A Glance at Jorja Smith’s Artistry
Exploring Jorja Smith's sonic range and her eclectic set of influences.
Jorja Smith has been on the music front for a while now. After making her mainstream debut on Drake’s ‘More Life’ tape back in 2017, it’s been a steady climb to the top for Jorja.
Drake’s More Life was rife with UK and Caribbean influences. Whether its Skepta’s interlude or crisp vocals from Sampha, the UK had a big hand in shaping More Life’s sound. Jorja landed not one, but two prominent guest spots on the mixtape.
Smith hails from the Walsall, West Midlands in the UK, an area rife with Jamaican culture and diversity.
Smith’s first big break was her song ‘Blue Lights’ released at the top end of 2016. The track was written back when Smith was in sixth form college. Since then, the song has become one of her most popular.
Alongside Smith’s sultry R&B vocals, there was a prominent vocal sample of ‘Sirens’ by acclaimed UK grime emcee Dizzee Rascal. The melding of neo-soul and R&B with the rough-around-the-edges sound of UK rap and garage provided fans with a complimentary sonic mix.
Jorja’s songs often bare a resemblance to those who came before her. In line with her specific R&B palette, songs like ‘Lost and Found’ bare a resemblance to something off Amy Winehouse’s ‘Frank’ with modern production.
The song like 'Lifeboats (Freestyle)' features an interpolation of the Kanye West track 'All Falls Down'. Smith's spoken word rap flow on the song channels the energy of a young Lauryn Hill.
The Lauryn and Amy influences on the LP are flipped and assembled uniquely. These particular sounds help define Jorja as an artist and by extension, the UK R&B scene in general. Jorja is one of the few UK acts who have successfully broken America. She has notably collaborated and toured with Columbian-American R&B and pop star Kali Uchis. This partnership furthered her international appeal.
As well as neo-soul and R&B, Jorja’s Caribbean heritage and culture also bleed into her music. Songs like ‘Come Over’ and ‘Be Honest’ are a prime example of this. Jorja carefully uses collaborators like Popcaan and Burna Boy to cross over into dancehall, afrobeat and reggae.
Outside of Jorja’s singles, her projects tend to feature moody and introspective songwriting and production. Her 2018 debut album ‘Lost and Found’ was incredibly cohesive throughout, incorporating elements of spoken word, traditional soul and pop music.
Smith stops herself from being mundane and repetitive by always keeping a wildcard in her arsenal. Her song in collaboration with producer Preditah ‘On My Mind’ is a tribute to classic UK garage and rave culture.
In June of this year, Jorja released ‘Rose Rogue’, a cover of St. Germain’s classic jazz song from 2000.
With Jorja’s eclectic range of sounds and influences, we’re looking forward to what she has in store next.
Stream Jorja Smith on Spotify and Apple Music here.
