Recovery

BBE welcomes Algebra to the label, joining Bilal and Slakah the Beatchild, to what is a growing roster of soul artists jumping the pond and finding a home with us.

On Recovery, her BBE debut and second full-length album, the soulful songstress known as Algebra Blessett delivers a consistently sublime set that showcases the remarkable vocal and songwriting gifts that have already established the versatile, charismatic artist as one of R&B’s hottest rising performers.

Born Algebra Felicia Blessett and hailing from the R&B hotbed of Atlanta, Algebra has already earned a reputation as one of her hometown’s most exciting new talents. Having already won widespread acclaim with her solo debut Purpose, and for her work as collaborator with the likes of Monica, Bilal, India.Arie, Esperanza Spalding and Anthony David, Algebra offers a fresh, expansive creative vision on Recovery, on which she worked with three of today’s hottest urban producers: Bryan-Michael Cox, Kwamé Holland and Shannon Sanders.

Such indelible new self-penned tunes as “Nobody But You,” “Right Next to You” and the pointed “Writer’s Block” demonstrate Algebra’s uncanny ability to spin insightful scenarios that are rooted in personal experience and crafted to convey maximum musical and emotional impact. Whether she’s delivering infectious pop, swaggering funk or sensitive balladry, there are no gimmicks here, just timelessly soulful, effortlessly accessible music that draws upon the varied musical skills that Blessett has developed through a lifetime of creative curiosity.

“My first album “Purpose” was a group of songs that I’d collected along the way, and it was me saying ‘This is what I do,'” Blessett explains. “But I wanted this one to be the next level musically. I called it Recovery because I’m a sucker for heartache and pain, but I also believe in going through the process to get to where you need to be. I don’t want to make anybody jump off a bridge, but I also understand that there’s more to life than gallivanting around like butterflies. So I feel some responsibility to put my experiences out there in a way that’s relatable to people’s lives.”

The period between “Purpose” and “Recovery” was a productive one for Blessett, who kept busy with a variety of notable projects. She sang on three of fellow Atlanta artist Anthony David’s albums, with the two singers joining forces on the hit duet (and popular wedding song) “4Evermore,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Adult Contemporary chart in 2011. Blessett also co-wrote and sang on Esperanza Spalding’s hit “Black Gold” from Spalding’s Grammy-winning Radio Music Society, was featured on Vivian Green’s album The Green Room, and sang with Anthony Hamilton on hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari’s “She Was Just A Friend.”

She’s also applied her training as a dancer and aerialist to her music, integrating those skills into her live performances.
That open-minded attitude towards her creative endeavors is apparent throughout Recovery, and marks Algebra as an artist with a bright and unlimited future.

“I’m still a work in progress, and I feel like the future is open,” the artist states. “Of course I want to be successful, but what I really care about is making classic music that reaches people and touches their lives in a positive, healing way. To me, a great song is a great song in any genre, and the artists that I love are the ones who make honest music that communicates emotionally. That’s what I want to do.”