Casual music listeners may recognize Syleena Johnson’s soulful, magnetic voice from “All Falls Down,” her 2004 Grammy-nominated Billboard Hot 100 hit (No. 7) with Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West). Yet there is several decades’ worth of music history coursing through those vocal cords.
Johnson, the daughter of the late soul giant Syl Johnson, has unleashed what she says is her final solo studio album. And, as she explains to Billboard over Zoom, the road has not been easy.
“This album is probably my best work, and it is whooping my ass!” she quips. “It wouldn’t be this good if there wasn’t some drama that was attached to it.”
Johnson is frazzled over the final mixes for Legacy, which serves not only as her final solo LP, but also a painstakingly crafted tribute to her late father. Led by the revelatory “Monsters in the Closet,” Legacy combines Johnson’s vocals with that of her late father, setting their tones and styles in conversation across 16 tracks that explore the industry-inflicted scars, the timelessness of soul music and the towering impact of Chicago’s music and culture. Featuring appearances from Twista and Shawnna, as well as fresh takes on Syl Johnson classics like 1968’s “Different Strokes,” Legacy is both a gift from a daughter to her father, and a gift from an artist to the sounds that sustain her.
Shot by: Brandon A. Thorpe (B.A.T. Creatiiions Network)
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