Album Review: The Crown by Ledisi

Taken together, the pieces of The Crown present Ledisi applying jazz‑honed technique and gospel‑rooted conviction to R&B themes of affirmation, romantic steadfastness and generational pride.

Courtesy of Listen Back Entertainment, LLC.

Ledisi’s milestone twelfth studio release, The Crown, feels less like a follow‑up to last year’s Good Life and more like a coronation. Announced in the afterglow of her spirited “Lift Every Voice and Sing” rendition at Super Bowl LIX, the project takes its title from a phrase she kept repeating to friends after that performance: “Remember who you are; fix your crown.” From the outset, Ledisi framed the record as an ode to lineage and self‑sovereignty, pointing to the jazz tutelage of her New Orleans upbringing and the gospel discipline that shaped her vocal attack. She cut most of the album in 2024, splitting time between a warm‑sounding Los Angeles room run by longtime collaborator Rex Rideout and Joc Musiq’s New Orleans compound, where horns and Hammond organs were tracked live to honor Crescent City traditions.

On Sherri, she explained that she wanted every song “built like church first, then dressed for the club,” a process that left her and Rideout layering choirs and real brass before adding programmed drums or synth bass.​ The rollout began earlier this year with “Love You Too,” a satin‑soul mid‑tempo that Ledisi co‑wrote with Rideout. Its stacked background harmonies and call‑and‑response bridge recall her mid‑2000s work, yet the production carries a modern slap; she told Broadway World she aimed for “that Anita‑meets‑Ari groove” so younger listeners would feel at home alongside her core audience. She also employs conversational language that still manages to evoke a sense of wonder and possibility on the opening track (“Daydreaming”), offering reflective meditation on legacy (“The Crown”), and the choices construct a vivid impression of love as a dynamic force that overwhelms reason (“Enuf”).

Barely three weeks after the first single, she pivoted from romance to rallying cry with “BLKWMN.” Produced by Joc Musiq, the track rides a marching‑band snare line and church‑organ swells while the singer recites a litany of affirmations: “Black woman, wild flower born a queen… God gave you spiritual power.” Tyler Perry, fresh off directing her Super Bowl rehearsal documentary, offered to bankroll and direct the video after hearing an early mix; the clip intercuts HBCU majorettes, civil‑rights archival stills, and Black‑owned‑business footage, giving the song the widescreen context Ledisi envisioned. During a Rated R&B interview, she framed it as “the emotional centerpiece of the album—the moment the crown isn’t just mine, it’s ours.” The single racked up a million YouTube views in its first 72 hours and briefly trended on TikTok thanks to a #CrownWalk challenge filmed by dance‑team captains nationwide.

Even as the singles landed, Ledisi kept shaping the record in public view with more consistent cuts, and it’s not different with “7 Days of Weak.” Ledisi examines the interplay between memory and the relentless progression of time.

“Mondays is one day, Tuesday, I lose it
Wеdnesday, I can't take anymore of it
Thursday’s thе worst day, Friday I cried away
Saturday, I'd rather lay in bed and wait ‘til Sunday.”

“All 4 U” navigates the complexities of emotional contradiction using language that oscillates between vulnerability and resolve. “Making a Way” is a feel-good uptempo anthem that breaks things up from an album that’s relaxed primarily in tone, but on “I Do” is built around an unambiguous exploration of commitment and enduring affection as the title suggests. Once again teaming up with one of R&B’s most valuable players, Camper, he helps emphasize the song’s emotional clarity and reflects a deliberate intent to portray love as an organic, evolving force that is both reflective and forward-looking, as Ledisi is known to do. The songwriting on this record constructs a straightforward, heartfelt narrative of commitment by balancing tender declarations with a confident assertion of shared destiny, inviting a deep consideration of the profound bonds that sustain long-term relationships.

Taken together, the pieces of The Crown present a veteran artist applying jazz‑honed technique and gospel‑rooted conviction to contemporary R&B themes of affirmation, romantic steadfastness, and generational pride. Ledisi has long been royalty to singers who study runs and swing, but this cycle frames her as something broader: a matriarch who carries tradition forward without bowing to nostalgia. When she says “fix your crown,” she is talking to herself, her peers, and every fan who might need that reminder—and the music, stitched from live horns, trap‑adjacent drums, and sounds that feel lifted from Sunday service, delivers the pep talk in surround sound. If these songs discussed are any indication, The Crown feels less like an album release and more like a public enthronement.

Great (★★★★☆)

Favorite Track(s): “7 Days of Weak,” “Making a Way” “I Do”