''Paul'' is the sixth and third self-released
studio album by American singer-songwriter
PJ Morton
P.J. Morton (born Paul Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American Grammy winning musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been one of the keyboardists, alongside Jesse Carmichael, for the pop rock band Maroon 5. Mor ...
. It was released on August 9, 2019, by Morton Records and Empire Records. ''Paul'' incorporates
R&B styles with elements of
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
. The album is entirely produced by Morton himself and features guest appearances by Tobe Nwigwe,
Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...
,
Rapsody
Marlanna Evans (born January 21, 1983), better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. Her second album, ''Laila's Wisdom'' (2017), which was critically acclaimed, received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album and Be ...
,
JoJo and Angela Rye.
''Paul'' received positive reviews from most music critics and peaked at #4 on the
R&B/Hip-Hop Billboard charts. "Say So" scored Morton's first top-10 single on 'Billboard''s Adult R&B Songs chart.
''Paul'' earned Morton three
Grammy nominations for
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
,
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
and
Best Traditional R&B Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers of quality traditional R&B vocal performances. ...
at the
62nd Annual Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...
.
Background
The album was first announced on July 23, 2019. ''Paul'', which follows 2017's ''
Gumbo Unplugged
''Gumbo Unplugged'' is the third live album and fifth overall by American singer-songwriter PJ Morton. It was released on March 9, 2018, by Morton Records, as the follow-up to his fourth studio album ''Gumbo'' (2017). The album is entirely live r ...
'', was described by Morton to be "the most honest expression of myself and my art that I've ever made". "Everybody calls me PJ, but I came into this world as Paul. That struck me as the perfect title for this album because Paul is the purest form of who I am." According to Morton, ''
Gumbo
Gumbo (Louisiana Creole: Gombo) is a soup popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the official state cuisine. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole "h ...
'' was originally set to be his last album, but his move back to his hometown re-inspired him. "I was struggling to figure out who I wanted to be and where I could fit in as a solo artist, and it honestly left me feeling pretty defeated" he said. "Coming back to New Orleans inspired a lot of new growth and perspective, though, and it helped me realize that the best thing I could be was myself."
Track listing
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2019 albums
PJ Morton albums