One of the albums of the year, this is a confident and self-assured project that affirms the Chicago musician's own place alongside the historical greats she praises.
Woods embodies the cultural makeup of Chicago, tackles the multiplicity of identity, and balances her dominance with flawlessly selected features that build her up.
LEGACY! LEGACY! is a series of sleek homages to the various artistic and emotional lineages that Jamila Woods embodies; a neat conceit which holds the album together without dominating it.
Woods, 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.
This galvanizing declaration of pride, support, and discontent will no doubt inspire covers itself. Every public library should have at least one copy.
LEGACY! on its own is a thrill, but scrolling through Jean-Michel Basquiat canvases or listening to some of Betty Davis’ strut adds to the experience as Woods’ growth through her idols becomes clear.
LEGACY! LEGACY! educates and enrages but also moves, heals, and leaves you full-hearted with hips and shoulders swaying to each track's studied and hypnotic groove.
The Chicago artist marries political commentary with deep introspection, resulting in a richly composed R&B album about the echoes of the past and the promise of the future.
While the album could stand alone in its beautiful messages, Jamila also uses the space to celebrate her heroes through time; implicitly relating her own characteristics to these historic figures.
LEGACY! LEGACY! is a complex and near-flawless reworking of genre ... as the singer-songwriter evolves her art, thought and reason for being.
Emotion 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’.
Full of dust-shaking beats, layered vocals and sticky melodies, the record is every bit as rousing as Heavn, with even more intricate production flourishes. But as ever with Woods – who is also an acclaimed poet – her words hold the greatest weight.
Legacy! Legacy! is about community, about legacies as heritage but also as that which is forged on the ground in the moment.
Each song on this engaged but accessible record memorialises a figure from the African diaspora – often lesser-known poets, or figures like Miles and Basquiat.
LEGACY! LEGACY! chronicles the adversity that women of color regularly face, but at the heart of Woods’s music is an urgent desire to heal and be healed.
Woods 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.
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.
#1 | / | Chicago Tribune: Greg Kot |
#3 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#6 | / | PopMatters |
#8 | / | The Ringer |
#13 | / | FLOOD |
#15 | / | Treble |
#23 | / | Albumism |
#25 | / | Rolling Stone |
#30 | / | Paste |
#37 | / | Drift |
#51 | / | Consequence of Sound (2010s) |
#181 | / | Pitchfork (2010s) |
/ | AllMusic (2010s) |
#1 | / | Consequence of Sound (First Half) |
#15 | / | Consequence of Sound (2010s / Hip Hip and R&B |
#15 | / | Exclaim! (First Half) |
#22 | / | Stereogum (First Half) |
/ | Billboard (First Half) |