“Black Rainbows” opens with a song called “A Spell, A Prayer.” A haunting ballad, she sings, “We honor you. We long to arc our arm through history. To unpick every thread. To unpick every thread.” She goes on to say: “To unpick every thread of pain.” This opening song, this beautiful homage, is a homage to a people, to Black people, recognizing the horrors of slavery.
On “Erasure,” Rae elicits a garage rock sound to convey a message about race and racism. Rae sings in a voice you will not soon forget, expressing that Black kids are erased. They are left out of the scene, the pictures and the events. “They tried to erase you. They tried to erase you. They tried to eviscerate you. Hide behind the curtain. Make you forget your name.” This song spoke to me. For one, her tone took my breath away. Additionally, as a Black girl going to public school in a mostly White town, at times, I have been erased. This song and its message are pure brilliance.
“Ladies, don’t you long for love?” In the opening line of “He Will Follow You with His Eyes,” she sings with a jazz ballad. Her words are poignant, repeating on the record over and over, “My black hair kinking, my black skin gleaming, my plum red lipstick.” This record is life affirming. She, through these words, tells every Black woman of their worth and showers us in pride for ourselves.
“Black Rainbows” is a masterpiece. Corrine Bailey Rae weaves together genres of music like jazz, garage rock and punk, creating an album that you must listen to carefully. I loved the messages on the album. She sings of messages of God, femininity, spirituality, race, pride, heritage, history and racism.
I delved into this album, knowing little about the artist. My takeaway is that she is talented, with a depth and world inside to expert her music. The records from this album will continue to live on in me.