“The Long Goodbye follows the standard tropes of a breakup album: voicemails from loved ones checking in, lyrics questioning what went wrong, karma coming for the toxic ex. Only the breakup here is between actor/rapper Riz Ahmed and his country: Britain becomes “Britney”, who laid with him and took his independence. It’s an evocative, albeit sometimes overwrought concept. Over humid beats from prod”
“star tears through vital, vitriolic dispatches on Brexit Britain”
““Britain’s broken up with me.” Riz Ahmed’s words echo in silence at the outset of The Long Goodbye. It is a standalone message, the entire album in microcosm. As qawwali chant fades in, Ahmed continues by laying out an entire history of the relationship in question. Our protagonist, in the analogy, is the South Asian people, wooed early on by what Britney, as she is referred to, has to offer. But”
“While walking a tightrope across a daring concept album, rapper Riz Ahmed offers compelling, unapologetic account of what it truly feels like to be brown and British in 2020.”
