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May 10, 2019Racism and its side effects, from theft of culture and land to willful distortions and ignorance of black achievement, weigh heaviest on Woods' mind, yet her voice maintains a sweetness, unfurling like ribbon over the rhythms.
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May 13, 2019Just like these artists [poet Nikki Giovanni, singer Eartha Kitt, blues legend Muddy Waters, funk rebel Betty Davis, jazz greats Miles Davis and Sun Ra, literary icons James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston and Octavia Butler, poet Sonia Sanchez, iconoclastic painter Basquiat] resisted being boxed in, so does Woods’ music. These are songs that elude genre--a blend of trip-hop, rap/spoken word, R&B, gospel.
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May 9, 2019Emotion and passion are apparent in every word, key and chord throughout this project, boldly asserting Jamila’s second offering as a brilliant new addition to her own legacy, rather than a mere follow up to 2016’s ‘HEAVN’.
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May 13, 2019Woods embodies the cultural makeup of Chicago, tackles the multiplicity of identity, and balances her dominance with flawlessly selected features that build her up. ... This record could be the basis for a college course or used as an actually accurate history book.
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May 9, 2019LEGACY! LEGACY! is a complex and near-flawless reworking of genre--"I am not your typical girl," as Woods notes on "Betty"--as the singer-songwriter evolves her art, thought and reason for being.
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May 10, 2019Quite frankly, LEGACY! LEGACY! is one of the albums of the year. It’s a confident and self-assured project that affirms Woods’ own place alongside the historical greats she praises.
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Jun 19, 2019Woods uses the strength of her vibrant band to mask her reedy vocals, a minor drawback in an otherwise enlightening offering that positions her as one of neo-soul's essential new voices.
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Dec 11, 2019Not only is LEGACY! LEGACY! one of the best albums of the year with its incandescent power and hooks that never stop giving, it achieves the remarkable feat of crafting a cohesive whole out of a dozen disparate stories.
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May 15, 2019With LEGACY! LEGACY!, Jamila Woods positions herself to join the battle, bridging the gap, once and for all, between our unresolved past and the promise that awaits us all on the horizon.
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May 10, 2019Woods, herself, a poet, singer, activist, and teacher, casts Legacy! Legacy! as a beacon for a type of self-empowerment informed by the predecessors who built and shaped culture.
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May 9, 2019Like The Social Experiment project, as well as her last record, Legacy! Legacy! is about community, about legacies as heritage but also as that which is forged on the ground in the moment. Woods is a teacher and organizer, so it’s not surprising she encourages her guests to shine.
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May 21, 2019Although the album explores intergenerational black trauma and joy, Woods’s personal insight into such experience functions as the album’s anchor and serves as a more accessible entry point.
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May 16, 2019Afflicted in the end with a touch of offputting sameyness, LEGACY! LEGACY! nonetheless has remarkable staying power and a gracious ambition to in some small way materially improve the world of which it is an image. Aesthetic or not, that's worth something.
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May 10, 2019The result is a free-spirited and joyful record, infused with a sense of community and full of affirmations you can repeat in the mirror.
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May 15, 2019Legacy! Legacy! is a fully realized follow-up, sure-footed in its blend of what was, what is and what might be.
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May 13, 2019Each song on this engaged but accessible record memorialises a figure from the African diaspora--often lesser-known poets, or figures like Miles and Basquiat.
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The WireMay 20, 2019LEGACY! LEGACY! is just as much a celebration of Chicago musical talent. ... It also demonstrates Woods’s vast talent as singer and songwriter. [Apr 2019, p.69]
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UncutMay 9, 2019Serves as both a potent primer on the traumas and triumphs of life in a not-so-racial America and an enthralling demonstration of her playful musical sensibility. [Jun 2019, p.37]
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May 14, 2019Woods paints striking portraits of each legend, bearing in mind the times, tradition, and discipline they rose from, distilling them to their essence.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 70 out of 83
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Mixed: 7 out of 83
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Negative: 6 out of 83
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May 10, 2019
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May 29, 2019
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May 17, 2019