Dawn
Studio album by
Yebba
ReleasedSeptember 10, 2021 (2021-09-10)
Recorded2018–2021
StudioElectric Lady
Genre
Length38:48
LabelRCA
Producer
Singles from Dawn
  1. "Distance"
    Released: May 8, 2020
  2. "October Sky"
    Released: June 11, 2021
  3. "Louie Bag"
    Released: July 27, 2021
  4. "Boomerang"
    Released: August 25, 2021
  5. "All I Ever Wanted"
    Released: September 7, 2021

Dawn is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Yebba. It was released on September 10, 2021, through RCA Records.

Background and composition

In 2017, Yebba independently released her debut single "Evergreen", co-written with British musician-songwriter Jin Jin, which earned her a record deal with Pulse Records. In the process, she met Mark Ronson, who helped produced Dawn, and worked with him for material on his 2019 album Late Night Feelings. Ronson revealed that, whilst working with him, Yebba was steadfast in her taste. "You’re never going to get a sound or a colour or a tone past Yebba that she doesn't like," he said.[1] When touching on the creative process of Dawn, he elaborated, "She put her trust in me, but only in the name of realizing her vision"[1] and said she was definitely "one of the greatest vocalists I've ever recorded; certainly one of the greatest vocalists, songwriters and musicians of her generation."[2]

By the end of 2018, after mourning the death of her mother the previous year and a lot of time considering to release music as an artist herself, she signed a record deal with RCA Records. She said, "I made sure I did two-and-a-half years of self-homework, of digesting a trauma before I could make a commitment to an entire company." As for Ronson, he admits "There was a time where of course we would have loved to sign her to our label Zelig Records (a sub-label to Columbia), but she had different ideas." With the deal in hand, she began writing material for the album, which was later revealed to be named after her mother.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[6]

Reviewing the album for Variety, Jem Aswad wrote that on the album, Yebba "occupies a musical terrain somewhere between pop, R&B and, at times, 1970s jazz fusion, with tinkling electric piano and synthesizers that conjure flashes of Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale." Aswad went on to say that an "obsession with D'Angelo's 2000 classic Voodoo led Yebba and Ronson to enlist several of that album's musicians" for Dawn, including the Roots drummer Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino and keyboardist James Poyser. Aswad also felt that the "album's diversity is reflected in its collaborators", naming the rappers A$AP Rocky and Smino, electronic musician Kaytranada, and Beck's guitarist Smokey Hormel as examples.[7]

Track listing

Dawn track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."How Many Years"
Mark Ronson3:07
2."Stand"
  • Ronson
  • Francies[m]
  • Ricky Damian[m]
  • Zach Brown[m]
  • Carl Bespolka[m]
5:19
3."Boomerang"
2:49
4."All I Ever Wanted"
3:23
5."Far Away" (featuring A$AP Rocky)
  • Smith
  • Francies
  • Jacques Smith II
  • Malachi Mabson
  • Charles Myers
  • Rakim Mayers
  • Ronson
  • Yebba
  • Damian[c]
  • Hector Delgado[c]
3:19
6."Dawn"SmithYebba0:34
7."October Sky"Smith
  • Ronson
  • Damian[m]
3:14
8."Louie Bag" (featuring Smino)
3:42
9."One More Smile"
  • Smith
  • Francies
Damian1:56
10."Love Came Down"
  • Smith
  • Juber
  • Ronson
2:57
11."Distance"
  • Ronson
  • Yebba
4:15
12."Paranoia Purple"SmithYebba4:33
Total length:38:48

Notes

  • ^[c] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[m] signifies a miscellaneous producer
  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer
  • "Stand" interpolates the song "When U Went Away", as performed by Mark Ronson and featuring vocals from Yebba.

Charts

Chart performance for Dawn
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[8] 6

References

  1. 1 2 Gordon, Jeremy (September 5, 2021). "The Secret to Yebba's Debut Album? A Big Voice and Lots of Time". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Havens, Lyndsey (September 7, 2021). "Yebba's 'Dawn': The Long, Difficult Road to the Stunning Singer's Debut". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Dawn by Yebba Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ Kelly, Amelia (September 24, 2021). "Yebba - Dawn". Clash. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ A. Harmony (September 17, 2021). "Yebba's 'Dawn' Introduces an Extraordinary New Voice". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ Cobbald, David (September 8, 2021). "Yebba uses Dawn to turn grief into hopeful remembrance". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  7. ↑ Aswad, Jem (September 11, 2021). "Yebba's Stunning 'Dawn' Marks the Belated Arrival of a One-in-a-Million Singer: Album Review". Variety. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Yahoo!.
  8. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums Chart: September 25, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
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