Browsing Tag

Contemporary Rnb

Maria Manuel – True: A Veraciously Soulful Take on Love

Posted on 13 August 2021

London-based singer-songwriter Maria Manuel has released her soulfully luxe single, True, which takes RnB pop to an artfully ethereal level. With the moody pop atmosphere lingering around the pensive RnB melodies, Maria Manuel’s scorned ballad gives the evolution of RnB a brand-new trajectory.

The lyrics are as affectionate as they are ingenious and the soulful vocal timbre that brings a cinematic edge to the noir pop soundscape also makes sure that True emanates plenty of mainstream appeal.

True is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

King Brian runs through 30 years of hurt in his resilient RnB Hip Hop single, Blood Sweat & Tears.

Posted on 28 July 2021

Breaking RnB artist King Brian candidly exposes 30 years of hurt in his latest single, Blood Sweat & Tears, which sonically carries plenty of reminiscence to lovelorn 90s RnB hits with a contemporary introspective style.

It’s so far beyond the ‘my love life sucks’ kind of RnB that constantly spills onto the airwaves in swathes; the single almost allows you to consider what RnB would sound like if RnB artists weren’t constantly fixated on romantic success. Brian broaches the topic of love in Blood Sweat & Tears, but just as in life, it isn’t the be-all and end-all.

Anyone whose mentality errs on the side of melancholy will find plenty of resonance in the contemporary RnB hip hop single that relays familiar anxieties and feelings of isolation through lack of understanding over fierce trap beats and RnB melodies.

Blood Sweat & Tears is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jesse Powers – Let It Slide: Poetically Profound Indie RnB Pop

Posted on 6 July 2021

RnB pop singer-songwriter Jessie has released her soulful, resonantly dark single, Let it Slide; on a scale of 1 – 10, the wisdom in the lyricism is profoundly off the charts.

By starting with such stark questioning, “Why do I wake up to the sun and see only dark”, then transgressing to the very real life-lessons, “you can’t make people stay, you can only change”, Let It Slide teaches you what no one else dares to. They say we live to learn, but we’re not still testing poisonous fruit; we have the capacity to drink in the straight-from-the-soul sincerity in singles such as Let it Slide instead of savouring the bitterness first-hand.

The official lyric video for Let it Slide is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the beauty in endings with BNZA’s RnB pop hit, ‘Dangerous’.

Posted on 8 May 2021

If you’re looking for the perfect RnB pop track for those chilled summer nights, you’ve found it with the latest single from BNZA. With its urban grooves and deeply introspective lyrics, ‘Dangerous’, explores the uncertainties which endings bring.

As BNZA’s velvety vocals flow to the kicking, ardent beats, you may start to feel your attitude towards endings shift as the lyrics address the complexity and make room for new perceptions. The repetition of the lyric, “being alone saved me, being alone made me”, affirms that a solo status isn’t a life sentence. Instead of spinning the self-deprecating rhetoric, you can follow BNZA’s lead and find empowerment in solitude.

Dangerous is available to stream and download on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jace Heyman is going to get to us ‘One By One’

Posted on 21 April 2021

The second single from forthcoming E.P. ‘Lovin’ Under The Influence’ (following-up his debut, ‘Drunk Text’), ‘One By One’ is a little slice of modern R&B that mixes up Usher and Timberlake with The Weeknd, Future, and Drake. It’s a chilled, mellow track, deep bass and laid-back programmed parts underlaying Heyman’s relaxed, gentle upper-register vocal. Mixed in with collaborator Jaq Moon

‘One By One’ has got daytime Radio One or Kiss FM written all over it; that smooth-groove soulful sort of R&B vibe going on, that sort of beach-day chill out relaxing-yet-uplifting track that’s contemporary yet comfortingly old-school all at once.

‘One By One’ is out now across all major streaming platforms. You can hear it now on Spotify, and follow Jace Heyman on Facebook and Twitter.

Review by Alex Holmes

Dara Blaxx drops the stunning lead single from her new EP, with ‘Before I Leave’

Posted on 20 April 2021

Dara Blaxx is a 25 year old British Nigerian singer-songwriter who discovered her voice at the tender age of sixteen; and wow, what a voice. Soulful, sultry, and powerfully seductive, Dara has all the smoky, late-night elements of soul, Motown, blues, and jazz rolled up into one beautiful vocal performance. There’s elements of Sade, Joss Stone, and Dina Carroll in the timbre of her lower register, for sure, but also older classics like Etta James, Betty Wright, and Brenda Holloway.

‘Before I Leave’ is a beautifully performed tale of love and loss, and the indecision around staying or leaving; deep trap-soul beats and groove, a real R&B feel, added to the emotional vocal, make ‘Before I Leave’ – from Blaxx’s debut 6-track EP ‘Arrythmia’ – an absolute powerhouse soul track. Already hitting playlists on BBC Music Introducing in the West Midlands and in the Solent, this deserves to be all over daytime radio this summer. It’s beautiful.

You can hear ‘Before I Leave’, and the rest of the “Arrhythmia” EP, on Soundcloud. Follow Dara Blaxx on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes.

Donte Letang narrates the necessity of love with their single, ‘Love Someone’.

Posted on 20 April 2021

After releasing his debut single in 2020, RnB pop artist Donte Letang has garnered plenty of hype with their soulful vibes, perfect cadence and unique perspectives on love which discernibly come from a place of experience and deep introspection.

With his lyrics, he paints on blank canvasses that become imagery-spilling love stories; his third single, ‘Love Someone’, is the perfect example. Love Someone finds a narratively captivating way to remind the listener of the necessity of love and that everything else is just surface.

For as long as Donte Letang continues dropping releases, he’ll be making the airwaves an increasingly more affable place. He’s one for the radar.

Love Someone is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Prepare for ‘Turbulence’ in Jae Cabrera’s latest soulful RnB stormer

Posted on 19 April 2021

Singer-songwriter Jae Cabrera is the US artist responsible for bringing a Portishead-level of cool to contemporary RnB Pop. His latest single ‘Turbulence’ drafts dark, stormy tones into the dream pop-esque production that allows neo-classic keys to stab through the accordance.

When he hits the highs with his soft yet sonorous vocal timbre, you’re practically welcomed into an aural utopia. Turbulence seriously sets the bar for artists wanting to put a contemporary spin on RnB. It’s an evocative whirlwind which recreates that all too relatable feeling of mental instability while possessing a roots-deep unapologetic expression of passion.

Turbulence is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feel the apathy dissipate with My-Key’s hazy RnB-pop track, ‘Mint’.

Posted on 2 April 2021

Throughout his career, My-Key’s aspiration has been to transmit good vibes and frequencies through his hazy pop tracks, based on their most recent release, ‘Mint’, he succeeded. As soon as you hit play, you get the instant shoulder-drop-catharsis as you render the grooves well-worth sinking into.

Instrumentally, there is an intricate mix of indie, pop, soul and hip hop that pulls together with plenty of magnetism to create the perfect platform for My-Key’s humbly-sweet vocals that don’t hold back on vulnerability or the grit of reality. My-Key has a unique way of grounding you with his grind and making sure he imparts ennui-abstracting wisdom. If you could bottle My-Key’s charisma and optimism, it would out-sell Coca-Cola.

Mint (produced by L!tino) is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Danny Paul proves that two is better than one with his soulfully contemporary RnB trap 2-track release

Posted on 8 March 2021

Danny Paul’s latest 2-track release, Your Money / No Bail gives you the nostalgic A-side and B-side experience while allowing that experience to introduce you to RnB which could have only transpired in the 21st-century.

The first single runs you through all the torrid emotions which can come to fruition while exploring romantic possibility, while the second single switches from a hedonistically sweet tone to a retrospectively melancholic one which is still packed with sonic sex appeal.

Within Danny Paul’s signature take on RnB, you’ll be able to pick out hints of pop, trap and hip hop, but mostly, you’ll detect their unique sound which resounds on the airwaves with infectious distinction.

Danny Paul’s latest release is available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast