Former Beyonce band member Divinity Roxx’s “Impossible” album
Originally emerging from the impressively dense Atlanta Music scene, Divinity Roxx went from three months in bass camp to being invited on tour by Victor Wooten. After an audition she was then chosen to be a member of Beyonce’s band, but not only that, she was given the role as a musical director also. During the five-year span in which Roxx worked with Beyonce, she toured and performed on two of her biggest ever tours, The Beyonce Experience and I Am…Sasha Fierce.
Despite what could only be described as a dream come true at the time, Roxx always had the ambition for her solo work to flourish and – after playing with rapper B.o.B. and backing soul legends Patti Labelle, Erykah Badu and Gladys Knighthas – has since moved on releasing her critically acclaimed album, Roxx Boxx Experience in 2012. An album that included Grammy Award winners Bootsy Collins and Killa Mike.
Well, 2016 may be her year of evolution as she has released her highly anticipated album Impossible in which she takes her talents from previous projects and expands on her sound further. This LP is a 12-tracked intimate journey into Roxx’s life, love, feelings and thoughts. From the off we are introduced to voice message sent from her mother that preludes Miracle. Her spoken word delivery is faultless as she poetically puts her point across similar in style to Lauryn Hill in her pomp.
Break Down These Walls is lyrically potent display, whilst her flow is sharp as she rapidly delivers, manipulating her tempo over an indie rock musical composition that just works in this case. The song features Anhayla on chorus, but a special mention must go to the rest of Roxx’s band – Lamar A. Moore (drums), Julian Litwack (guitar) and Babl Lemmens (piano) – who deliver a great performance.
First single We Are is another example of beautiful songwriting that sits well with its instrumental. It’s a real alternative pop moment that takes you to a positive place. In terms of production it’s the best track on the album. You can imagine this crowd-pleasing anthem being synched to a film or an advert, its mainstream potential cannot be denied. For those looking for something harder I Like It featuring Yani Marin is a rambunctious example, evoking the sound of a Missy Elliott and Timbaland beat.
If you’re looking for a female Kendrick Lamar or Common and also like the neo soul exploits of The Internet then there is more than enough here to delight you. Impossible has a little of everything – jazz, dub, hip hop, RnB and rock – but without the overkill. As a body of work everything fits, rather than being a collection of songs it feels like a complete LP that has a concept that was well executed.
Impossible is available now on iTunes. If you would like a taster just stream the full album below:
