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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

Marc Lucid takes us back to the 90s era of downtempo RnB with, ‘Bout This’, featuring Rockie Fresh

Posted on 28 June 2021

Under the influence of 90s hip hop and RnB, up and coming Upstate New York-residing hip hop artist Marc Lucid released his debut album, Jungle Rulez, on June 15th. The lead track, Bout This, featuring the luminary rap artist Rockie Fresh is the perfect introduction to Marc Lucid’s smoothly hazy style of down tempo hip hop.

Any fans of Post Malone, Mac Miller and Tyler, the Creator will appreciate the soul-infusion in the mellow trap mix that candidly explores Marc Lucid’s introspection when it comes to everyday malaise. The soundscape gets a kick of energy when Rockie Fresh’s fiery rap bars hit full flow, but Lucid’s hazy stoner vibes are just as evocative in their own right.

Check out Marc Lucid’s album Jungle Rulez on apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ludy doesn’t need no ‘Favors’

Posted on 25 June 2021

You can take the girl out of the Midwest, it seems, but you can’t take the Midwest out of the girl; what you can do, however, is mix that with the palm trees and art deco stucco of Miami Beach, and end up with a fiercely independent, upbeat and upfront sound and bold, bright production. Marrying smooth deep cuts jazz, stylish vocal harmonies, and old-skool beats and bassline, all backing Lucy’s silky smooth, vocals and fresh, feisty lyrics.

‘Favors’ is that perfect mix of souful, poppy, R&B with a little dash of hip hop and some smoky jazz-club cool, all married to some seriously stylish, glamourous visuals. It’s a perfect cocktail – cool, smooth, and over way too soon.

Check out Ludy on YouTube and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Oli Morris takes us on a tour with the Acid Jazz-inspired ‘Bimal’

Posted on 24 June 2021
Oli Morris

It’s always a pleasure to review something a little bit out of the blue and unexpected, and when it’s from someone as accomplished as Oli Morris that holds doubly so. A saxophonist and composer originally born in Northridge, California but now living in Bristol, Oli studied music at the University of Chichester, but soon found himself an in-demand session player and live sideman, performing at Bestival and Glastonbury as well as decamping to Rockfield Studios with festival favourites Cut Capers.

Shortly before the world paused and ‘roadmap’ took on a new, Covid-related meaning, Morris returned from a month-long backpacking tour through India. The result, featuring a collective of Bristol’s up-and-coming music glitterati, is ‘Bimal’, a jazz-neo-soul fusion in two halves, featuring the stunning, silky-smooth vocals of Chrissie Huntley wrapped around Morris’ masterful saxophone, interspersed with Snazzback’s Eli Jitsuto’s deliciously restrained guitar parts and the oh-so-cool jazz-funk rhythm section of Sam Fox and Andee Liu. There’s some serious Rare Groove and Acid Jazz smoothness here, echoes of the Brand New Heavies and Incognito mixed with touches of Galliano’s ‘Joyful Noise Unto The Creator’ around Ruaridh Wilkinson’s Rhodes piano-work; it’s chilled, mellow, and it’s got some serious soul.

Check out Oli Morris here or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Nikki Taylor Vibe gets deep and soulful on ‘Understated’

Posted on 24 June 2021

Nikki Taylor Vibe is a Long Island, New York, native with a background of stylistic crossover between hip hop, RnB, and Indie-pop. Her first single, ‘Wasted’, from her debut EP ‘Siren’ dropped in January last year, and since then she’s been named Power 98.5 Radio’s Breakout Artist of 2020, collaborating with Royce Da 59 and Young Ra on the single ‘Nother Level’.

Now, ‘Understated’ is Vibe’s new single, and understated it certainly is, classy, sultry, smooth, and sexy, pulled back, mellow and chilled all with Vibe’s laid-back vocal delivery overlaying old school 808 beats and deep soulful groove. It’s a killer track, showcasing without being showy, flash without being brash. It really IS understated.

Check out ‘Understated’ on Spotify; check out Nikki Taylor Vibe on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Sellah reworked Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinkin Bout You’ in his latest release.

Posted on 24 June 2021

For his latest single, the international artist Sellah (Whitney-Michael McCloud) reworked Frank Ocean’s iconic single, Thinkin Bout You; he well and truly made the soundscape his own while still keeping the soulfully alchemic appeal of the original burning right through the release.

With the darker and more reverberant beats paired with Sellah’s stunning vocal range and the sweet sentimentality that he brings to the single through his deep emotional connection to it, it’s impossible not to be drawn in.

The artist, brand manager and editor-in-chief for IMMO magazine has set his sights on becoming a household name. After hearing his Thinkin Bout You cover, it is safe to say that he is on the right trajectory.

The seriously stylistic official video that premiered on YouTube on June 11th has already amassed over 14,000 streams. Check it out for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Jaye King – Jazzy gospel-influenced groove with the uplifting ‘Me & You’

Posted on 17 June 2021
Jaye King

Mixing up soul, gospel, a little hip hop, and some mellow jazz-influenced easy listening pop, ‘Me & You’, the new single from Floridian-native Jaye King is a funky, feel-good, soulful ode to living life, partnership, and celebration; fusing Gregory Porter, a touch of John Legend, and maybe a little of Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum’s style all mingled with some upbeat spirituals and dash of R&B feels, and you’re smack in the middle of the ballpark here. There’s clear passion, some raw, honest lyric-writing, and lashings of faith and love in ‘Me & You’, and it shines through – you can hear the smile in King’s voice as he’s singing. This is genuine, upbeat and uplifting, chilled and cool and red, red-hot all at once. If there’s such a thing as soul food for the ears, then ‘Me & You’ is it, in spades.

Check out ‘Me & You’ through Jaye King’s website, or via Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Just Love makes ‘No Promises’

Posted on 17 June 2021
Just Love

Hailing from Long Island, New York, Just Love’s knack for narrative lyrics started out as a penchant for short-story writing; switching that word-craft from prose to song-writing, spinning colourful, evocative verses and catchy little hooks in the style of Drake, The Weeknd, or Jay Z.

‘No Promises’ is Just Love’s debut single, produced by the perennial Lucas Quinn; it’s chilled, pulled-back, JL’s flow sitting tidily atop swelling synth parts and stop-start old-school hi hat beats. There’s an easy confidence about the track, rolling vocal delivery meshing tidily with the backing, the whole thing grooving and grinding in equal measure; ‘No Promises’ might be Just Love’s debut, but despite the title this certainly shows promise for the future.

Check out Just Love here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Nelda – A perfect pick-me-up with ‘If It Wasn’t For Your Love’

Posted on 17 June 2021

Coming in with some lusciously tasteful piano, jazzy, uplifting, and mellow, ‘If It Wasn’t For Your Love’ is a gorgeous ‘thank you’ to family and childhood nurturing, all wrapped up in a mix of jazz, blues, and gentle pop, singer songwriter Nelda Kuzuma’s soulful vocal and keys mixing with Artis Aleksejevs’ tasteful brushed drums and clarinet and brother Arturs’ wandering, laconic bassline and synths. Think old-school club, all smoky noir and tabletop tealight candles, twenties-style cocktail dresses and zoot suits, and you won’t go far wrong.

It’s beautifully played and arranged, restrained yet lively, thankful and joyous and oh so, so good, Kuzuma’s smooth, syrupy delivery absolutely soothing and caressing, sultry and sensual and seemingly effortless, leaping over the rolling tempo changes and that tight-but-loose rhythm section groove. At a point where the world feels just ever-so-slightly over-ridden with negative uncertainty, ‘If It Wasn’t For Your Love’ is, simply, a glorious time-out; an absolute upswing of positivity, laid-back, chilled, and delivered with such utter charm and feel it’s impossible not to feel just a little bit brighter for listening. It’s a perfect pick-me-up prescription.

You can check out ‘If It Wasn’t For Your Love’, and its accompanying video, on YouTube. And you really, really should. Right now.

Review by Alex Holmes

Indie art-rock meets RnB in Cael Dadian’s latest single, ‘this sucks’.

Posted on 16 June 2021

23-year-old singer-songwriter and producer Cael Dadian has been gracing the airwaves with his alternative take on RnB since 2017. His most recent work, such as his standout single, this sucks, is a testament to how much he has honed in on his sonic and lyrical talent in recent years. Along with creating radio-ready singles, he has also produced scores for brands such as Facebook and MAC Cosmetics.

Dadian’s plaintively rich vocals, that will be a hit with fans of Hozier, Jack Johnson and Ray Lamontagne, draw you right into the heart of the alt-RnB single that pulls in nuances of indie and art-rock. Instead of using the same old melodies that we’ve been overfed since the 90s in this sucks, Dadian’s instrumentals are just as gripping and intricate as Thom Yorke’s. The tender neo-classic touch to the keys flawlessly demonstrate Dadian’s virtuosic command of melody, that is sure to see him go far in 2021 and beyond.

this sucks is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Don’t Freak Out have released their endearingly explicit jazz neo-soul pop single, ‘Shit Cars’

Posted on 15 June 2021

‘Shit Cars’ is the latest endearingly explicit neo-soul jazz-funk track by the off the cuff artist, Don’t Freak Out, who play with elements of RnB and hip hop to bring a sense of easy accessibility to their endlessly eccentric releases.

The extended-release keeps your synapses on full alert right up until the outro as it grooves its way through jazzy interludes, rap verses and choruses that make an obscure earworm out of Shit Cars.

With each member of Don’t Freak Out being a seasoned professional, they set themselves apart with the nuance of their sound just as much as they do through the uniqueness of it. Given that they quite literally paid ode to shit cars with their latest release, that says something.

Shit Cars is due for release on June 11th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast