The Caribbean has developed a prodigious reputation for producing incredible musical talent, especially female talent. In the early 2000’s mainstream American music experienced the infiltration of a plethora of Caribbean female acts breaking onto the scene such as Rihanna, Brick & Lace, and Tami Chyn. Each of these aforementioned acts, were signed to major labels in the United States but since then, very few have risen to those heights. The most likely candidate to reclaim regional pride for our music on the highest international level is undoubtedly Nailah Blackman. Her latest album Teknique is testament to the inescapable reality, that she is one of the most naturally gifted singer/songwriters of this generation and the West Indian charm that oozes through her vocals is a package destined to capture the hearts mainstream music audiences all over the world. The project is appropriately named Teknique, as it sonically depicts Nailah Blackman as an artist who has a solid command over all the technical facets of being a modern recording artist.
Teknique is a seamless embodiment of genre fluidity but in dissecting the 19-track masterpiece, it’s safe to assert the earlier part of the project definitely channels a strong Afrocentric vibe. Blessings feat Kalonji stands out as one of the topically relevant tracks on the album as the lyrics seem to aptly describe Kalonji’s current situation in a timely and uncanny way. Panorama feat Voice is a melody lover’s paradise. Nailah and Voice have great artistic chemistry as they both adopt a very mellifluous approach to their writing and song construction. Vocally, Voice delivered excellently as he always does.
Closer to the middle of the project, Nailah begins to expand the cultural reach of the album by including more Latin American influences evidenced by efforts such as Tequila and Say Less. If you know anything about Nailah Blackman, you know that she takes tremendous pride in pushing her creative boundaries. Integrating romance languages such as Spanish and Portuguese into her music is something she has been working diligently at. Say Less is testament to her growth in this area but also the title track Teknique feat Father Phills and Salty, channels a strong Baile Funk influence. Baile Funk is one of the highest-selling and highest-streamed genres of music to emerge out of Brazil in the last decade therefore including these sounds intro her musical palette is not only challenging herself artistically but is also increasing her overall marketability.
Back and Forth feat J Dep, Pxssy Land feat Taffari and In A Minute also display an infrequently depicted side of Nailah’s music which is her hip hop / trap side. Despite having hip hop nuances and inferences, the songs still retain a rhythmic authenticity that would differentiate her from a North American artist but those songs could definitely be strong candidates for the aforementioned North American crossover success the region craves musically. Sidung Pon It feat Oxlade and Dee Mad concludes the afrocentric part of the album. It wouldn’t be a Nailah Blackman project without the inclusion of soca and calypso. Calypso Baby, Timeless feat Kes and Come Home (Interlude) satisfy that palette. Fans maybe upset that Come Home is so short because it sounds destined to be a unifying soca classic but we hope that there is an extended version of that track soon to be released for carnival 2023. Teknique is a holistic , authentic offering of world music from a Caribbean perspective and the entire Nailah Blackman team should be incredibly proud of this tremendous effort.
