Is Jussie Smollett ready for a reboot? The actor/singer has been mostly out of the public eye ever since the infamous 2019 scandal that left him ostracized from the mainstream. He’s done playing the background, though, and is on the verge of a potential comeback. He’s taken part in the Netflix documentary, The Truth About Jussie Smollett, which details the incident, and he’s also signed to Rowdy Records as he prepares his upcoming album Break Out for release this September. With that move in play, he’s now dropped off the set’s title track as its lead single.
“Break Out” shows Jussie completely ready to move on as he embraces love (he recently announced that he is engaged to actor Jabari Redd). To capture the moment he’s in, the song leans into a mellow soul sound that feels almost timeless. Built on a foundation of guitar, soft-touch drums and subtle strings, it’s a track that’s sure to feel right at home on any modern adult contemporary station.
Lyrically, he’s all about shedding ego and exposing vulnerabilities in order to let love in to stay. He’s obviously smitten as delivers his message with a palpable earnestness, singing on the chorus, “We got to break out / Show each other love, got to do it now / Never soon enough / If we move this right, we get to dance in the light / We get to live like we’re living it up, yeah.”
The video for the song is simple and light as we watch Jussie walk around London while partaking in a beautifully sunny day. Like the song, the clip feels like a throwback as it focuses solely on him and his performance. No bells and whistles are needed as he just lives in the moment and brings us along for the experience.
We all know that the world isn’t a forgiving place, so only time will tell if “Break Out” will be the breakthrough that Jussie Smollett will need for a true comeback. We will say that it’s a lovely track that’s at least worthy of a spin. You can do just that, and watch its video as well, right here.
