Natural Brown Prom Queen

Shot by @rafael.avcioglu

California based Sudan Archives, a breath of fresh air in the constantly evolving neo soul, alt-R&B landscape, has released her ambitious 18-track project ‘Natural Brown Prom Queen’, embracing art pop influences and hip hop sounds too. It’s her second studio album, following 2019’s critically acclaimed ‘Athena’. Featuring production from Simon On The Moon, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Ben Dickey, JD Reid, and Sudan herself, the album is stacked full of talent, and doesn’t slip up during its 53 minute runtime. 

The singer learnt violin by ear, growing up in Ohio, and ever since has been becoming a musical force not to be shrugged off. One of the boldest, most creative voices in R&B today, Brittany Denise Parks is a standout on the Stones Throw roster, an impressive feat in itself. Whilst not as successful as a SZA, or Summer Walker, Sudan’s music explores different terrain entirely, and it becomes hard to draw any comparison.

The record immediately starts off swinging, pulling no punches, with its misleadingly slow burn jazz intro, which quickly transitions into an intriguing dance-ready rhythm. ‘Home Maker’ was an excellent single and serves as an even better introduction to this record. Her skills as a violinist immediately come into play with the rich instrumentation on the chorus, catchy enough to be stuck in your head for weeks to come. Her vocals shine, amongst constantly evolving sounds, dreamy harps, and whispered background vocals. Speaking on the song, she stated “For me, homemaking is a service to mental health and coping with fear and isolation. This song is about the effort put into making a relationship work and giving love a place to live.”

Second track ‘NBPQ (Topless)’ immediately switches things up, refusing to conform to the lavish style laid out in the intro, with a hectic, fast-paced track full of speedy clapping drums and rapped vocals. It’s an incredibly chaotic, energetic song which drives adrenaline high early on in the record, with heavy hitting lines like “Sometimes I think that if I was light-skinned, then I would get into all the parties, win all the Grammys, make the boys happy, fuck lookin' sassy, they think I'm sexy”, tackling industry colourism and using her platform to protest. 

‘Ciara’ is another highlight from the Ohio songwriter, with sunny, west coast guitar licks, rumbling bass and some of the stickiest vocals on the whole record. The instrumental is constantly transforming across multiple genres, as Sudan’s braggadocious bars make for an especially eventful listen. This track refuses to lose steam, consistently switching up and keeping heads turning, with its technical prowess. 

‘Selfish Soul’ is currently the most streamed track on the record, and its not puzzling to see why that is. It’s chanted, anthemic vocals, and uplifting lyricism make it this albums defining statement, with heartening mantras of ‘I don’t want no struggles, I don’t want no fears’. The tracks energy is cinematic, and theatrical in scale, but deals with real world issues in a poignant, optimistic way.

The album continues on to ‘Loyal (EDD)’, another unique fusion of jazz, neo soul, and afro centric beats. Whilst only 2 and a half minutes, the track still has time to become beautifully dramatic with its breakbeat drums and powerful vocals. Sudan shows she’s got explosive bangers in her armoury too, with ‘OMG BRITT’, maybe this albums most dancefloor ready track, whilst still playing with experimental and industrial sounds - perhaps making it more deconstructed club than club. It feels like a Tkay Maidza track, but a little more intimidating, and with higher stakes. The hook is incredibly memorable, helped in part by its raspy, out of breath background vocals that build a sense of urgency and panic. 

‘ChevyS10’ is a more mellow, nostalgic moment, but still immensely creative. The instrumental once again flirts with dreamlike, summery guitar riffs, but the vocals are the clear standout as she effortlessly switches between pitchy falsetto and distorted cries. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this record is the ever-changing instrumentals, a track tends to start one way, and end completely differently, making pretty much every track a head scratcher in the best way. It’s a hard to pin down album that can’t just be described by boxing Sudan into various genres – I don’t know where else you’d hear such enchanting violin play out over groovy house beats this year. It’s maybe the most imaginative usage of dance beats on a R&B record this year aside from Beyonce’s fantastic ode to the dancefloor, ‘RENAISSANCE’, although what makes this project just as impressive is the fact Sudan Archives doesn’t have access to Beyonce’s unlimited budget and range of producers, and yet still crafts a near masterpiece with her restricted industry access. 

The infectious hooks carry on into ‘Copycat (Broken Notions)’, with earworm shouts of “She copyin' my style, I know she like my smile, she wanna be me, but you can't replace me, why you so thirsty? You so insecure”. ‘It’s Already Done’ is an unconventional, funk-soaked transitionary track, which brings us into more rich strings, on the emotive highpoint ‘FLUE’. The violins are the glue that bring this track together, playing in time with her frantic vocals, as she sings of a breakdown in her relationship. It’s a very potent listen, and as psychologically comforting as it is devastating. 

‘TDLY (Homegrown Land)’ is another grand artistic statement, with its booming, expanding drums and ethereal vocals. Her resentment and bitterness towards previous relationships continues the records narrative, seeming more like an angry letter to an ex than an album cut, however this bitterness is swapped for optimism with the motivational interlude ‘Do Your Thing (Refreshing Springs)’, and the more upbeat, playful ‘Freakalizer’, a more traditional Miami bass, trap inspired track, with a hook stylistically akin to a Doja Cat or a Megan Thee Stallion. It still has the Sudan Archives imprint however, with mischievous vocals, wistful piano keys, and mesmerizing whistles.  

The last leg of the LP is just as faultless. The downbeat production on ‘Homesick (Gorgeous & Arrogant)’ is magic, and Sudan’s confessional lyrics are like watching a toxic relationship breakdown, whilst lyrics of “gorgeous and arrogance, roses and piles of shit” embody the album, showing both sides of the story – the over-the-top confidence of Sudan’s lyrics, contrasted with the often dark, subdued undertones. ‘Milk Me’ is the makeup sex following the argument, but it’s still shrouded in misery, with lyrics like “we’re not fightin, we’re just discoverin’ our fate in this, I’m not cryin’, no, I’m just a kid who’s fell on her head again”.

‘Yellow Brick Road’ shows Sudan trying to mask her pain with words like “forgot all my trauma, I washed it behind us”, alongside warm keys, and growling bass. It’s one of the strongest songs on the record with its immersive production, and heavy lyrical content. ‘#513’ is the albums final track, bringing everything to a satisfying conclusion as she finds acceptance in her suffering – “I’m not bothered anymore by these things, my destiny doesn’t faze me”. She goes on to interpolate Biggie’s ‘Going Back To Cali’ with homesick cries of “I'm goin', goin' back, back, to Cincinnati”, ending the album on a cliff-hanger, as her new homebound journey awaits her. 

Sudan Archives proves once again why she’s one of the most promising talents in soul and R&B, but she’s making every move in her own calculated way, using her trauma as influence for an incredibly distinct and diverse array of sounds that build this record into something truly important. Don’t miss out on one of the best records of the year, give it a spin here.