On the back of her Dickens-inspired Havisham EP, south London R&B singer Ray BLK won the BBC’s Sound of 2017 poll, beating Jorja Smith and Rag’n’Bone Man. A clutch of moving songs followed – such as Run, Run and My Hood, the latter featuring a then rising Stormzy. But it’s taken four long years for her debut full-length album to drop – time in which Rita Ekwere has pupated into a different sort of artist.
Access Denied is an unabashedly mainstream record, one rattling with trap beats, Afropop and hip-hop-grade grandstanding. The aim, BLK explains in the opener, was always to be “the black Madonna” – but by being entirely herself, making music she would actually listen to. And while this approach brings with it some loss of individuality, the results overall – on the previously released MIA or Over You – remain convincing.
There’s no shortage of killer hooks deeper into the album – a commitment to bangers matched by BLK’s wise words about personal damage and heartbreak on songs such as the excellent title track. Lauren’s Skit, meanwhile, keeps this international-sounding record located in south London, with a woman letting expletives rip into an errant lover’s voicemail.
