It seemed that his was a downhill road, a success at the first try. The most vocally gifted of the were Fifth Harmony (among the girl band definitive of the 2010s), certainly the most charismatic and competent in terms of choreography, Normani Kordei Hamilton launched her solo career shortly after that of her late colleague Camila Cabello and with an energetic “Motivation”, written together with Ariana Grande, she started a journey in terms of a vital and captivating r&b. It seemed so, because after this first taste the phone was abruptly hung up: on the one hand, her parents' tough fight against cancer, on the other a label with very little interest in meeting the creative needs of its artists (RCA, the same one that cut Tinashe's rise to the top floors in the bud) have extinguished all expectations towards the singer, so much so that even “Wild Side”, the collaboration with the highly rated Cardi B, has collected much less than expected.
Flash forward to 2024, and “Dopamine”, the first album, is announced without too much fanfare: no video clip, singles released with timid posts on social channels, a release date confirmed months after the first announcement. A full-blown promotional disaster, for an album that in reality, net of the pistol-like cover and the huge production difficulties, is not the failure it could have been. With a clear detachment from the more euphoric, in its own way “youthful” tones of the single from five years ago, the songs on the work present a more seductive Normani, skilled in making the best of a minimal but adequately varied production, such as not to fall into the repetitiveness of too many contemporary trap-pop albums.
The voice becomes the main vector of this variety, now becoming more cunning and free-range (the funk brass of the initial “Big Boy”, straight from the deep south of the States), now yielding and inviting (“All Yours”, close to the moods of first Dawn Richard), still capable of catalyzing one's inner Brandy for a high-energy nocturne (“Lights On” and its pulsations very “Afrodisiac”). The same author of “Full Moon” co-signs the sparkling romance “Insomnia”, studded with clever guitar phrasing and vocal manipulations with a delicate touch. soulfulbefore “Grip” brings forth an interpretation of the boom-bap that was, seasoned with tropical moods.
This variety, however, is also the condemnation of “Dopamine”: despite Normani's expressive flexibility, a fleeting impression remains of the album, an alternation of sounds and collaborations that anyone could have tried their hand at without making a bad impression. Hamilton's true identity never emerges, co-author of all the pieces but more of a canvas adaptable to the most disparate stylistic needs. He knows how to be involved in the house break of “Take My Time” (next to the pages of the latest Jody Watley), a compliant lover in the intimacy of “1:59” in the company of Gunna, even bending over to the rainy elegies of James Blake (“Tantrums “).
Of this valuable display of possibilities, however, only a vague shadow remains, a potential magma that struggles to solidify. The singer's path appears more uncertain than ever, hesitant about the direction to take: it is doubtful that RCA wants to invest anything, even more so after the tragic performance in the rankings. It remains to be seen whether Normani can free herself from such directive short-sightedness and, like others before her, set out completely on her own. Perhaps then the road will finally be clear.
06/28/2024
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM