JORJA SMITH — “ALIVE” feat. Wizkid | The Check Out
(Photo Credit: Ivor Lawson-Adamah)
ALBUM REVIEW / NEW DROP
JOrja smith feat. wizkid
"alive"
FAMM / COLUMBIA · JULY 2, 2026 · UK R&B / AFROBEATS / ALTERNATIVE SOUL · PRODUCED BY P2J
THE DROP
Jorja Smith doesn’t drop just because. Every move she makes is deliberate. Which is why when she finally resurfaces, you pay attention. The Walsall-born singer/songwriter announced her third studio album “What Are The Odds” alongside its lead single “Alive,” and came back with a full vision intact. We’re talking new sonic direction, new production partnership, and new energy. All while keeping everything that made her one of the biggest voices to come out of the UK in recent memory.
“Alive” arrives with WizKid riding shotgun and P2J handling production for the entire album. If you’ve been following Jorja’s creative evolution, this collaboration makes perfect sense. She’s been publicly pulling from UK garage, Afrobeats, Afro house, and grime for this era and P2J has a productions signature that lives right at that intersection. WizKid, on the other hand, has spent the last several year cementing himself as the connective tissue between African and Western pop. That being said this collab was inevitable in my opinoin.
THE SOUND
“Alive”
“Sent Your Way” is the album’s emotional center and, in my opinion, its best moment - a tender, unhurried love song that sounds exactly what it feels like when something good finally finds you. “Outside” is the finger-snapping acoustic lullaby that proves choosing to stay in beats every Saturday night plan you’ve ever made. and “Home” closes the record with the kind of quiet, full-circle resolve that makes you want to start the whole thing over. “Ruin” featuring with Sasha Keable is the album’s sharpest moment of tension - two people pulling at the same knot, neither willing to let the other off easy.
The Visual
THE VERDICT
$$$$ - Added to my Cart. “Alive” is the kind of lead single that does exactly what a lead single is supposed to do; it tells you everything about the direction the artist is going in while standing completely on its own. Jorja Smith is by no means making “safe” music right now. She’s making music that challenges what people expect from her, which is the only move worth making at this stage in her career. P2J’s production is immaculate, WizKid’s feature is giving exactly what was needed on this record, and this track is three minutes of proof that the UK continues to lead the conversation in alternative R&B. “What Are The Odds” Drops August 21st. Be sure to CHECK IT OUT.
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