R&B’s Bridges enjoys ‘amazing’ ride
Featuring on Barack Obama’s year-end culture list is quite an accolade. It’s a mention R&B musician Leon Bridges – whose song Bad Bad News made the cut – admits is pretty ‘‘amazing’’.
‘‘Amazing’’ would be an apt word to sum up the Texas-based singer’s career to date.
The 29-year-old has celebrated two top 10 albums in the United States, performed at the White House, received multiple Grammy nominations, and found mainstream fame when his gospel song River featured during a particularly poignant scene of Big Little Lies.
He performed in Auckland on January 12, on stage at Western Springs Stadium as part of Mumford & Sons’ multi-act show, to a crowd of Kiwis who sung his songs back at him, including his hit single Beyond – an intimate, soulful love song that contemplates someone being his ‘‘forever’’.
Beyond has been streamed nearly 58,000,000 times on Spotify.
In the lyrics Bridges earnestly ponders: ‘‘I’m scared to death that she might be it / That the love is real, that the shoe might fit / She might just be my everything and beyond.’’
Bridges says he knew during the writing process the song was set to go far.
‘‘The melody and cadence, and the vibe of the song, was just something I felt would resonate with people.
‘‘It’s a side of love that leaves me very vulnerable, and it’s a side of love that isn’t really talked about within the R&B world.’’
He says Beyond ‘‘is reflective of a time’’ and a relationship he was in.
He breaks into a laugh moments later confessing that ‘‘I haven’t had a woman in forever’’.
This distance from the situation means the timeless song is as much for him as it is ‘‘for other people and for the fans to connect with’’.
Connection sits at the core of everything Bridges does.
His first album Coming Home connected so powerfully it bred near-constant Sam Cooke references.
His second album Good Thing finds connection with its funk-infused R&B grooves and freed him from the Cooke stereotype.
On Good Thing the beats are quicker and his
lyrics a fraction more suggestive, but one thing remains the same: an undercurrent of respect. Respect for his subjects, respect for history, and respect for the music.
It’s something that he says is reflective of his character and his upbringing, and something that does raise questions when it comes time to decide how much of himself to give away in his music.
‘‘I try to be transparent within my lyrics, but I always struggle with how transparent I should be. The way I talk with my homies is not the energy I put in my music.
‘‘I’m not a perfect person at all but I do respect women, and I believe in carrying on my heritage, keeping black music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s within my music.’’
This constant call back to decades gone by is something Bridges knows separates him from other artists cutting their teeth in the genre.
On his third album, he’s determined to create something that has the same emotionally stirring effect that his first album did, while still ‘‘making something that’s never been done before’’.
An air of self-assurance creeps into his voice before he quietly says: ‘‘It feels like it’s going to transcend time.’’