Charmaine ‘L A is rightfully unenthused about how women are being treated in the world today, and the first words uttered on her debut project, All The Girls Are Angry, are a visceral acknowledgement of the rage she and others she knows are carrying. “All the girls are angry these days/Pent-up anger loosed a devil in their ways,” she sings on the title track, cutting right to the heart of her grievance. “All The Girls Are Angry” is the opening gambit in an emotionally complex effort that juxtaposes growth with frustration, laying bare the thorny process of evolution. Across the project’s seven tracks, Charmaine ‘L A paints hyperrealistic images of navigating romance, heartache, and the quest for financial independence as a twentysomething, while trying to keep one’s sanity through it all. One answer is “Money,” wherein the focus is on cash and the shield it provides. She’s also pining for romance on “More,” requesting that a love interest step up their game. Alternately, “Darlim” is a hypnotic tribute to companionship. The sound of Afropop has shifted tremendously throughout the 2020s, with a slicker, soul-inflected style taking precedence, and songs like “Too Much” and “My Time” sit squarely within the lineage of a post-Made in Lagos landscape. Still, All The Girls Are Angry is all about Charmaine ‘L A finding the power to build the kind of world she would love to exist in.