Jorja Smith Releases Lava Hot Single “Gone”

Jorja Smith picked the perfect time to heat up the airwaves with her seductress sword vocal vibe. England-born singer Smith is set to release her second full-length studio album Be Right Back on May 14th. On the way to the release, Jorja had to let the world know that she is a force to be reckoned with in the studio. The new single “Gone” has the kind of juice that can leave the whole world looking thirsty for more.

For our readers that aren’t familiar with Smith, let’s bite into that bio.

Jorja Alice Smith was born on 11 June 1997 in Walsall, West Midlands, to a Jamaican father and English mother. Her father Peter, a benefits officer, is a former musician and sang in a neo-soul group called 2nd Naicha before Smith was born. Her mother Jolene is a jewelry designer. Smith has a younger brother named Luca and is the cousin of Leeds United footballer Kemar Roofe.

She began taking piano lessons at the age of 8 due to the encouragement of her father. Smith earned a music scholarship at Aldridge School, where she learned the oboe and studied classical singing before taking music for her A-level exams. She was scouted by a manager at the age of 15 after uploading videos of herself singing cover songs on YouTube. Shortly after this she began traveling to London for writing sessions with Maverick Sabre and Ed Thomas, all while still in school. After she graduated at the age of 18 she moved to London where she supported herself by working as a barista and continued to write songs.

Professional Success

In January 2016 Smith released her debut single “Blue Lights” on SoungCloud. The track samples Dizzee Rascal’s song “Sirens” and garnered 400,000 plays on the streaming platform within a month. When her second single “Where Did I Go?” was released in May it was singled out by Drake as his “favorite track of the moment” in July’s Entertainment Weekly. In November 2016 she released her four-track debut extended play, Project 11. The same month Smith was selected as one of the fifteen rising acts on BBC Music’s Sound of 2017 longlist and finished fourth.

For us what solidified Jorja as a unique artist was the song “On My Mind” released in 2017. It was a powerful pairing of 90’s R & B and shea butter lamp-light R & B, the song has a groove that will live inside us forever here at the box. The way she uses her voice is more like an instrument that she can bend and twist to flex with the melodies.

Let’s find out what Jorja had to say about her latest project.

In Her Own Words

“There’s something about being able to write about one thing and for it to mean so many different things to others, I love that this song, well any of my songs really, will be interpreted in different ways, depending on the experiences of the people listening. This one is just me asking why people have to be taken from us.”

“It’s called be right back because it’s just something I want my fans to have right now, this isn’t an album and these songs wouldn’t have made it. If I needed to make these songs, then someone needed to hear them too.

Watch the video for the single “Gone” below.