After much anticipation, Grammy-winning musician Robert Glasper has unleashed his new album, Black Radio III.
The 13-track LP includes the previously released tracks “Better Than I Imagined” featuring H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello; “Shine” featuring D Smoke and Tiffany Gouché; and “Black Superhero” featuring Killer Mike, BJ the Chicago Kid and Big K.R.I.T.
“I had a responsibility to give people what they were asking for, especially during the pandemic,” Glasper told Apple Music. “They wanted another Black Radio, so I had to deliver.”
And Glasper certainly does deliver on Black Radio III. The opening track “In Tune” features a powerful poem by Amir Sulaiman. “A lot has happened in the 10 years since the first Black Radio, and a whole lot has happened for Black people in America in the last two years. I felt like I had to address the elephant in the room with this track and ‘Black Superhero,’” Glasper explained to Apple Music.
On “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Glasper, Lalah Hathaway and Common effortlessly transport the 1985 synth-pop track, originally performed by Tears For Fears, into a soulful direction.
“It Don’t Matter” is a soul-stirring duet between Gregory Porter and Ledisi. Here, they sing about a relationship that seems to be fading away.
Jennifer Hudson echoes similar sentiments on “Out of My Hands.” Here, the vocal powerhouse vents about an ungrateful partner and a relationship that is too broken to fix. “So many things about this I just don’t like / It’s too far gone to fix / Can’t seem to make it right,” sings Hudson.
On the contrary, “Forever,” performed by PJ Morton and India.Arie, is a beautiful ballad about the desire to keep a love lasting eternally. “I just want this to last forever / Like a daydream that won’t end ever,” they sing.
Black Radio III also includes appearances from Ant Clemons, Ty Dolla $ign, Musiq Soulchild, Posdnous, Yebba, Esperanza Spalding and Q-Tip. Glasper released Black Radio in 2012 and Black Radio 2 in 2013. The inaugural installment won Best R&B Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. It was Glasper’s first Grammy win.
Although Black Radio 2 didn’t win in the same category at the 57th annual ceremony, Glasper did win Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Jesus Children,” his collaboration with Lalah Hathaway and Malcolm Jamal Warner.
Glasper is nominated for two Grammy awards at the upcoming ceremony. He scored a nod for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his contribution to Leon Bridges’ song “Born Again,” lifted from Gold-Diggers Sound. Glasper’s supergroup Dinner Party, which also includes members Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington, is also up for Best Progressive R&B Album for Dinner Party: Dessert.
Stream Robert Glasper’s Black Radio III below.