Ben Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in modern jazz, winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2009 and the Downbeat Magazine’s Critic’s Poll Rising Star Award in 2013 and 2015. His first two albums as a leader – State of Art and Coming of Age – where highly praised, but, as gripping as those albums are, they don’t prepare you for Williams’ newest album, I am a Man. Williams imbued his love for modern R&B and hip-hop and his socio-political awareness subtly on State of Art and Coming of Age. But on I am a Man, he brings them to the fore with mesmerizing vocal-centric songs that will surely raise his profile higher in modern soul and rap circles.