Taking the sassier grooves of the R&B signature sound and running them through a hip-hop soundscape, Ajay Brown uses this musical springboard to push, not just the boundaries of his own music but perhaps urban music itself.
Whilst Real Situations comes from an autobiographical place, discussing his own life and loves, stories and struggles, it still manages to cover a lot of ground musically speaking. Heartbeat blends staccato lyrical stabs with smoother, contrasting cascading pianos and shuffling beats and the title track itself is a surprisingly chilled delivery, considering it is the centre piece of an album built on describing the trials and tribulations of modern life, both a brave and unexpected move.
But then, it is a surprising album in many ways, rather than coming at the subjects full of anger and perhaps feeling like he has something to prove, Ajay Brown seems more considered, more reflective, more…well, mature I suppose. And that is a very good approach to take.
Link to the album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4TUe8xzxpVXeOhfkBeCz2Y?si=iQDOFk_-S–FULXJ9wf6dw
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