 23 May it already feels like essential weekend listening for anyone interested in music that crosses poetry, jazz, soul, hip-hop, blues and political imagination.

Pitchfork’s release roundup highlighted the album as a full-band expansion of Monet’s lyrical world, with collaborators including Georgia Anne Muldrow, Mick Jenkins, Vic Mensa and Meshell Ndegeocello. Monet does not treat spoken word as a separate object placed on top of music. Her voice moves like another instrument, sometimes leading, sometimes responding, sometimes becoming part of the ensemble’s breath.

That makes The Color of the Rain especially important for an indie digest because it widens the definition of what counts as a music release. It is not a conventional singer-songwriter record, not a jazz album in a narrow sense, and not merely poetry with backing tracks. It is a living document of voice, memory, resistance and rhythm. For 23 May readers looking back over the Friday wave, this is one of the records that deserves to stay at the top of the listening queue. Source: https://pitchfork.com/news/12-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-bladee-fakemink-and-eli/