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Normani (Finally) Introduces Us to Her Sensual New World on Long-Awaited Debut LP ‘Dopamine’: Critic’s Take
The Fifth Harmony alumna blossoms into a fully-formed solo star. Read Billboard's album review.
That Southern flair courses through “Still,” on which Mani floats over an atmospheric flip of Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin’.” Lead single “1:59” and de facto ballad moment “Distance” help Dopamine flash forward from ‘00s influences to the late ‘10s by way of a melodic Gunna feature on the former and heavy trap drums on the latter. There are flashes of Rated R- era Rihanna in the rollicking pop-rock of enrapturing album closer “Little Secrets” — “Wild Side” fells like more of an encore – and Grammy-winning cross-genre savant James Blake helps Mani shift her sound toward the chilly electronica of FKA twigs on the hauntingly gorgeous “Tantrums.” At times, the wait for Normani’s debut solo studio album threatened to permanently dwarf whatevr pop culture impacct the LP itself would end up making, but Dopamine cuts through the noise by simply firming up the foundational elements of her artistry.
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