Should you listen to your fans? The great artists have often done whatever they wanted, to the point of often wrong-footing their followers – which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Launched to the summit of world pop following her featuring with Kanye West on American Boy in 2008, the Brit Estelle knew her fans were waiting for a reggae album. "Since the release of ‘Come Over (feat. Sean Paul)’ from my first album, fans have consistently asked when I would make an entire reggae album. I’m happy to give the people what they have been asking for and I’m proud to share another piece of my life and art with the world", explained the singer, the daughter of a Senegalese mother and a Grenadian father.
So Estelle went to explore her West Indian roots and her parents' love story, working with Jamaican producer Supa Dups in Miami, who has put his name to dancehall-infused hits for Drake and Rihanna, as well as Reefa (Lil Wayne), Jerry Wonda (Wyclef Jean) and Harmony Samuels (Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande). In fourteen tracks, Estelle makes a tour of the Caribbean, with soca on Meet Up (feat. Maleek Berry), reggaeton on Ain't Yo Bitch, zouk on the irresistible Really Want (with yardie idol Konshens), and she even allows herself a couple of interludes of R&B (the silky Better) and soul (Good for Us). As for reggae, she has some variety, from roots on Karma (with HoodCelebrityy), or a cool 1980s digital reggae on Slow Down – for a fatal duel with the elastic Alicai Harley – and throughout, she displays all the variety of her extraordinary vocal palette. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz