VV Brown: Am I British Yet? review – rousing riffs on Black identity

A major label hope in the late 00s, singer VV Brown parted ways with that label, made some independent albums that showcased her versatility, then moved to the country to regroup and raise a family. Now a journalist and activist, Brown has returned with a rousing, multivoice album about Black British identity. It’s a very long way from writing for the Pussycat Dolls.

Interspersed with passages given over to a range of underrepresented poetic voices from her native Northampton, Milton Keynes and around, Am I British Yet? is an attempt to make accessible, arresting music that is both conscious and catchy. Sometimes it feels more like an oral history project, with first-hand spoken-word accounts by Liam Bailey (the title track), or Brown’s appreciation of her family on Just Be.

Mostly, though, she succeeds in channelling her anger, sadness and defiance, all the while conveying gratitude for the richness of her Caribbean roots. Marginalised is a restless, almost rapped track with a Greek chorus of wise and uplifting backing vocals. Most righteous of the bops here is Black British, which blends funk with call and response. “Put your banners up and read your James Baldwin,” urges Brown.