The winding career of gospel- and soul-powered singer and songwriter
Nicole Bus
was established with a couple competition wins in her native Netherlands, advancement to the quarterfinals of The Voice of Holland, and her 2009 recorded debut. At one point between her first two albums,
The Heart of the Matter
(2011) and
Magnolia
(2017), she told close collaborator
Needlz
-- a veteran producer behind tracks from the likes of
50 Cent
,
Bruno Mars
Jeremih
, and
Cardi B
-- that she would one day sign with
Roc Nation
.
Bus
' dream became a reality in 2018. Her first single for the label, "You," shot to the top of Billboard's Adult R&B Songs chart in 2019. Wrapped in layers of nostalgia, the hit samples
the Charmels
'
Isaac Hayes
/
David Porter
-written 1967 single "As Long as I've Got You" like
Wu-Tang Clan
's "C.R.E.A.M" did in 1993, and
echoes the chorus of the original out of devotion, adding her own timestamp only with references to modern pop-cult heartthrobs. For listeners encountering the song for the first time, its raspy ad-libs and wails can be easily mistaken for the work of
Lauryn Hill
or
Jazmine Sullivan
. On her subsequent third LP,
seizes this opportune moment, or kairos, as the ancient Greeks identified it, and goes a little further to secure her place in the throwback R&B continuum. Apart from
TL Cross
, who produces a couple tracks and assists on another,
works strictly with
. They frequently repurpose breaks and other sampled elements inextricably linked with golden age hip-hop, and dip occasionally into vintage reggae stylings, like they've absorbed everything
Salaam Remi
and
Wyclef Jean
did separately and together during the back half of the '90s. The strength, grain, and perceptible wisdom in
' voice make her a perfect match for this approach.
stands out most and excels on the pulsing contemporary ballad "411" (which does quote
Mary J. Blige
) and the uplifting soul-gospel finale "Look Up to the Sky." The latter is based on an unreleased
recording, and
sounds free from the weight of the past, embracing the fortune of working with a missing slice of musical history, coming across more like a fully churchified
Carole King
. ~ Andy Kellman