Kelela - Waitin - Radio 1's Piano Sessions

What this video is

Recorded in October 2017 in the immediate wake of Kelela's debut album Take Me Apart (released October 6, 2017), this Piano Session captures a defining moment in the alt-R&B critical moment: an Ethiopian-American artist, signed to Warp Records, performing a stripped acoustic version of an electronically produced single for one of the UK's most culturally significant broadcast institutions. The BBC Radio 1 Piano…

Why it matters

Documents the alt-R&B / avant-soul movement's engagement with prestige acoustic reinterpretation as a critical legitimation strategy. The piano arrangement of 'Waitin' strips the Warp Records electronic production to expose Kelela's compositional and vocal core, situating her within a lineage of…