With his blended hip-hop, RnB country sound, Willie Jones has been carving his own path in the country industry since his explosive single ‘Bachelorettes on Broadway.’ Today, he unleashes his debut record – Right Now. Here, we review the record and reveal why we think the record is a step up for Jones in his career.
Listen to the record now here.
On his debut record, Willie Jones unleashes a genre-defying standout record that breaks boundaries lyrically and sonically, commercially ready tracks celebrating the party scene are laid next to reflective tracks on the modern black experience in America. ‘Country Soul’ that opens the record is a reflection on this, offering an autobiographical introduction to the breadth and depth of Jones’ musical influences – from Marvin Gaye to Tim McGraw.
The album effortlessly moves between R&B sounds (‘Down For It’) to bombastic pop-country sounds (‘Bachelorettes on Broadway’), thanks to its flawlessly executed production. The standout track on the record is doubtless ‘American Dream’ that is both intensely personal and vulnerable whilst also being an outcry against the injustice posited on blacks in America as Jones sings ‘When you’re living as a Black man / It’s a different kind of American dream,’ infusing his own lyrics with the words and recordings of Martin Luther King. Jones’ lyricism is intensely moving and offers a new take on a singer that was most oft known for the pumping party anthem ‘Bachelorettes on Broadway.’ Surprisingly vulnerable too is the later track ‘Drank Too Much’ – a story about needing alcohol to have the confidence to approach a woman and the slow burning ‘Actions’ that deals with the responsibility for every action we take.
Willie Jones has captured something truly special on this record, bending genres and fusing a melting pot of sounds into a totally fresh new sound. In the fresh vulnerability he has shown on this record in comparison to his previously released tracks, Jones has tapped into something important that will stand the test of time and outlive the more bombastic anthems on this record.
Editor’s Picks
Country Soul
American Dream
Bachelorettes on Broadway
