KIRBY’s Miss Black America is a dedication to her Mississippi hometown and a loving defense of the south. It was four years ago when the singer-songwriter released Sis. He Wasn’t The One. KIRBY pulls you in with her soulful tone that has a tiny rasp and an angelic higher register. Whether she is calling out the government on “The Man” or reminding folks that Mississippi is not a remote island but a part of the nation on the title track, KIRBY manages to entertain while sharing structural frustrations and heralding family. It is a world of old Cadillacs, Waffle Houses, plantations, the KKK, and curvy women.

She sums it up when she says, “When I go to the Dockery Plantation and stand on the land that my ancestors picked cotton on, sang on, danced on, and cried on, how can I not feel a responsibility to tell their story? To try and own my masters because those who started the blues indeed had a master. If you’ve never been to Mississippi, this record should take you there.”

Miss Black America does revere KIRBY’s ancestors, but it’s also an autobiographical trip planted in a musical foundation of funk, blues, and R&B. KIRBY celebrates southern culture and claims the American dream while still pointing out certain gripes about life in the United States. Miss Black America compresses the contradictions of being Black and successful in the United States. She delivers the 12 songs with a short guest list that includes fellow Mississippian Big K.R.I.T., Akeem Ali, and the Tennessee Mass Choir. KIRBY oozes a sweetness that makes the gospel blues of “Reparations” feel like an accessible karaoke moment that does not lose the power of its message. KIRBY’s Miss Black America is a rich dip into the happenings below the Mason-Dixon Line with a group of songs just as sustainable as the cuisine.