When you ask someone about Atlanta’s neo-soul vibe, the first name they will likely utter is singer-songwriter Algebra Blessett’s. With her definitive vocals and acoustic guitar skills, she’s been electrifying the Southern city and well beyond its borders in Japan and Europe since graduating from North Atlanta High School of Performing Arts.
The songbird’s lush vocals have been used in projects for Monica and Bilal. She even has ties to producer Bryan-Michael Cox (“What Happened?”) and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer India.Arie (“Talk to Her,” appearing on Voyage to India).
The daughter of a bass guitarist, it’s hard to really characterize Blessett. During open mic nights, she transitions easily between pop, rock, rap and her native city’s own genre — crunk. “I don’t want to be boxed [in],” she avows. She’s definitely unfazed by the pressure some artists feel to seek mainstream success. “Soon you learn not to care what others think, you learn to perform
for you. I would come back week after week and I learned to perform for balance and for freedom. I was becoming alive.”
Blessett’s duet with Anthony David, “4evermore,” has been characterized as a “musical marriage.” A rhythmic blend of her melodic voice and David’s smooth baritone, it ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Adult Contemporary chart.
Blessett’s debut album, Purpose, is currently available in stores and also available on iTunes. One standout from the album, the soulful ballad “What Happened?” is like the first chapter of a musical memoir because Blessett is so candid and vulnerable. It showcases her brilliance and her independence, “Even when someone else wrote a song specifically for me, I felt like I was still being a background singer for myself,” she closes.
