2-step, Afro-house, UK garage, rave soundsystems from the 2000s, grime: all these musical genres summoned by the British artist to share her intimate stories.
What Are the Odds: in the original French version and in substance, “who would have bet on that?”, deliberately typed without a question mark. Ten years after the release of her debut single, Blue Lights, Jorja Smith is a mere 29 years old and can boast two acclaimed albums, collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Burna Boy or Stormzy, and billions of streams…
But during this period, it was also necessary to grow up. Returning to her hometown of Walsall, in the Midlands, had given birth, in 2023, to the introspective Falling or Flying. Today, What Are the Odds emerges as a expansive counterpoint to that chapter.
“I wanted an album that would move people”
“Everything I create reflects my state of mind, she explains to us. When I was shaping this album, I was bursting with energy and I wanted to capture that momentum in the music.” A momentum that courses through each of the twelve tracks crafted with Richard Olowaranti Mbu Isong, better known as P2J. He has, among others, worked with Wizkid, who guests on the groovy Alive, as hedonistic as the title suggests.
“With P2J, we wanted to create something that felt both nostalgic and anchored in the present,” the singer explains. Together, they summon 2-step, Afro-house, UK garage, rave soundsystems from the 2000s, grime – in which rapper Devlin stands out, invited on This City. Yet, even as the setting is clubbing, the album’s storytelling remains in Jorja Smith’s intimate voice.
Her voice embraces the highest BPMs, capable of turning a toxic breakup into a cathartic anthem on What’s Done Is Done, while the ballads shed their tempo, such as Pretend or When It Gets Like That.
Beyond the title track which unpacks the paradoxical loneliness Jorja Smith endures while being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age, the record touches on disappointments in friendships, fragile loves, the process of grief, and the cultivation of trust—both in oneself and in others.
It’s time to heal on rhythms that invite more to raise their arms, Dancing and Make It Your Home, rather than to avert their eyes in the face of adversity: “Whether it’s dancing or being emotionally moved by the lyrics, I wanted an album that would move people.”
What Are the Odds (Because). Release on August 21.
