2021 will go down as a big year for music. With much of the world still forced into quarantine and isolation brought on by the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, so many artists took advantage of that time to go back to the drawing board and release new music. To me, choosing my top albums from 2021 was like pulling hair because of just how rich the year was for music. However, these projects ended up being the ones that ultimately stood out among the rest.
Heaux Tales by Jazmine Sullivan
Release Date: January 8, 2021
Genre: R&B/Soul
When we talk about changing the narrative, Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales is exactly what we should be doing. This multi-nominated Grammy artist sought to rework the definition of what it means to be a hoe by taking real stories from real women and giving them an outlet to share their experiences.
The album presents this multi-faceted definition with stories of triumph, hurt, defeat and confidence. Each specific tale is accompanied by a musical track that elevates the story to the next level.
Read More: “HEAUX TALES” ARE FOR ALL
Some of the highlights include “Pick Up Your Feelings,” which is perhaps Jazmine’s best single to date, that talks about the complete eradication of a man who did you wrong. There’s also the sensual “On It (feat. Ari Lennox),” that showcases both singers pushing their vocals to the stratosphere, and “Girl Like Me (feat. H.E.R.),” that explains how society puts a stigma on women who may fall victim to using sex to get where they want in life.
I don’t think there was any other album in 2021 that was crafted so intentionally and unique as Heaux Tales. Hopefully, this is the work that will earn Jazmine her well-deserved, and heavily overdue, Grammy.
Don’t Let Them See You Cry by Shantel May
Release Date: April 2, 2021
Genre: R&B/Soul
A newer artist with an old-school flair, Shantel May was one of my favorite musical discoveries of 2021. I first knew about the singer as a feature on dvsn’s last album, A Muse In Her Feelings, and she caught my attention with her powerful voice and singing capabilities. When I came across her EP, I knew I had to listen – and I was far from disappointed.
Don’t Let Them See You Cry is an incredibly sultry and modern R&B project that does not miss a single beat. From start to finish, lyrics to production, every song completed to perfection. It comes out batting 100 with “No Ratings” – a sassy and honest homage to the guy Shantel appears to be leaving after a less than impressive experience – and continues to offer real and brutal emotional honesty.
Songs like “It’s Better This Way,” “Don’t Wanna Pretend” and “Waiting” capture the essence of wanting to do what’s best in a relationship while “Yours” and “Back n Forth” could be the next songs added to your baby-making playlist.
As the first proper release from Shantel, Don’t Let Them See You Cry serves as a strong launching pad for her career. Where everyone seems to go left, Shantel goes right but while building the correct algorithm to garner buzz and popularity. I can see her perfectly fitting in with other top R&B females in the game while holding onto her own style.
A Glitch in Our Virtual Reality by stef
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Genre: Alternative Pop
While there are artists who divert from the popular route, stef just barely appears on the map. This extremely innovative singer/songwriter dropped her first EP in 2019 and was met with immediate success. Two years later stef’s sophomore project, A Glitch in Our Virtual Reality, continued to amplify the artist’s platform by delivering a sound and style all her own.
I developed a deeper understanding of stef from conducting an interview with her about this work for Haunted Publications. I found out that stef has always been fascinated with galactic concepts and alternate universes and it’s easy to see how that influences her music.
Read More: INTRODUCING STEF: A GLITCH IN YOUR TYPICAL LISTENERSHIP
A Glitch in Our Virtual Reality presents a totally “out of this world” sound complete with dreamy productions (“i used to build dreams about you.”) and earth-shattering energies (“switch.,” “kickin all the pieces of my heart.,” “here’s what we’re not gonna do.”).
The crown jewel, “hi, my name is lonely.,” is one of those songs that transports you to a completely different universe where your only way back is the exact way you came. On this track, stef plays this cat-and-mouse game with a former lover who appeared to cut her out. Backed by isolation, the singer is looking to fuel her appetite for revenge. Together with her mature lyricism and clever wordplay, stef is a fantastic force to be reckoned with.
Better Mistakes by Bebe Rexha
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Genre: Pop/Rock/Hip-Hop
If there’s one album that I believe deserved more attention and success in 2021, it’s Better Mistakes by Bebe Rexha. Bebe is used to being a sought-out singer and songwriter for other big stars in the industry, but when it comes to her own music she shines just as bright.
Speaking on her sophomore album, the pop star said she wanted to “convey the beautiful parts of me, as well as the broken parts.” She also called Better Mistakes her “story,” and from doing an in-depth review of this work, you can see that the album is just that.
Read More: GROWING BY MAKING BETTER MISTAKES
Bebe has been very open about her struggles with mental health, self-worth and body positivity in the past but if those past works were samplings, Better Mistakes is a full-service buffet. She comes swinging out the gate with “Break My Heart” and then bears her entire soul in “Sabotage.”
However, we do get lighter moments on the album such as the clubby “Sacrifice” and the bumpy “Baby, I’m Jealous (feat. Doja Cat).” There’s also the more intimate “On The Go (feat. Pink Sweat$ & Lunay),” the Italian-inspired “Amore (feat. Rick Ross)” and the cinematic “Mama” to close things out.
In my opinion, there is not one bad song on this album and each one serves as a pillar of strength in an already sturdy monument. Bebe also beautifully blends an array of different genres to create her signature pop/rock sound while pulling in some inflections of hip-hop, dance and more. If you want an album that’s both lyrically and sonically rich, then Better Mistakes is exactly what you need.
A touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun by Aly & AJ
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Genre: Soft/Indie Pop
There are always albums that come as a surprise every year. Not in the sense that people were unaware of their release, but unexpected when it comes to their sound. For me, that was a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun by Aly & AJ.
Aside from the incredibly long title, just seeing Aly & AJ’s name caught my eye. The sisters have been in and out of the music business since their Disney Channel days – even undergoing a brief name change – and when I saw this release, I was immediately intrigued. When I actually listened to it, I was hooked.
The duo has undergone a complete metamorphosis since their 2005 debut and in my opinion, they have found a sound that perfectly fits them. The songs on the album float between upbeat (“Pretty Places,” “Symptom of Your Touch”), adventurous (“Lost Cause,” “Break Yourself,” “Paradise,” Don’t Need Nothing”), comfy (“Slow Dancing,” “Hold Out”) and dreamy (“Personal Cathedrals”).
Overall, the songs take the name of the album quite literally by getting the listener out and about, no matter the occasion. While the work marks a departure from the sisters’ past, it poses a strong future, and I am personally excited to see what they do next.
Be Right Back by Jorja Smith
Release Date: May 14, 2021
Genre: R&B/Soul
An artist with an ingenious mind, Jorja Smith has always been slightly on my radar. However, it wasn’t until I came across her latest album, Be Right Back, that I became a full-fledged fan. Her trembling yet powerful voice and alternative R&B sound make her an incredibly niche artist and this album is a perfect example of that.
The opening track, “Addicted,” is a perfectly dreamy and upbeat R&B track that graciously invites you in without scaring you off or giving too much away. From there, “Gone” continues to hold our hand with its beautiful piano melody until dropping us off at “Bussdown (feat. Shaybo),” a reggae-infused glitch in the album’s rhythm.
While it’s not enough for the listener to disengage, Jorja does throw in some other genres that are closely related. Tracks like “Time” and “Home” create the perfect atmosphere of hearing a lounge singer with their swoony and jazzy vibe. Then we take a darker, more trap turn with “Digging” and “Weekend” to close us out.
Overall, Be Right Back is a journey that ends very differently than when it started. Once you complete the album, you’ll end up doing a double-take to see that it’s actually done. In other words, Jorja’s latest work leaves the listener wanting more.
Ready is Always Too Late by Sinead Harnett
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Genre: R&B/Soul
About two months after Ready is Always Too Late’s release, I was involved in a situation where I was talking to someone for whom I had caught incredibly strong feelings for in the beginning. While he both felt very mutually attracted to each other, we kept saying we wanted to take things slow. I, however, kept grappling with this feeling of not wanting to wait and act on these strong feelings out of fear of them vanishing or diminishing.
Hence the title track of this album, to which I found myself constantly going back, felt like the perfect exhibition of what I was going through at the time. Not only that, but the other emotions also expressed by Sinead on this album are incredibly personable and relatable.
Sinead sings a lot about past trauma and being hurt by love (“Last Love,” and “Anymore”) but also about new love (“Stay,” “Take Me Away,” “Like This,” “Stickin’”).
However, the most powerful track on Too Late is “Hard 4 Me 2 Love You,” which was actually the name of the EP Sinead put out shortly before releasing the entire album. I think this song perfectly captures the essence of the entire project by exploiting the difficulties of being in love and trying to make things work with your significant other. It also comes halfway through the track list and serves as this pivotal moment where the energy and vibe of Too Late shifts.
Aside from this album entering my life at the right time, it also exposed me to brilliant ingenuity and incredible artistry of Sinead Harnett. I look forward to consuming more of her psyche in the future.
The Duality of Man by SoMo
Release Date: June 14, 2021
Genre: Pop/R&B
SoMo is one of my favorite artists of all time. I credit my love for his music to his passionate and delicate lyrics about love, lust and sex while possessing one of the most distinctive voices I have ever come across. While SoMo had just put out an album in 2020, I was incredibly excited for his 2021 release mostly because of the concept behind the project.
“’The Duality of Man’ is a special conceptual project about love and introspection,” SoMo had written on Instagram the day of the album’s release. “I quite literally dove into the depths of my soul for this album and wrote these songs from a place that I haven’t before.”
While we are not unfamiliar with this kind of work from the singer, The Duality of Man went deeper than SoMo had ever done before by exploring the struggles of being a sex symbol while balancing fatherhood and marriage.
Traces of SoMo’s love for his daughters are speckled throughout the album on tracks like “Trees,” “Daughters,” “Dolly Parton” and “Rain,” which actually features his eldest daughter’s vocals. Concurrently, we also get more of SoMo’s love for his birthstate (Texas) with the country-infused “Blue Rose,” and “Boom.” All the while, SoMo’s love for his wife remains undying as shown through tracks like “Til’ Death,” “Born to Die,” and “End of the Rainbow.”
On top of these explicitly emotional lyrics and genre-blending effort, SoMo pushes his singing capabilities to a whole new level as well. To me, this album serves as the best possible creative explosion for someone who has always strives to be his most authentic self.
Planet Her by Doja Cat
Release Date: June 27, 2021
Genre: Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop
Everyone has that one album that you just throw on because it’s catchy and easy to listen to. In 2021, that album for me was Planet Her by Doja Cat. If her 2019 smash record Hot Pink was the artist’s launching pad, then Planet Her was her domination of the airwaves and streaming services.
When you listen to this album, it instantly grips your ear with the Caribbean-inspired track, “Woman.” Doja comes swinging out the gate hard with a smooth flow and rap that rivals some of her best work. From there the album is carried by other hits that have nearly doubled Doja’s catalog such as “Get Into It (Yuh), “Need To Know,” and “You Right.”
Read More: WELCOME TO “PLANET HER”
However, the main attraction is the smash hit “Kiss Me More (feat. SZA),” which easily became the song of the summer last year. The bouncy pop/rap song was the result of Doja wanting to develop more of an 80’s-inspired sound and even said the song was inspired by Olivia Newton John’s 1981 hit, “Let’s Get Physical.”
While Doja has also said Planet Her was her attempt to bring in more R&B and singing into her music, she reminds people that she’s still a rapper at heart with tracks like “Naked” and “Options (feat. JID)” being testaments to that. Overall, this album is a smorgasbord of talent from an artist trying to prove that she can, and will, do it all.
333 by Tinashe
Release Date: August 6, 2021
Genre: Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop
Speaking of creative explosions, 333 proves how Tinashe continues to break the mold for herself and shatter everyone else’s expectations.
As my favorite artist of all time, I have been following Tinashe since her major-label debut in 2014. The way I see it, whenever the world seems to count her out, this multi-talented individual finds a way to re-insert herself in the chatter in the most gracious and impressive fashion. While she’s not out here topping charts, Tinashe is racking up positive reviews, partnerships and above all, respect.
333 comes two years after Tinashe’s 2019 effort called Songs For You. The artist continues to pack a slew of infectious hits into one project while also staying true to her experimental roots. 333 takes the listener on a journey through space and time (quite literally) with tracks that each hold their own unique spot.
“I Can See The Future” is my favorite and “The Chase” is the pinnacle and fan-favorite of the album. There’s also the rule-bending “Small Reminders” that, to me, perfectly sums up Tinashe’s representation as an artist. To sum it up, if you want an album that will keep you occupied from start to finish, then 333 is exactly what you need. Not only will you get a taste of true artistry, you may even like it and beg for more.
Honorable Mentions:
Valleyheart by LostboyCrow
Internet Killed The Rockstar by MOD SUN
PINK PLANET by Pink Sweat$
Overgrown by Joyce Wright
The Idea of Her by Ali Gatie
Burning Fire by CAMINO
Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land by MARINA
Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish
Scenic Drive by Khalid
Listen to all these albums on my Spotify playlist here:
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