In the beginning of the aughts, R&B singer Bilal was making a name for himself as a member of the creatively fecund musical outfit known as the Soulquarians (which counted D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common, J Dilla, and members of the Roots, chiefly ?uestlove, among its members). After a prominent appearance on Common’s “The 6th Sense,” Bilal dropped his debut album 1st Born Second on Interscope, which featured chart-placing singles such as the Dr. Dre-produced “Fast Lane” and “Soul Sista.” It received general acclaim from music critics, and Bilal seemed poised for a successful R&B career, when an all-too-familiar narrative took hold: the singer dropped an ambitious follow-up, the label shelved it, and an artist on the verge of success instead spent most of the decade in label-wrangling hell.
Bilal quietly released Airtight’s Revenge on avant-pop label Plug Research in 2010, and though it went relatively under the radar, it remains one of the best R&B albums of the decade thus far. Featuring a number of tracks with asymmetrical arrangements and whirlwind rhythms, the music is as tumultuous and impassioned as the singing and lyrics, which deal with adult-slanted relationship drama, politics, and deep introspection.
