Kalisway is dead serious about this classic R&B sound she’s developed and seemingly conquered in a short time. Take Me Back (World Of Eras) is sweeter than a heaping pile of ice cream.
Release date: March 28, 2025 | Independent | Instagram | Bandcamp | Stream/Purchase
Back in early January, I saw a tweet from the great Myke C-Town raving about a new project from August last year that he had missed. It was A Kid From Toronto by Kalisway. Though he was short and sweet in his praise (that Twitter character limit is rough sometimes), it was enough for me to check it out. Little did I know how obsessed with this album I’d become for over a month straight, dethroning the hell out of Kendrick Lamar and his album GNX as my most listened-to artist and album on Tidal in January and persevering into my top five for February.
I assumed it was rap, but I was wrong, it was R&B. This was dangerously catchy and fun, classically tuned, but fresh and new. Kalisway‘s voice was smooth and captivating, boasting a nice range, and the production she soared over was delightfully nostalgic with elements of hip-hop and ’80s pop thrown in for good measure. “Not That Type Of Girl” had a hook to die for, the beat for “Babygirl” was an upbeat masterclass in the genre, and her vocal flow was straight-up divine on “Sweet N Sour”. This sounded like true generational shit that if it had come out in the golden age of poppy R&B, Kalisway would be a household name with lovers lining up to sing her hits at karaoke. These sapphic anthems became the soundtrack to my day, everyday, packing up my apartment to move to a townhome, unpacking in my new townhome, working, not working – whatever!
And so soon, she’s back with a new EP. Take Me Back (World Of Eras) really leans harder into the old school aesthetic. Even the cover art is reminiscent of older albums I love like A Tribe Called Quest‘s The Low End Theory with its abstract figure, use of color, and text arrangement, a subtle nod to the Afrocentrism in art and music decades ago as well. It’s six songs of more of the same – a good thing if I ever heard of one – and a true testament to the ‘less is more’ mentality because for as much as I love her stuff, if she were to drop a full-fledged LP again so soon, we’d risk oversaturation. She ain’t signed to Griselda Records after all.
I also get the sense that these may have been leftovers from her A Kid From Toronto sessions, one big hint being the cover art for the single “When I Close My Eyes” is a lightly edited version of the photo used for that album’s cover. That’s just speculation though – the fact of the matter is these songs show a slightly different side from that kid from Toronto. The aforementioned single is by far her chillest, most touching ballad I’ve heard yet. The production is sexy but tasteful, airy with sparse drums and twinkling synths. Real tender lover music dropped a few weeks too late for Valentine’s Day, but just in time for the end of Women’s History Month, am I right?
“Again And Again!” has that upbeat feel that her best stuff has to offer. Her voice is notched high, the beat is danceable, and already the vibe is immaculate. “Dangerous” sees Kalisway get her femme fatale on with a ride-or-die lady that gets the heart racing in more ways than one. I really love the production here – it’s fun and bassy, but still keeps the softer side intact to complement her vocals and the themes of being hard in love. The R&B dial gets maxed out for “Don’t Play With My Heart”, a boundary-drawing song that still revels in the emotion of connectedness. The pianos and harp (or harp-like sounds) at the end are exquisite.
The EP ends on the most substantial song, “Dream Chaser”, a place for Kalisway to tell us what’s most important to her and rising to the top. Coming humbly from Toronto has given her big dreams to match her big talent, the drive and desire to provide for her family and enable her the much needed escape from mundanity, perhaps with someone special by her side. It’s kind of a full-circle moment, at least from my perspective. Kalisway has garnered more buzz and fans over the years since releasing her debut album HIT ‘EM WITH THE FUNK in 2022, but it really feels like this shift to more hardline classic R&B has done especially well for her and plays so well to her talent.
Simply put, Take Me Back (World Of Eras) is Kalisway firmly in her bag, proving that not only was A Kid From Toronto not a fluke in the slightest, but also could be her artistic home for the foreseeable future. Though it’s a little short of the visceral earworm factor of that album, this EP is a double down on the fact that she was made for this. She genuinely deserves an exponential increase in the listeners, streams, and purchases she’s gotten up to now, and could really go the distance with this sound and fulfill those dreams she has many times over. Consider this review a hopeful pay-it-forward from when Myke C-Town put me on to her and that it does the same and makes you a fan too!
