COPUS – The Assignment (Album Review)

It’s spoken word galore on The Assignment, a new spoken word and piano album consisting of six tracks by the ensemble COPUS. The ensemble began in the late 1990s when poet and spoken word artist Royal Kent partnered with the composer and pianist, Wendy Loomis. Royal Kent passed away in 2024. The Assignment is a tribute album drawn from Royal Kent’s handwritten journals, selected by Wendy Loomis.

All of the songs on the album have titles beginning with the letter ‘L’, leaving the reviewer to speculate that the letter holds a special meaning to Wendy Loomis and COPUS. Be that as it may, ‘Legend’ is the first song we meet on The Assignment. It is performed, I assume, by Wendy Loomis. This is an interesting fact since Royal Kent was a man. ‘Legend’ starts with an a cappella recitation, then dynamically shifts into recitation accompanied by the piano, which begins with a cluster of keys that produce a dense, heavy sound, before moving to a lighter, single key played repeatedly.

Lyrically, the song touches on many subjects: there’s talk of Muhammad Ali, the downtrodden, a witch, a buffalo brother, and there’s also mentions of God and Jah. Two legendary musicians are named in this song: Bob Marley, who’s referenced as a freedom fighter and Bob Dylan.

The song has some encouraging words – with a brother/comrade told to walk and ride on. At times, the performance sounds intimate, as if the performer is talking to the listener, but at times the performance loses its intimacy when it gains more energy, coming across as cold.  

Up next is ‘Life’. Here the listener meets a male performer. The song also starts with a cappella recitation. Lyrically, the song begins autobiographically, with the performer telling the story of being ‘born a spring baby’, the birth year being put to 1950. Again, the song gives words of encouragement, the performer reciting, in a slightly forceful manner: ‘Better hold with all your might/better let go with all your might’. Then God is invoked four times, giving the song an element of prayer:

‘God help us through this craze/ God help us through this maze/ God help us through this phase/ God help us in our ways/’

The song also touches on the fantastical: ‘the sea sits above the houses’, ships sailing ‘over the rooftops’. There are some heartfelt moments: the character thanking their English teacher. The song’s also cautionary, warning that one reaps what they sow.

The third song on the album is ‘Lunacy’. The female performer returns. It only takes a few words – ‘Humanity/Held together by gravity’ – for the piano to kick in. The performer builds into her performance slowly, gaining energy as she goes. Lyrically, the song earlier on talks about the possibility of humanity getting it together or going the way of insanity. The imagery here is notable: the poet is told to purse their lips and open their mouth so that the words can ride ‘upon the wind of your breath’. The performer then gives us the question: ‘Can they see me?’.

This is another of those songs that references the downtrodden, talking about housing inequalities between societies.

God is again invoked here. We hear that it’s maybe time for one to get on their knees and pray and maybe ask God for forgiveness. It’s a searching song – the writer interrogating the world, speaking how the world has tried to make them behave, perhaps break them down. But they’re defiant, saying that they’re in it to win it. There’s also the loss of a son, a son who they miss.

Up next is ‘Love’. The song starts with the piano, the recitation from a man this time, coming in later. The performer is rather meditative on this song, reminiscing on this dream where they are singing with some lady. The character here makes some wishful declarations, saying that to have them in their dream land would be like heaven to them. They also talk about how their presence gives them courage.

Up next is ‘Liberation’. The song starts a cappella and sees the return of a male performer. Rise up and conquer, we’re told in the a cappella part. Soon afterwards, a staccato piano comes in. Lyrically, we hear that every man, woman and child has a mind to make and soul to protect.

This is a self-aware song – the song being aware that COPUS is a musical outfit with a purpose ‘to strength your imagination’. Gil Scott-Heron and their inclusion into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 are later commented upon, Royal Kent’s words telling us that he believed that the inclusion had been late. The songs also talks directly to the listener, saying that should they choose to listen, may they be rewarded with ‘the creativity, the love, conviction of great artistry’.

Be yourself, the song states – also becoming fantastical as we hear of the riding of a chariot in the sky. Freedom, the song’s main theme, is said to be something that has always been and will always live like it has. The song not only calls for freedom from oppression, but from depression as well.

‘Light’ is the last song on The Assignment. The song sees the return of a female performer. It starts with the question: ‘What is the creature with a lion’s body and a human head we call sphinx?’ But the question I find searing is: ‘What is the broadening of the imagination but a realization of how it occurs?’ The lyrics then references the jazz singer Nancy Wilson’s gentle singing of ‘Guess Who I Saw Today’.  Another question the song asks is: ‘Was it for nought we gave freedom a shot?’

This is again a self-aware song – this is exemplified by the line: ‘Have mic. Will recite’. On the instrumental side, the piano comes through as strong and impersonal.

SCORE/Excellent: The Assignment is an excellent album: its sprawling lyrics are the main draw, and the vocal performances immerse the listener in multiple worlds. COPUS has done a commendable job of keeping Royal Kent’s legacy alive, though one can imagine that had Kent been alive, the album might have taken a different shape

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