As my music taste gradually began to shift towards more soulful and contemporary R&B when I began college, Lucky Daye was one of the main artists that caught my ear. His unique approach to neo-soul on projects such as Painted (one of my all-time favorites) and Candydrip, incorporating refreshing elements of ethereal grooviness and old school funk into his music that not many modern R&B artists utilized, is what subsequently made him one of my top three favorite artists. Even Daye’s third album, Algorithm, found ways of incorporating those same elements despite leaning more towards an alternative R&B/soft rock sound, making it my favorite album of 2024. However, Lucky Daye’s most recent project Aloud!, which is the artist’s first project since being signed to a new record label, deviates from that established sound to deliver us an album that represents the outward rebellion of this particular Lucky Daye era. Most Lucky Daye albums tell a story that remain smooth and cohesive thanks to the musical stylings of producer D’Mile (the same producer behind the likes of Bruno Mars, Victoria Monét, H.E.R., and many others). Aloud! , as the title’s double entendre insinuates (aloud/allowed), has a more trap soul oriented vibe that’s less of a story being told and more of a statement regarding Lucky’s willingness to take risks. Lucky Daye is a vocal powerhouse, but unlike his previous work, his vocals aren’t the main focus here. Featuring some of the boldest artists in the music industry currently such as Leon Thomas, Pusha T, Muni Long, and others, the rebellious nature of Aloud! is evident on each track such as the aggressive percussion and lyricism of a track like Down or the combination of hip-hop and moody R&B on tracks like Mouf Say. (The saxophones on that song were a nice touch.) There are a variety of different producers that worked on this project such as Dimitri McDowell and Khris Riddick that all specialize in different R&B vibes and helped Lucky fully realize this new vision. Even the two tracks on this album that were produced by D’Mile, Nowhere Fast and Margarita Lime, had more of a carefree feel to them than usual. This isn’t to say that Lucky abandons his sound completely. His affinity for the old school sound, although not as strong on this project, still remains with tracks like the 90s club swagger of Wet, the yacht rock yearning of Talk To Me, and the smooth grooves of Woman First with Akeem Ali. Also, the subject matter he’s known for, which is singing about different experiences involving love, is still intact here as well, but this time with a sense of braggadocios confidence that made for a fun listen. (Fly U Out is probably one of this album’s best examples of “I want to see you, but let me show you how cool I am”) As a Lucky Daye fan, this sound did take some getting used to when I first heard it, but taking the time to understand what Lucky wanted to do with this project, flexing the bounds of his creative freedom, made me appreciate it a lot more. I’ll always give props to artists whenever they switch up their sound every once and a while. Favorite Tracks: Nowhere Fast, Talk To Me, Fly U Out (feat. Leon Thomas), Margarita Lime, SDP
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