Takara aka T K O is a woman who wears many hats. From acting, singing, and rapping to songwriting, she does it all with finesse. Her latest release The Late Bloomer is a 9-track body of work that blends R&B/Hip-Hop and poetry with a unique twist.

The project opens up with “The Original Sin/Queendom Come.” This spoken word piece is ladened with a moody and discordant piano chord and  T K O ’s commanding vocals and poignant lyrics that dive into life after a loss and come back renewed. This sets the stage for the rest of the project, starting with the anthemic “2 Turntables” featuring M.I.S.T.A and Colin. This track is a smooth and cinematic piece underpinned by T K O ’s sultry flow and lucid songwriting that digs deep into her journey as an artist and her experiences over the years with an ode to the culture that gave her the platform to speak her mind. This is followed by “BMF (Bad Mofo)” a bouncy club banger that sees T K O in her element with unfiltered bars like “Bitch said what to who? you don’t know me boo/I stay laced like a lady in wait/Iced down like the crown , not a hair out of place/Never one to back down if you get in my face.” On “Sweat,” T K O proceeds with a sultry breathy flow ripe with candid lyrics disclosing her deepest desires in an intimate session. The beat is a blend of drill with club drums and is guaranteed to rattle your speakers by the way. “Kill Bill (And That’s What I Said)” has a playful piano riff with a heavy 808-driven groove and sees TKO once again taking her detractors to the cleaners with no mercy. This continues to some degree in the aptly titled “Enemies,” featuring SG where she takes time to address timewasters. TKO holds nothing back and states her mind with lines like

“I’m here for a blitz, so I’m only condoning a minute of your time for flexing/It’s complexin how I came to what I do finessing, I’m not stressing.”

The production on “How I Love You” is experimenatl and employs a blend of R&B with Afrocentric percussions and downtempo trap grooves. This serves as the perfect backdrop for TKO’s sultry performance delivered in a breathy fashion. Singer Razak also makes an appearance garnishing the track with his accented melodic runs. The last two tracks “All Black Everything” and “That Thing” show different sides to T K O’s unique styles. The former is a hard-hitting sensual piece ripe with unfiltered raps while the latter sees her pouring her thoughts on wax with a pleasing melodic performance and heartfelt lyrics.

Overall  The Late Bloomer  is like a box of chocolates that is filled with different flavours that appeal to a variety of music lovers. One moment, she is crushing opponents like a lyrical juggernaut, the other she is seducing our ears with alluring melodies.