Browsing Tag

RnB Pop

Brittney Crush is watching from her ‘Window’

Posted on 2 May 2021

It’s always nice to hear ‘proper’, live guitar on an electronic-based R&B track, and the guitar part on Brittney Crush’s new single ‘Window’ is a superb, delicately played and funk-driven soulful groove sitting perfectly between the electronica of synth bass and beats and Brittney’s excellent vocal part. The latter is a deep, chilled, and mellow delivery, smooth and sultry, breathy and delicious, perfectly matching the lyrical themes of female empowerment, chasing dreams, living life to the fullest, and finding love.

‘Window’ is a beautiful return to form for Brittney Crush, whose debut album ‘Chameleon’ was released to critical acclaim in 2018, followed by the singles ‘Bad Girl’, ‘Pick Them’, and ‘Big Joke’; with performances opening for soul-disco legend Gloria Gaynor, and shows at the Staples Centre (for the LA Clippers and the LA Sparks, Brittney’s home-town NBA teams), and at the Taste of Soul festival in Atlanta, good things are already happening for Brittney Crush. On the basis of ‘Window’, those good things are going to get bigger and brighter in 2021.

You can see the awesome, 1970’s-tinged video for ‘Window’ on YouTube; check out Brittney Crush, and get hold of the new single, here.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Perry Michael Allen brings us jazzy old-school groove with ‘Just Like That’

Posted on 2 May 2021

If a career working as a producer, song-writer, arranger, and session man for the likes of Albert King, the Memphis Horns, Wilson Pickett, Boz Skaggs, and Al Green (yep. Read that list again) amongst others isn’t enough for you, let’s add in works on multiple RIAA Certified Gold and Platinum albums, a highly coveted Memphis Blues Foundation ‘Blue Note’ Award, and music licensing to multiple films and TV shows (including ‘House’, ‘C.S.I.’, ‘JAG’, Ally McBeal’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Munich’, and ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’), and tutoring at the prestigious Berklee College Of Music. That’s one heck of a resume all in itself, except that now, as if by magic, Allen brings us ‘Just Like That’. A mix of Jazz-inspired motifs set over Hip Hop beats and breaks, with – of course – a huge Memphis-inspired feel.

We’ve got old-school TR-808 style electro beats and punching, hard-driven bass, sitting behind some chilled, grooving hip hop-styled vocals, a little funky syncopated guitar fill here and there, and a beautiful piano riff that reprises the Mission Impossible ‘tension’ music, hinting but never quite being a straight lift. The drums and guitar build through the track, until we get proper Stax-style horn fills, a little sax riff here, a clarinet there, building up the track until…too soon…and it’s over. It’s a killer track, all smooth-groove, funky without being over-the-top in that laid-back Al Green/Marvin Gaye kind of way, with a definite jazzy feel but a hugely modern vibe from the beautifully sung, soulful vocal and those Hip-Hop beats. It’s quite simply excellent.

Check out the video for ‘Just Like That’ on YouTube; follow Perry Michael Allen at the Clubhouse on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

PriZm blurred the boundaries between hip hop and pop in his sophomore single, ‘So What’, featuring Jedimizz.

Posted on 1 May 2021

The boundaries between hip hop and pop are getting thinner, and that is all thanks to genre-melding visionary artists such as Midwest rapper PriZm.

His latest single, So What, featuring Jedimizz, is an evocative firestorm that doesn’t rely on prosaic delivery or melody-stripped harsh instrumentals. Instead, the sheer emotion in PriZm’s almost-dizzying harmonic pop canter will leave you sobered as you listen to the transfixing lovelorn track unfold.

It is undoubtedly one of the catchiest urban perennial pop earworms that you’ll hear this year, making it even more admirable that this track does plenty more than just lyrically scratch at the surface.

So What perfectly captures the devastation that comes from realising that there is no substitute for love, and sometimes, there is no filling the hole that some people leave. Although, hitting play would be a start for the recently romantically aggrieved.

So What is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Aisyah sets the pace with her RnB pop single, Slow Down (Remix), featuring Pisces Kid and Zalelo.

Posted on 30 April 2021

For her latest release Bruneian singer-songwriter and producer Aisyah reworked her absorbing contemporary RnB pop track, ‘Slow Down’; in doing so, she ironically made us fall even more in love with the single.

The original release was a stunning feat of RnB pop which showcased Aisyah’s harmonic vocals against Pisces Kid’s irresistibly smooth vocal timbre as the two vocalists contended with romantic hesitancy. The remix introduces female vocalist, Zalelo, who acts as the proverbial devil on the shoulder, leading the narrative into one which mimics the conflict that is often fought when making romantic decisions.

While many artists use their tracks to boast how head over heels in love they are, Aisyah takes a more meditative approach to affection. Her hesitancy draws realism into the release but it never detracts from the affection.

It’s a stunning track that has left us assured that big things await Aisyah as she takes a step back from the film music industry, where she worked for Netflix, Marvel and Disney and became the first Bruneian to break into the American film industry.

Slow Down (Remix) officially released on April 30th. You will be able to check it out for yourselves via Spotify.

Keep up to new releases from Aisyah via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dvme The Artist is gonna make us ‘Pack’

Posted on 22 April 2021

Soft, gentle rhyming vocal flow mixes with killer beats and funky guitar parts to tell a story of a breaking relationship and that feeling of ‘should I stay or should I leave’ that surely we’ve all felt from time to time; that’s what Dvme (pronounced ‘Dame’) brings us on new single ‘Pack’, a mellow, laid-back slice of Hip Hop-tinged-R&B (or R&B-tinged-Hip Hop).

It’s chilled, it’s got some bounce, the guitar and sampled female spoken-voice parts add interest, and the poetic lyrics have got some serious groove and flow. It’s a strong, solid track, and it bodes well for Dvme’s new EP, due later this year.

You can hear ‘Pack’ on YouTube. Follow Dvme on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

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

Farah Ash reminds us that no man is an island in her debut RnB pop track.

Posted on 21 April 2021

LA-based Norwegian-Moroccan pop artist Farah Ash has made her solo debut with her empoweringly demure single, ‘No Man’. With “no man is an island” as the chorus, you’re forced to contemplate the effects of the isolation that we’ve endured. It’s an unignorable reminder no matter how attractive social withdrawal seems, we all need a community to thrive.

With the multicultural sun-bleached beats triggering your tribal impulses, you’ll have no choice in allowing No Man to resonate as a high vibe hit. It is an incredibly strong debut that could easily find its way onto the A-lists of plenty of international radio stations. But it was only a matter of time before Farah’s name started to dominate the airwaves. After working with Pitbull’s team, Chris Brown, Travis Scott and Post Malone, and even making it in Asia with her K-pop tracks, her own ascent to the top almost seemed inevitable.

No Man is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pick out the meta poetry in Donte Letang’s hip hop single, ‘My Love’.

Posted on 20 April 2021

For indie RnB fans, Donte Letang’s standout single, ‘My Love’, has all the makings of a playlist staple. Dreamy acoustic guitar, check. Humbly magnetic vocals, check. Smooth instrumentals that immediately feel like home, check.

There are a fair few reminiscences to Timberlake’s Cry Me a River, or more contemporarily, Post Malone’s evocative hip-pop style, but with the precision of the lyrical hooks, Donte Letang is well and truly in a league of his own. It’s the kind of track that you could listen to for the 100th time and still pick out new meta poetry. My Love is gritty urban gravitas at its finest.

You can check out My Love for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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