Review: Jon Batiste — World Music Radio
Jon Batiste is one of the most renowned artists to come out of Louisiana in the last 20 years. Having worked with legends like Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Ed Sheeran, Batiste has made a name for himself as a bandleader, songwriter, and above all, an incredible pianist. His recent album, “World Music Radio”, is a massive, 21-song work spanning several genres and packing in some of the most impressive credits and features on an R&B/pop album in recent years. The radio-format concept of the album (think The Weeknd’s “Dawn FM”) lets the album go places that would otherwise feel nonsensical — the first ten songs on the album reach into genres from Latin urban to jazz and boast features including JID, NewJeans, and Rita Payes. This is a fun exploration of the album’s concept but feels like it misses an opportunity to really delve into each of those genres in a deeper way.
The first half of the album feels almost like a collaborative work with Jon Bellion and, although Bellion’s expert songwriting levels up the songs to a specific style, it does feel a little restricted. “Be Who You Are”, for example, feels thoroughly baked into the Bellion pop template instead of letting JID and NewJeans do what they are known for and bring experimental elements to their genres at the highest level.
