New Mexico vocalist/emcee A. Billi Free has been making music for years, but got her first big break when she collaborated with Chicago production duo Tensei on her 2019 album, I Luma. Following that, she worked with another Chicago producer, Uncle El, on an EP in 2020, Blk Mgc Symbl. She also made an appearance on Whatever Cecil’s 2020 album, Flowers. In 2021, she was part of the assembled team for Michigan producer The Lasso’s full-length album, 2121. That collaboration worked so well, The Lasso worked with Free on an album as a duo, which is now here in the form of Holy Body Roll.

One of The Lasso’s great strengths as a producer/multi-instrumentalist is his ability to shift his skill set to match the artist that he’s working with. You can certainly see the connecting lines between different projects, but his work with Lando Chill and ELUCID aren’t going to be the same type of production that he’s going to be doing with Free. To craft the sound of the album, The Lasso assembled some of his usual collaborators, including Grayson Nye on keys, The Saxsquatch on sax, guitar, and bass, Jordan Hamilton on cello and percussion, Deep Greasy on bass, and Motorkam on vocals. The overall sound of the album is a sort of prog R&B/hip hop vibe, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s an album that opens with a very chill vibe, one that draws upon Roberta Flack and Erykah Badu as A. Billi Free steps to the mic and gets very open and intimate with her listeners and paints some beautiful pictures with her words and her rich singing voice. If that’s all this album was, it would still be pretty damn good, but their sonic world slowly begins to expand as they work in elements of jazz, prog, and post rock over the next couple of songs. Then you get to “Call Me,” and all bets are off as the funk gets turned up, Saxsquatch lets loose on the saxophone, and Free and Lasso find themselves in this Parliament/Funkadelic meets modern R&B soundscape, and the energy and excitement level of the album is suddenly through the roof. As you make your way through the rest of the album, you might also run into some Detroit techno, krautrock, or electro-boogie as they continue to round out their sound, but it’s A. Billi Free’s confident voice on the mic that’s guiding you through this sonic journey with confidence and gusto. She’s got a great full tone to her voice and she has a great ear for melody, knowing when to pick her spots to bring a little extra, but also knowing when to stay within the song and trust that everything will come together. She also does a great job of blending her rapping and singing skills in such a way that it’s not always a clear demarcation between the two. She’s not always stopping one to do the other and vice versa. She’s also a fantastic lyricist, moving between some beautiful abstract imagery to some thoughtful philosophical questions to some raw and honest personal moments, but also finding room to talk some shit and turn the party out. It’s a hell of a ride to say the least, but Free finds just the right words and notes each time the album shifts, and she has a great push and pull relationship with The Lasso.

Holy Body Roll is easily one of the best albums of 2022. The Lasso continues to craft some amazing soundscapes with his usual musical partners, and he finds a frontwoman in A. Billi Free who is able to take his music in new and unexpected directions, all while claiming space for herself in the process. Their chemistry is second to none, and they’ve made an album together that is gorgeous, challenging, fun, and rewarding on every level.