Kiana Ledé “Grudges” Album Review

Grudges

Kiana Ledé

• Genre: R&B/Soul
• Date: 16 Jun, 2023
• Content: explicit
• Region: NGA
• Track(s): 17
• The Heavy Group; ℗ 2023 Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

Everyone has got a story to tell about how life has hit them. Kiana Ledé isn’t just telling her story. She has made music from it and shared it with the fans dear to her heart. The RnB star said the album “was actually going to be called Closure, which is also one of the songs,” she shared. “And it felt like that song wasn’t true to me at that time. It was more wishful thinking and looking into what I want my future to look like.”  Confront her problems, she realized she needed to give them a name. Well, she did.

It had been three years since her last album, “KIKI (deluxe),” dropped. It contained 24 songs and featured top players in the RnB scene, including Bryson Tiller, Ari Lennox, Ant Clemons, Jacquees, and more. They all helped bring the project to life. Creating the new album, Kiana came clean about her life and troubles. The great thing is her acceptance of imperfection and choosing to work on herself, for herself. Vibe describes it as knowing she is a work in progress.

Cover Art

On May 15, Kiana Ledé unveiled the cover photo for her album “Grudges.” She wrote in the caption, “Sometimes you gotta face yourself,” and called the album the beginning of a new chapter. On the cover, Kiana is a vision as she poses on her knees in front of cameras and mirrors.

The photo details being open enough to look at yourself through whatever medium or lens you desire. Imagine looking at yourself to find all the baggage you’re dragging. It’s almost like she says in “Gemini Slander,” “I got my own things that I struggle with / there’s demons in my head that I battle with.”

Popular Tracks

As much as we’d love to rank all the songs on a beautiful album together, some just stand out. In April, Kiana Ledé released the first single from “Grudges” titled “Jealous.” The song featured “Trip” star Ella Mai. In the song, Kiana sings about being honest about her jealousy. She sings, “I ain’t gon tell you to drop them other b**ches, but drop them other b**tches / I never been jealous but f**k it I’m jealous.” She’s the epitome of a woman who her man has pushed to the wall. “Deeper” was released as the second single from the album. Both songs have earned praise from fans and critics.

Tracklist & Features

“Grudges” comes packed with 18 tracks and a few features. He rides solo on 14 of the tracks and collaborates with Bryson Tiller in “Gone,” Ella Mai in “Jealous,” Kiki & Friends on the album’s title track, and Khalid in “Where You Go.” Kiana shared that album was almost called “Closure,” one of the tracks on it, but she couldn’t connect to the song then.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	ARTIST	TIME
1	Bitter Bitch	Kiana Ledé	2:41
2	Irresponsible	Kiana Ledé	3:11
3	Promise Me	Kiana Ledé	2:04
4	Gone	Kiana Ledé & Bryson Tiller	3:33
5	Gemini Slander	Kiana Ledé	3:21
6	LMK	Kiana Ledé	3:33
7	Jealous (feat. Ella Mai)	Kiana Ledé	3:53
8	Focus	Kiana Ledé	3:16
9	Damage	Kiana Ledé	2:55
10	Too Far	Kiana Ledé	2:54
11	Deeper	Kiana Ledé	3:34
12	Grudges (feat. Kiki & Friends)	Kiana Ledé	3:52
13	Deserve	Kiana Ledé	2:01
14	Same Type	Kiana Ledé	2:30
15	Where You Go	Kiana Ledé & Khalid	2:43
16	Closure	Kiana Ledé	2:33
17	Magic	Kiana Ledé	2:07

Summary

Speaking to Vibe about the album, Kiana revealed it “actually has multiple meanings in this album. Obviously, there’s the [literal one] . I’m a bitter b**ch [who] definitely [has] grudges. I hold them very well. I’m working on it. I’m in therapy.”

She also shared what she hopes fans can take from the album, saying, “I want fans to be able to acknowledge that it’s okay to be f**ked up, but you also have to call it, name it and work on it. For a lot of people like me, especially an Aries, it’s hard not to hold a grudge.”

With “Grudges,” Kiana hopes people can come clean to themselves about wanting to learn and grow. She also wants them to be free while they call out their weaknesses and traumas.

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