You're the One

Since Rhiannon Giddens first struck out on her own with 2015’s Tomorrow Is My Turn, the former Carolina Chocolate Drops member has proven she can do just about anything—just ask her trophy case, which boasts a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur Genius Fellowship, and a handful of Grammy Awards. Always eager to try something new, on You’re the One Giddens serves up her first collection of original songs. Produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, John Legend), the record is Giddens’ lushest and most joyful to date, incorporating a horn section, Western strings, and a fortuitous combination of Splash’s go-to players and Giddens’ own band. “I like to do things differently each time,” Giddens tells Apple Music. “The last record [They’re Calling Me Home] was about as minimal as you can get. It was me and my partner [Francesco Turrisi] and a couple of guests, and it was made during lockdown. It was time to go the opposite direction. I had these songs tucked away I've been writing over the last decade and some change, that hadn't really fit in any projects but I thought needed some love.” Opener “Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad” is a soulful kiss-off worthy of the best juke joint, with Giddens drawing inspiration from the performances of the late Aretha Franklin. “Yet to Be” imagines a romance between a Black woman and a white Irish man, with Giddens and featured artist Jason Isbell trading perspectives throughout the narrative. “Another Wasted Life” pays homage to Kalief Browder, a wrongfully incarcerated Black man who died by suicide upon release from Rikers Island, where he spent nearly two years in solitary confinement. And the title track finds Giddens at her most joyful, celebrating the birth of her second child with an especially emotional vocal performance. Below she talks through some of the standout tracks on the album. “Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad” “That was a song that I wrote the words and I was like, ‘God, this is a real Aretha vibe.’ I've been listening to a lot of