Four Favorite Albums from April

1. Kehlani by Kehlani

   It’s clear from the very start of this album that Kehlani has a huge amount of reverence for not only her genre of R&B, but also the greats of the genre who came before her. The features list on this album is extensive, including names like Missy Elliot, Usher, and Lil Wayne. On I Need You, Kehlani employs legendary R&B production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for her collaboration with the extremely talented Brandy. This song for four minutes of pure yearning, executed perfectly. On Call Me Back, Lil Jon and T-Pain take turns making sure that we have fun over lyrics that let us know that Kehlani’s the problem in her dissolving relationship. From top to bottom, this is a perfect album. The lyrics fully chronicle a break up, from the initial moments of obsession (No Such Thing feat. Clipse), to its messy dissolution (Out The Window). Between Kehlani’s incredible voice and her pen, and the talent of her collaborators, this album is masterfully done R&B.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Dorian Electra by Dorian Electra

   Another self-titled album, but this time with a different approach. While Kehlani got personal, Dorian Electra diverts almost completely from themself: this album is all covers. Electra tackles Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man as the albums opener, with help from sibling production duo Frost Children. The cover is bizarre and very compelling; where else could I hear Dylan done hyperpop?. With help from their collaborators, Electra tackles everything from Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie to No Doubt’s Hella Good. My personal favorite track on the album is a drum-and-bass-y version of Young Folks by Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John. This album is weird and compelling, and despite the wide array of genres that Electra dabbles in for this self-titled project, everything still works. I think that it’s also a very fun idea to have your self-titled album be all covers. It’s tongue in cheek in the way that Cameron Winter naming his solo album Heavy Metal is.

   

   
   

3. Fidelity by Yaya Bey

   Yaya Bey’s sixth studio album, 2025’s do it afraid, was written while the singer-songwriter was resisting being seen as someone in grief. She had felt that there was no way for her to grieve publicly without that grief becoming a spectacle. In an essay that she wrote to accompany the release of Fidelity, Bey says, “My grief went from human to specifically Black and tasty on the lips of outsiders. Outsiders who have managed to become gatekeepers.” The album’s title, Fidelity, comes from a list of the five things she considers Black people are excellent at: love, joy, adaptation, creativity, and fidelity. Later in her essay, she articulates this: “And while empire is falling and white daddy is reheating his own nachos at this point I don’t know that it’s really so problematic that we reheat some of our own. Maybe we should take another stab at our previous efforts. Look at things with fresh eyes.” Bey takes her own suggestion here and makes it the ethos of her album. On one of my favorite tracks off Fidelity, Dream Girl (Lexapro Mix), Bey reworks her song dream girl off of do it afraid. It’s a version of the song that’s come down to earth and changes the original track’s people-pleasing instinct into something more herself.

   

   
   

4. POMPEII // UTILITY by Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, SURF GANG

   Following a long legacy of double albums, Earl Sweatshirt and Mike take their history of friendship and collaboration to the next level, accompanied by production from New York producer group and label Surf Gang. The project feels completely uninhibited in a way that only genuine enjoyment for your craft can bring, whether in the production, the rapping, or the other people chosen as features (including names like Niontay and Na-Kel Smith).There’s a genuine level of connection between everybody on either side of this record that’s clear from the get go, but shows up especially on the two tracks that Earl and Mike go at together, Mike’s Kirkland and Earl’s Leadbelly. Especially on Kirkland, Mike and Earl’s back and forth is addictive. Earl’s ad-libs during Mike’s verse add more to the song than anything else for me. I hope that the future holds a proper collaboration album from the two, because Pompeii // Utility left me hungry for a full project of songs like Kirkland and Leadbelly.