UK R&B star Shakka has finally released his debut album, Road Trip To Venus. In contrast to the album’s shorter, ancestral EPs, the London-based singer/songwriter/producer provides us with a sprawling 19-track package that totals almost an hour in runtime.
Shakka keeps things lowkey in terms of features, collaborating with just three artists: GoldLink, on the summery lead single “Solo”; Imani, on the breezy, feel-good number “Doin’ Time”; and Tiana Major9, on the sultry slow-jam “Scuba Deep / A Pipe Dream”. On the production side of things, Shakka handles the bulk of it himself, with additional beats from the likes of Al Shux, Komenz, Jonah Christian and Sandy Chila.
Highlights on the album include the dancehall-tinged “Take It There”, which sees Shakka glide vocally over a tropical, rhythmic instrumental. Equally, the synthy, beatbox-backed song “Price” sees him switch things up with slick, sung-rap flows over bouncy drum work. Road Trip To Venus concludes with the celebratory “Thank You”, with Shakka giving thanks to those who helped him throughout his career.
