Description
#honour #vinyl #vinylrecords
Àlàáfíà, the debut album from Honour, offers a profound, genre-defying exploration of grief, faith, and love. Rooted in the spiritual and musical traditions of both Yoruba folklore and Christian gospel, this record crosses borders from Lagos to London and beyond, blending influences from hip-hop, jazz, blues, and ambient music. The album serves as an emotional meditation, pulling together sonic textures from personal memories, folklore, and the echoes of Honour’s late grandmother, to whom the album is dedicated. Throughout, Honour crafts a work that weaves complex, tape-saturated compositions into a narrative both deeply personal and universally resonant.
A key highlight of Àlàáfíà is its ability to blend the surreal and the grounded, a technique displayed in tracks like “When Angels Speak of Love,” where gospel influences meet the disorienting echoes of chopped guitar and syrupy, DJ Screw-inspired breaks. Honour’s mastery of blending avant-garde elements with heartfelt melodies is reminiscent of artists like Mica Levi and Space Afrika, with a focus on emotionally raw and experimental soundscapes. The ninth track, “Giz’Aard ($uckets),” evokes a feeling of melancholy, with its regimented drum beats and mournful melody that tiptoes between love and loss, while still maintaining a powerful undercurrent of resilience.
Among the album’s standout moments is “Pistol Poem (Lead Belly),” a track where Honour’s lyrical talents shine through in a blues-inspired narrative. The clever wordplay, referencing figures like Richard Pryor and DMX, alongside allusions to hip-hop icons such as Kelly Rowland, demonstrates Honour’s versatility as both a lyricist and a student of popular culture. This modern take on blues pulls together both literary and musical references in a way that feels both fresh and reflective, drawing a direct line to the genre’s storied history of pain and redemption.
Honour’s debut album showcases a masterful blend of genres, with influences spanning hip-hop, R&B, and gospel, set against an experimental backdrop. The sonic layers throughout Àlàáfíà create a rich tapestry of sound that rivals the works of John T. Gast or Dean Blunt, as Honour moves effortlessly from fractured beats to poignant melodies. Tracks like “First Born (Redeemed)” and “W-I-S (Above Every Other)” marry nostalgic references with the complexity of modern grief, offering listeners a deeply personal yet relatable experience. Àlàáfíà stands as a bold, introspective album, pulling from diverse musical traditions while forging a path uniquely its own.
