7 Of Jorja Smith's Best Collabs

Jorja Smith recently announced the release date of her highly anticipated second studio album, Falling Or Flying. The effort will mark Jorja Smith’s first full-length album in 5 years, following her 2018 debut, Lost & Found. During the time between albums, the English singer released the Be Right Back EP, and also put out a number of loose singles and collaborations. Despite only having one full-length album out so far, Jorja Smith has worked with many notable hip-hop and R&B artists from the UK and beyond. She collaborated with Kali Uchis, a UK Garage track with Preditah, and songs with Stormzy and JayKae. Last year, she teamed up with FKA twigs and Unknown T for an unexpected collaboration. Jorja’s traditional R&B background is not usually affiliated with the experimental sound of twigs and the Unknown T’s UK Drill. 

This is a list of the best Jorja Smith collabs. Listed in chronological order, the list includes songs from Jorja Smith’s own catalog that have guest appearances or that Jorja Smith is featured on. Take a look at the list below.

The first time many people heard of Jorja Smith was on Drake’s 2017 project, More Life. On that album, Drake tried his hand at many different sounds, drawing inspiration from dancehall, afrobeats, and Grime. Jorja Smith has her very own interlude on the album where Drake raps over her vocals. Following the “Jorja Interlude” is “Get It Together,” a groovy yet melancholy duet between Drake and Jorja Smith. The song samples “Superman” by Black Coffee, but Drake and Jorja Smith’s voices work so well together to make the song something of their own. Though the lyrics on the verses are the same as the original song, Jorja Smith brings her own unique rendition over the beat.

Loyle Carner’s music is always a personal reflection of his life during the making of the song. His vulnerability often comes out in his music and “Loose Ends” is no exception. The song is a look back at Loyle’s childhood and the lack of support in times of hardship. Jorja Smith’s hook perfectly matches the content of the song. Her voice is heartwarming, pairing perfectly with the soothing piano in the song’s production. 

Jorja Smith and Burna Boy have proven to be a killer duo any time they collaborate. In 2019, the two lent vocals to each other’s songs, making for two of the best songs to come out that year. Their first collaboration was “Gum Body,” where Burna Boy’s smokey tone and Jorja Smith’s smooth singing voice complement each other nicely. In the lyrics, Burna Boy is trying to win a girl back, regretting the choices he made and Jorja Smith fits the role of the girl he is trying to woo, singing from a hurt perspective. The two recently performed “Gum Body” live at Burna Boy’s sold-out performance in France. 

Jorja Smith and Burna Boy’s second 2019 collab, “Be Honest” has a similar upbeat afrobeats tempo to “Gum Body.” The song solidified the musical chemistry between the two as Jorja Smith and Burna Boy prove they can adapt to almost any kind of production. The song stands out in Jorja Smith’s discography as it is significantly more upbeat than any song on Lost & Found. 

In addition to her afrobeats collabs, Jorja Smith ventured into the dancehall realm when she teamed up with Popcaan on “Come Over.” Their 2020 collab contains the same level of honesty and transparency from Jorja that she puts in her albums, but over vibrant dancehall production. Popcaan’s show-stealing autotune-soaked feature contrasts with Jorja's satiny vocals for a compelling collaboration between the UK's singer-songwriter and Jamaica's dancehall champ.

Giggs is known for his tough street raps, but his emotionally vulnerable songs are often his best. His 2020 collaboration with Jorja Smith, “Im Workin” is a prime example of why Giggs’s slowest and most gloomy songs are where he shines. The background vocals in the beat almost sound like cries, which fit the atmosphere of the song. The slow production was made for Giggs’s slow-burning flows where he details being weary of fake friends who leech off one’s success. The song is one of Giggs’s best lyrical moments but Jorja Smith completely steals the show.

Jorja Smith wonderfully sings the hook but that part of the song has some of the best bars. She sings, “The only time I hide behind a curtain is when I'm on the stage because I'm workin'.” The hook emphasizes the shivering tone, singing, “This last supper had me hanging out with Judas and crew / At least they said their thank yous when I paid for the bill.”

Jorja Smith’s best collabs often pull her out of her comfort zone and “Bussdown” is an example of when she pulls a guest out of theirs. UK rapper Shaybo is known for her aggressive drill bars, but restrains her forceful tone on “Bussdown” for tame raps that fit the minimal production. It is a smooth track, with luscious vocals from Jorja Smith and delicate raps from Shaybo.

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