Brixton’s R-KAY already has a reputation for sublime production via his full-length work Groove Gems 2 and his heart-wrenching work with London’s most criminally unsung - Ella Frank. 2020’s The Escape sees him collaborating with North London’s sardonic sage Lex Amor, gifted singer Ayeisha Raquel and fellow Rhythm and Reason Collective member GeeFree.

Sonically, The Escape is an ode to musical phrasing. The introduction, arguably one of the finest moments of the whole track, exhibits the peculiarly wise, utterly unspoiled tones of Ayeisha Raquel who portamentos gently within a piano 5th interval and her own quiet storm of harmonies. The bassline and drums provide a swaying push, with trademark drunk rim shots and skittish hi-hats thickened by a real trueness of brass sound. It is a large accolade, but I confess I feel R-Kay is one of the truest Jazz Musicians/Producers in London at this moment, having witnessed him live on several occasions, and acknowledging the strange stillness I experience in his piano technique.

Rapper GeeFree clearly has a sense of obligation to the truth. His bittersweet monologues have conscience, consciousness, poetic self-deprecation and pleading questions. He begins a romance that is consummated in the choruses, another stand out moment for Ayeisha Raquel. The track’s final act features Lex Amor’s still unmatched originality, her wordsmith drawl cuts with all the sincerity of a cold stare and yet on each new release and feature shows signs of an internal healing process that beams with pride for her life contemporaries.

Needless to say, this selfless uncompromising work is a sculpture that took many chisels to chip, but the resulting masterpiece is another addition to the unfolding exhibition of R-KAY and all involved.

The Escape is out now and available on all platforms.