Chicago’s Manasseh has a new album. It’s a tribute to his younger self

Manasseh listened to Brandy’s 1994 debut on cassette so many times that the tape melted.

It was the first secular album the Chicago artist was allowed to own, a gift from his mother, Idella. Twenty-six years after her death, Manasseh still feels his mother’s presence on his upcoming sophomore album “R&B[eyond]” — out Tuesday, the day he turns 39.

“I would hear her sing all the time in the house; we would sing together,” he said. “When I’m singing, I’m having my lowest days, I really do feel like she’s hugging me.”

Friday, Manasseh plans to celebrate the album’s release a few days early with a performance at the Epiphany Center for the Arts.

He’s joined by local artists ABOLISHVICTORY! and Hasani Cannon. For the artist, whose given name is Manasseh Croft, the album is a long time coming and is his most personal project to date.

Growing up attending a West Englewood Baptist church, Manasseh was raised on gospel music. He would catch snippets of mainstream artists on the radio, but then the Brandy tape opened the door to TLC, Britney Spears, Blackstreet, the Spice Girls, “VH1 Divas” and eventually his own music career.

“I really, really am so grateful for her allowing me to dive into that,” he said of his mom. “She did me the biggest favor back in the ‘90s by giving me that tape.”

Aptly titled, “R&B[eyond]” combines his gospel music roots with R&B, psychedelic soul, hip-hop and house. The album is an ode to the permission his mother gave him to embrace secular music, but it’s also a tribute to his younger self. Its cover shows a 7-year-old Manasseh, clad in a purple button-down and blue patterned vest from the JCPenney husky section.

“I think it’s the best way I could show (my younger self) that I’m serious about our healing, about our growth and development, about the way we see ourselves,” he said.

Recorded largely in friends’ living rooms — except the tracks “Todo” and “Right Now,” which came together at studioSHAPES — “R&B[eyond]” has a distinctly Chicago sound. It features about a dozen Chicago collaborators, including trumpeter Marquis Hill, rapper-professor femdot., musician and producer Marcus Darling, rapper Heavy Crownz and producer Renzell.

One standout track is “Junie,” produced by Chicago-born Eddie Burns and featuring local R&B-rap artist Galaxy Francis. It’s a psychedelic soul-encased escape from reality, that ponders a new identity and a break from the weight of everyday life. The 13-track album also includes a phone-recorded cover of Roberta Flack’s 1974 classic “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” a spoken interlude and songs made back in 2022, wrapping up in a nine-minute jam session with hip-hop-jazz-soul band Leftjones.

“This album is very much a culmination of where I’ve been and the things that I’ve wanted to do,” he said. “For the first time in a very long time, I’m so satisfied with what has been created. I think the biggest thing is I didn’t have to do it by myself.”

To Manasseh, the album isn’t just a collection of songs. It’s an act of catharsis.

“I just pray everyone that gets the chance to hear it feels lighter when it ends than when it started,” he said. “This is for the inner child in you. This album is for you, all of you, every stage of you.”