By Niy Birden
Columbia
It is safe to say that Leon Bridges won’t be abandoning the genres for a while-in fact at this point it almost seems as if he is set out to master it. Not only was his debut album a cornucopia of early R&B that shaped American music’s history, but his original compositions within it were written in such a way that would make one wonder if they were instead covers of actual songs done before his time.
It would be hard to say that he is in the top list of mainstream R&B artists right now, but only due to the fact that his sound is so authentically vintage that it doesn’t necessarily par up to the modern techniques of musicians on the charts currently. But he isn’t so far-off with his sound that he is an oddity or unworthy of the same praise. He’s simply in his own carefully-crafted lane. And this lane is becoming even more intriguing recently.
Leon first burst onto the scene with his nostalgia-infused debut Coming Home, which spanned a few hits such as “Lisa Sawyer”, the title track itself, and “River”, which was accompanied with a political and sentimental nod to religion. His noticeable adornment and affiliation with Motown-everything gave him a special place in the industry. Oddly enough, Leon- who was born Todd Michael “Leon” Bridges in Texas, was studying to be a dancer. But a chance with a friend in possession of a guitar and a few gigs created the triple-threat we have come to know.
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