Stream: Natalie Prass, ‘Short Court Style’

S.Lo on March 20th, 2018

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It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to describe Natalie Prass as following in the footsteps of smooth female R&B pop legends SWV with the playful yet demure brassiness of Janet Jackson on her first single, “Short Court Style,” off her sophomore album, “The Future and the Past,” out June 1st via ATO.

Known for covering Jackson while promoting her self-titled debut album, the native Virginian has boldly directed her creative energies for her new songs clearly toward her R&B inspirations. In 2015, she also shared a “Soul Sisters Playlist,” establishing that the legends were also her foundation.

The decision to refocus from the eclectic pop sound of her first album might also be explained by the political waves surrounding the recent election. “I was devastated,” she explains. “It made me question what it means to be a woman in America. … I knew I’d be upset with myself if I didn’t take the opportunity to say some of the things that meant so much to me, so I decided to rewrite the record. I needed to make an album that was going to get me out of my funk, one that would hopefully lift other people out of theirs, too, because that’s what music is all about.”

“Short Court Style,” with its easygoing funk bass with keys building the rhythm against Prass’s soulful melodic sways, shoots straight in the basket. It’s a song about keeping faith in what holds us together. “Oh for all we know / How the world is trying to show us where we first went wrong / And it’s a crime if we don’t / Be with the one we needed all along,” she sings, while spinning on a merry-go-round in a park. The video, directed by herself and Erica Prince, is a return to a place of innocence. A diverse group of colorful young ribbon dancers (Amani Holloway, Corin Illsley, Brittany Powers and Jada Willis, choreographed by Theresa Niermeyer) eventually join her in realizing her vision of a return to togetherness and happiness.

||| Stream: “Short Court Style”