Mixtapes/Albums

Published on September 18th, 2018 | by Jameelah "Just Jay" Wilkerson

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Jessica Lá Rel – Insurgency

If Jessica Lá Rel’s spring release, f(lux), was a declaration of love, her next EP, Insurgency is a declaration of war. Lá Rel moves from three love letters to three provocations to act, express, and respond to the current social and political turmoil.

Insurgency tells the story of how and why we fight. The centerpiece of the record is “28 Hours,” a track inspired by the statistic that every 28 hours a black person is shot and/or killed by law enforcement or a vigilante. It paints the ghostly picture of anxiety and tumult that comes with being Black in a world of unapologetic extrajudicial violence — Weaving together snares as tight as a gun shot, with ambient and ancestral vocals that capture the horror and heartbreak.

The EP features a gospel choir, samples from Civil Rights icon John Lewis, and a special appearance from drummer and platinum selling producer, Troy Miller.

JESSICA LÁ REL is a recording artist, songwriter, and storyteller from Chicago by way of the Bay Area. Her “cinematic soul” sound likens her music to an orchestra traveling from the south side of Chicago to Ghana.

Lá Rel is currently touring to promote her debut album, in an intimate concert series entitled The Sit In. With stops in Oakland, Chicago, New York, and more, tickets are available via her website: www.jessicalarel.com.

Her 2016 debut EP, Four Freedoms, ranked #12 on the UK Soul Charts, and landed her opportunities to perform for Oprah Winfrey, US. Rep John Lewis and Rev. Jesse Jackson. Lá Rel’s most recent music videos have gained national attention as they inspire empathy around the issue of police brutality and representation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Huffington Post commented on Lá Rel’s work, stating Lá Rel “uses her song and video to provide an anthem for the contemporary movement for Black rights. She is a rising superstar with incredible potential, an artist who inspires, and someone that we should all be looking out for.”

Lá Rel has opened for Melanie Fiona, Luke James, Omarion, and Angelique Kidjo and has been featured at multiple venues and festivals in California, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Chicago. Jessica is set to release 2 eps and a culminating album, entitled War Love this year, with the first release coming on May 28th. Lá Rel teamed up with long-standing musical partner, Tyler “Eaglebabel” Brooks of The Outsiders and Troy Miller, platinum selling producer behind Dreaming Room by Laura Mvula and Liquid Spirit by Gregory Porter.

Lá Rel’s prior EP, f(lux), is about love, and all that love illuminates. When listeners take it in, I hope they feel the power and promise that such illumination brings, but also the tension and provocation of love too. —

f(lux) is the first of three music releases for Jessica Lá Rel this year that together comprise her debut album War Love. f(lux), or Function of Light, poetically explores how the journey of moving through dark places illuminates how we love ourselves and those around us. The three tracks of the EP read as three love letters; one to a potential lover, one to society, and one to oneself. Ranging in sound from gospel choirs atop funky grooves to indie-soul ballads, each song beckons in its own way for a better, more honest love. Together, f(lux) becomes a series of songs about desire, freedom, and hope.



About the Author

Publisher and CEO of The Hype Magazine. Follow me on Twitter @HypeJustJay


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