Recent Golden Globe winner Jon Batiste releases “SHOW ME THE WAY” featuring writer Zadie Smith. The R&B/Soul inspired fourth single is from his upcoming album WE ARE, set for release on March 19th.
Recorded at the Ed Sullivan Theater “SHOW ME THE WAY” features celebrated writer Zadie Smith in the most unexpected and delightful way, as a featured back-up vocalist. The song was written by Jon Batiste, Autumn Rowe and Kizzo and it’s a love letter to the artists that have musically inspired him and have laid the groundwork for him as a musician. The sound is a sonic throwback to the classic R&B/Soul songs of the 70’s and you can hear the influences from legendary artists like The Isley Brothers, Al Green, Stevie Wonder and The Stylistics just to name a few. The song is an R&B cruiser that takes you on a melodic trip for three minutes and forty seconds, so check out the music video below.
“Zadie and I have been virtually jamming from time to time during the pandemic,” says Batiste. “She’s quite an accomplished singer and after one of our sessions I asked her to sing on ‘Show Me The Way.’ She can also be heard at the beginning of the track asking me what I want to listen to. Just as it does in the lyric, we’d often talk about records that we both are listening to.”
Batiste’s genre-blurring album WE ARE (March 19) represents a completely new sonic chapter for Jon Batiste. It presents a captivating musical experience to the world rooted in catharsis, joy, freedom, contemplation and sensuality. The album showcases guest appearances by Mavis Staples, Quincy Jones, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty, St Augustine Marching 100, his father Michael Batiste, grandfather David Gauthier and many more. It is a meditation steeped in the sounds of the times with collaborators including POMO (Anderson.Paak), Ricky Reed (Lizzo), Jahaan Sweet (Drake, Eminem) and others.