A joyous track titled “Be Who You Are (ft. J.I.D, NewJeans, Camilo)”, from the multi-talented Jon Batiste’s new album, becomes his instant theme song as it includes the repeated phrase “You can only be who you are”. Batiste proves that mantra over and over again throughout the universally welcoming World Music Radio.
Coming on the heels of his multiple Grammy-winning We Are, Batiste shoots for the top of the charts delivering an album that brings in various “world” music, as long it falls under his western, pop-centric, all-inclusive tent. Various pleas to all stripes of people to get down, to put aside differences, while giving into the higher powers, are made repeatedly as Batiste brings onboard a long list of guest stars, but manages to filter everything through his modern pop sound.
Structured like a late-night radio station picking up various channels, Batiste created DJ Billy Bob to be the recurring guide, popping in and out to set the scene. The album percolates when the songs are made for the dance floor such as the deep grooving pop of “Raindance (ft. Native Soul)”, the upbeat positive spiritual “Worship”, the Michael Jackson meets Jamiquari influenced “CALL NOW (504-305-8269) (ft. Michael Batiste)” and the club-ready banger “BOOM FOR REAL”.
Lyrically Batiste plays it middle of the road, not to offend, and at times that hollowness can seem like a bad parody, never more obvious than the only true miss on the record, “Master Power”, which toys with dark alt-country and never commits. Batiste’s huge jazz skills are mostly relegated to the background, arriving during his solo success “Butterfly” and backing up Lil Wayne on piano for the excellent “Uneasy”, but also meandering during “Wherever You Are” before the final piano pop ballad “Life Lesson (ft. Lana Del Rey)” ends the album strong.
It is the upbeat jams that carry the day though and the best of the bunch is the yacht rock-influenced, infectious “Calling Your Name” and the modern pop hybrid of hip-hop/reggae/R&B titled “Drink Water (ft. Jon Bellion, Fireboy DML)” which delivers on the album title’s promise.
That title, World Music Radio, pledges a larger scope of sound which Batiste is certainly capable of incorporating, but too often different genres get a quick cameo before Batiste goes back to the dance-ready pop tracks. Both Rita Payes (“My Heart”) and Kenny G (“Clair De Luna”) arrive, but their appearances are treated as sketches/solos as opposed to being fused into the larger overall sounds, which could deliver much more interesting results. The term “world music” is problematic, and Batiste seems to understand that, focusing on what could be a hit in any country, as we all like to not dig too deep and dance the night away occasionally.
