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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

Get lost in the twilight of jazz fusionist Ikechi Onyenaka’s latest single, City Dreams.

Jazz and Blues fusionist Ikechi Onyenaka’s latest extended instrumental soundscape, City Dreams, eases you into the twilight grooves gently before the rhythms pick up funk around the smoky jazz timbre. With the next progression, City Dreams moves towards a stormy sax blues riff that rivals the jazz-punk frontman Pete Wareham’s pipes.

In the latter half of City Dreams, psych blues tendencies start to accumulate in the single, in a way that there was no anticipating. The ambience from the intro allows the volatile expressionism to leave you broadsided by the sheer ingenuity. Is there any better feeling than that?

City Dreams is now available to stream on SoundCloud and all other major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Izzy St. Shaw takes the lead with the melody-driven RnB trap track, Money Long.

https://youtu.be/-NsRUXOuFn4

Texas-born, Atlanta-based RnB trailblazer Izzy St. Shaw has dropped his trippiest track to date with the release of his modern twist on Southern roots, Money Long. Whatever mindset you are in when you hit play, Money Long will make it sweeter as it explores the paradoxical place of money in our lives.

The wavy lo-fi RnB trap pop track comes as a result of Shaw’s eclectic affinity for Coldplay, Tame Impala and Kendrick Lamar, and, of course, his authentic talent that we can’t wait to hear more of. He’s got the soul, he’s got the style, and the lyrical intellect. What more could you possibly ask for?

The official video for Money Long dropped on October 14th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kayshon relives the AM magic in his RnB Hip Hop single, Late Night.

Master of catchy hooks, Kayshon has released his latest captivatingly smooth mash of RnB, hip hop and pop, ‘Late Night’, which captures the intimate magic that only breeds in the small hours.

The 23-year-old Austin, TX born and raised artist always looks to his experience for inspiration. And with that, you get the instant affirmation that each of his singles comes from a place of sincerity. With Late Night, you get a potent shot of 90s nostalgia from the modern, intricate and mellow production. Yet, the biggest draw is undoubtedly the sweet magnetism in his pitch-perfect harmonies.

Fresh off the release of his debut EP, Love Cycles, there has never been a better time to make ample room for this up and coming luminary on your radar.

Late Night is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cooper Walker gives us a 60s soul ‘Fix’ in his standout release.

Pop, jazz and blues entwine in the debut album from LA singer-songwriter and multi-instrumental artist Cooper Walker. His intoxicating mash of vintage guitars,  crooned vocals and uplifting piano chords will send you right back to the 60s while providing the ultimate proof that music contemporary music *can* hold a candle to music from iconic eras.

His modernist spin on sounds of the 60s is best enjoyed in the standout single, Fix, which is just as instantly cathartic as The Zombies, as sultry as John Mayall, and carries the sonic power of the Rolling Stones.

Walker’s infallible talent is one thing, the soul that is spilt in his debut album is quite another. You couldn’t ask for a better playlist staple in these dystopic times.

Fix, along with his debut 15-track album, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CPTime brings it ‘Home’ in his latest high-vibe poppy hip hop single.

Douglassville-hailing artist CPTime has sent ripples through the Pennsylvania hip hop scene with his dynamic flows, constantly evolving style and commitment to keeping his lyricism clean.

His latest single, Home, pays ode to the people that instantly make us feel right at home in their company – regardless of where we are or how long they’ve been lighting up our lives. The grooving pop elements in this old school-inspired hip hop track ensure that right from the intro, you ironically feel right at home in the smooth, chill, soul-infused soundscape.

Home is a major sonic shift from CPTime’s popular Halloween track, Let Us Out, which saw his lyricism go conceptually dark as he channelled Freddy, Jason and Chucky to offer nefarious high vibes. There’s no anticipating where CPTime will take his sound next with his tendency to bounce between party hip hop, inspirational tracks and holiday tracks; high-quality remains the only constant.

Since 2012, he has released over 50 tracks on official streaming services; the most popular has racked up over 350,000 streams on YouTube alone.

Home is now available to stream on Spotify.

Follow CPTime on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Queer RnB pop trailblazer CovNasty has released his most candid single to date with ‘Indecisive’.

The active-duty LGBT US Marine and trailblazing RnB pop artist and producer, CovNasty, has dropped his latest feat of brazenly honest soul, Indecisive, which explores the indecision that plagues us before inevitable endings.

CovNasty finds an affectionate and impassioned way to prove that doubt can hurt just as much as the separation that follows in the up-vibe sleek track that puts emotion at the forefront. Around the harsh snares, the intricate guitar notes bring an intoxicating accordance amount of soul to the mix that delivers emboldening urban poetry.

It comes as no surprise that so many pop fans have found infatuation with his songwriting style that constantly pushes past the superficial to deliver real talk.

Indecisive is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A Little Time: Tatiyana Dean moves away from the broken vibrations on ‘Soul Repair’

As she dries her eyes out and shows incredibly inspirational strength to move past this heartbreaking moment that she refuses to define her, Tatiyana Dean shows us what its like to feel like you need some time to fully fix your sadness and beam brightly again on ‘Soul Repair‘.

Tatiyana Dean is a Lexington, Kentucky-based indie RnB/Neo-Soul solo artist who sings with the wind at her creative sails as she uses her faith, common sense and universe-given talents, to truly flourish and perform with a rare grace.

This is the true story about a recent ex who totally underestimated you. They brought you down and you doubted yourself for a while – but now know what to do in the future to prevent this from ever happening – as you close the door for a while to rejuvenated all your senses. Loving fully again is down the road, while you take out the map and work out what type of person you want to be with.

Featuring a sweetly-tipped-with-honey vocal ability which is such a blessing to warmly let inside your zestful interior, she is the type of singer that has a clear conscious and projects such genuine intentions throughout this beautiful experience. You can easily feel her emotions soak the shivering speakers, as she eloquently opens up her curtains to see if its safe to love heartily again.

Soul Repair‘ from the fabulously classy Kentucky-based indie RnB/Neo-Soul musician Tatiyana Dean, is an inspiring be-strong-Queen anthem that is all about rising back up again after taking some time to get your heart right. After a real battering which had your valuable energy shattered all over the floor like a broken wine bottle, this is the kind of track which has you brushing up all the damage to be stronger again. Sung with a really impressive determination, this is a song that so many of us can relate to.

Love can be harsh but if you take that time out to heal, you can be even stronger than before.

Hear this emotionally-charge single of lost love on Spotify and see more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

cee cooked up a salacious storm in her dark RnB single, IN MY BED, featuring Dohm.

For her latest sultry dark RnB single, IN MY BED, up and coming artist, cee collaborated with rap artist Dohm, who brought a transfixing dynamic to the release. IN MY BED gives you both sides of the story in a stormy, torrid love affair, the kind that thrives on sexual energy, but in the cold light of day, the differences are too stark to maintain the spark.

You couldn’t ask for a more transfixing dark, trappy RnB hit; with the slick and atmospheric production paired with cee and Dohm’s collaborative chemistry, we fell for it, melodic hook, line and sinker.

If any indie RnB artist has what it takes to climb the charts, our money is on cee.

IN MY BED is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie folk-pop duo The Graes have released their 80s-inspired earworm Figure it Out.

If you can’t get enough hits of nostalgia recently, hit play on The Graes 80s pop-rock banger, Figure it Out. If Boyz II Men made their debut in the contemporary indie-pop era, we’re fairly convinced their tracks would unravel as eclectically and harmonically as Figure it Out.

With sticky-sweet lyrics such as “I know we’ve got issues, but I like them too”, The husband and wife folk-pop duo brought realism into the romantic narrative without ever bursting the affectionate bubble. At this point, we shouldn’t need to tell you that the single comes charged with commercial and earworm potential. If any song is going to convince you to accept your other half’s idiosyncrasies, it’s this infectiously honest release.

Figure it Out officially released on 22nd October 2021; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

RnB artist TODD has made his wavy trap pop debut with ‘Girl You Looking So Fly’

TODD

Up and coming alternative RnB artist TODD has made his debut with the release of his wavy trap pop track, Girl You Looking So Fly, which was originally composed as a poem to his girlfriend during lockdown.

After a trippy prelude of chords fed through tape delay echo, the vivid multi-layered mix kicks into full flow around steady trap beats and vocals which seamlessly switch between deadpan cool and RnB crooning.

The vocal samples slightly over-busy the mix; aside from that, Girl You Looking So Fly is a stellar indie RnB debut in every conceivable way.

Girl You Looking So Fly will be officially released on October 8th 2021.

Connect with TODD and keep up to date with new releases on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast