Blending easygoing acoustic sounds with a sensibility rooted in R&B, hip-hop, and African music, Mon Rovîa cultivated his own aesthetic niche and an impressive social media following ahead of Bloodline, his first full-length folk-pop release. “Afro-Appalachian” is the artist’s preferred term for his genre, reflecting his Liberian roots and present-day home in Chattanooga, as well as his transatlantic influences. Though the music has a soothing, lullaby-like quality, Bloodline is punctuated with lucid, plainspoken observations about violence, inequality, and politics on songs like “Running Boy,” “Oh Wide World,” and “Heavy Foot”—all conveyed in Mon Rovîa’s almost whispering, unhurried voice. If listeners are turning on the album to relax, the fluid, lush textures may induce an exhale. The lyrics, though, reflect an artist unwilling to sacrifice honesty for the sake of a vibe. Across Bloodline, Mon Rovîa traces his own improbable, challenging journeys not just as an American immigrant but around the United States; “Old Fort Steel Trail,” for example, is inspired not by Liberia or Tennessee but by a stretch he spent living in the tiny town of Olney, Montana. There’s a rootsy nostalgia that he blends with his conversational, decidedly Gen Z perspective, both lyrically and in the plinking acoustic arpeggios that almost recall the breeziest possible video game music. His new-old sound having been featured on both the Grand Ole Opry and countless TikTok videos, then, makes sense.