Richardine Bartee
“Go back to where you came from.”
Friday, Black British artist V V Brown released her profound album ‘Am I British Yet?’, which poetically tackles and explains the unfair and racially charged experiences she has lived through as a person of colour in the United Kingdom. Born to Jamaican and Puerto Rican parents in England, the Northampton star’s thought-provoking body of work doubles as an open invitation for people globally to see and hear the painful stories from the region often untold in this way.
Choosing to paint or create with a mixed genre palette for this album, the ‘Shark In The Water’ singer has used elements from various disciplines (Hip-Hop, R&B/Soul, Reggae, Spoken Word, and employing a choir) to present herself and tell her story and truths. It wouldn’t be best to spill the beans, as we need you to absorb the knockout the way we have as Black people outside of the region. However, in the most attractive ways, V V Brown implements spoken word and vocals from her fellow creators, incorporating stellar performances by Myrle E Roach on ‘Go Back’ and Ron Frater’s detailed description of ‘Jamaica’.
Stream the eighteen-track project below to learn more about the rich history of Black British people experiencing a unique barrage of prejudices and problems that only they go through. As NME’s album description shares, it promised to “explore Brown’s idea of being Black British and provide social commentary on her ethnicity and subculture.” We believe it has.
