Browsing Tag

rnb

Mario Bonds fired with all soul cylinders blazing in his sensually bold single, Chocolate

Posted on 26 July 2023

Meet the D’Angelo of this decade by streaming his latest sensuality-swathed RnB single, Chocolate. Mario Bonds is best known for his appearances on The Glee Project, American Idol, and Blind Love; when the Washington DC native isn’t cooking up melting pots of 80s-inspired neo-soul, he’s inspiring millions as a fitness model, motivational speaker, and writer.

Around proving that adverse odds are there to be beaten, the blind songwriter and RnB crooner invites his fans into dreamily decadent singles. Chocolate stands as the ultimate testament to his ability to cook up a soulful storm with his ear candy vocal melodies and instrumentals that groove around romantic motifs. Even though there’s no anticipating what Mario Bonds will pull out of the pipeline next, if there is anything constant in his discography, it is the boldly sexual empowerment he delivers to his brothers and sisters.

Chocolate was officially released on July 7th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bomb Voyage has debuted his compassionately choral RnB dream pop serenade, Serenity

Posted on 20 July 2023

With melodically intricate indie guitars and synths that wouldn’t be out of place in a Cigarettes After Sex single, Bomb Voyage created a hazily dreamy atmosphere for his classic RnB vocals to soak into in his latest single, Serenity.

Hedonistic and self-destructive behaviour may have been normalised to the point it has been glamorised in contemporary culture; instead of contributing to the acceptability of the toxicity of the trend, Bomb Voyage orchestrated a moody yet compassionate ballad to pay an ode to a female protagonist who has a proclivity towards excess.

Rather than painting a monster, Bomb Voyage used their lyrical empathy and beckoningly magnetic vocal lines to create a consoling release for anyone who needs the affirmation that even the most wayward souls deserve to be seen beyond their lifestyles.

Serenity is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Azure Kai is intoxicating in their pseudo-trap hit, Fine Wine 

Posted on 20 July 2023
Azure Kai kicked off their latest single, Fine Wine, by riding the vaporwave trend and running through with pseudo-trap percussion before the RnB-spliced hit starts to lavish the single with soul.
Many experimental artists solely rely on genre fluidity to make a distinctive mark on the musical landscape, but that is only the start for Azure Kai; beyond their creative versatility is the core of Kai’s authenticity. Their infectiously playful approach to their witty wordplay works in parallel to their sense of humour, which would give most stand-up comedians a run for their money.
Fine Wine ripped up the rulebook of traditional love songs; the un-archetypal hit is infinitely more arrestive for it, all thanks to Kai’s uninhibited expressive style, which throws pretence to the wayside to expose the heart on their superlative sleeve.
Stream Fine Wine on YouTube.
Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: OTH€LLO introduced the future of Afro Fusion with his debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ

Posted on 17 July 2023

The Montreal-born, Harlem-based Afrobeat innovator OTH€LLO took gospel out of church and implanted it firmly in his ethereal dream of an Afrobeat RnB debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ.

Fittingly, after his music journey began by being introduced to Congolese gospel and secular soukous tunes by his Congolese immigrant parents, the sensuous single, which celebrates staying true to your roots while practising radical acceptance, finds plenty of room for religious imagery and tonality.

After a sensuously ambient RnB intro complete with saturated in warm delay indie guitars, SZA 4 NGAZ starts to tease hip-hop elements with the fiery canter of his verses before winding it all back down in the dynamically versatile hit that reached the pinnacle of Afro-Fusionist authenticity.

SZA 4 NGAZ is a sublimely promising start to OTH€LLO’s career. His carresively pure vocal lines paired with his down-to-earth lyrical style are enough to kickstart a new revolution in soul.

In the words of OTH€LLO:

“This song is an exploration of how growing my dreads again after cutting my first set was like falling again. It sonically narrates the process of self-love and self-acceptance through a fiercely Afrocentric and sexual perspective.”

After releasing SZA 4 NGAZ, OTH€LLO is back in the studio orchestrating his debut EP. If the forthcoming material is as arcane as his debut, you’ll want to save plenty of room on your radar.

SZA 4 NGAZ was officially released on the 1st of July; hear it on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Keep your RnB playlists pious with Freedom Worship’s single, I’m Gone

Posted on 17 July 2023

Keep your summer RnB playlists pious with ‘Summer Vibes The EP’ from Freedom Worship; the collaborative sun-soaked EP was created with the vision of providing the ultimate soundtrack to the summer while keeping gospel at the core of the soul. It is safe to say the passionate group of enthusiastic artists who banded together from a range of backgrounds succeeded in their mission.

Driven by their belief that they can positively influence the direction of culture, the limitless artists and innovators orchestrated one of the smoothest RnB releases of 2023. The standout single, I’m Gone, featuring vocals from Charlie Hill, is the perfect reflective soundscape for chilled summer nights. With lyrics that show you the way to humbled and emboldened gratitude and vocal lines so consoling that the single becomes a sanctuary, I’m Gone delivers endless solace to faith followers and those who find their own path alike.

Stream I’m Gone with the rest of the 5-track EP via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wassko has unveiled his moody RnB synth-pop rendezvous, Not Around

Posted on 15 July 2023

Wassko broke ground and hearts with his debut EP, Figured You’d Care, featuring the heartbreak hit of a standout single, Not Around. With a sonic signature that scribes itself between the Weeknd and The Midnight, Wassko reached the pinnacle of RnB-infused synth-pop style in Not Around, which becomes a dualistic lesson in sincerity with the vocal contribution from Rama, who gave the other side of the love story where elusiveness has severed the connection.

Even though the Haifa-residing artist only made his debut with his genre-melding sound, which frequently borrows from RnB, hip-hop, soul, EDM, and punk, last year, he’s already well on his way to establishing himself in the industry.

His 2023 EP is a testament to how honed his skills have become; it takes a fine balance of songwriting dexterity and sonic engineering to visualise such a complicated yet perfectly-rounded hit that paints raw emotion in kaleidoscopic colour, instead of the black and white lenses which are typically used to orchestrate love songs.

Not Around was officially released on June 30; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Devontaii has unveiled his latest tenderly solicitous RnB single and music video, My Side

Posted on 14 July 2023

By teaming up with the video director BOWJACK, the up-and-coming RnB luminary, Devontaii, cooked up a soulfully rhythmic evocative firestorm with his latest single and music video, My Side, which is the opening track to his third album, LoversOnly2. 

Only after hearing it, did it dawn on us how self-obsessed RnB and soul singles tend to be; the visceral compassion worked into the lyricism hits tear-jerkingly hard, establishing Devontaii as one of the sweetest solicitous RnB artists of this era. It isn’t often that artists manage to leave their ego by the wayside while penning lyrics, but Devontaii is standing at the vanguard of empathy-driven soul in the euphoric revelation that is his latest single.

By using “she don’t want to hurt no more” as a reprise during the chorus in the moody, reverb-y indie pop-spliced single, the singer, songwriter and producer offered sonic sanctuary to everyone who has endured toxic relationship dynamics. The tenderness of the single resonates on a profound level; we can’t rate Devontaii’s ability to better the world with his talents enough.

The official music video for My Side has already racked up 14k streams; jump on the hype via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bristol singer-songwriter Dolly Doo put the soul into ephemeral connections with ‘Aint Nothing Serious’

Posted on 14 July 2023

Hook-up culture may get a superficial rep, but as the siren of soul, Dolly Doo, alludes to in her latest single, Aint Nothing Serious, no-strings-attached arrangements can be the ultimate ephemeral remedy.

The jazzy RnB pop amalgam is an extension of the Bristol-based singer-songwriter’s limitless genre fluidity; whichever stylistic territories her harmonically ethereal vocal lines and richly Elysian instrumentals drift into as she is following the muse, one thing remains a constant, the grace with which she brings to life her complex metaphorical concepts.

Her songwriting style and the genre pools she dips her superlative toe into evoke a certain amount of nostalgia, but there is just enough contemporary light bleaching her harmonious hits to give her sound swathes of contemporary appeal.

With a debut EP in the pipeline and performances at Boomtown and Bristol Harbourside Festival behind her, she is definitively one to watch.

Aint Nothing Serious will be available to stream from July 14 on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The world humbled me: Othello pulls away from the darkness on SZA 4 NGAZ

Posted on 1 July 2023

On a steamy track to heat up fragile windows, Othello is in no mood for loneliness and performs with a stunning brilliance which will certainly heal all sad hearts on SZA 4 NGAZ.

Othello is a well-travelled New York City-based RnB/neo-soul artist who was born in Montreal with Congolese heritage deep in his veins and shows us his inspiring determination on each track.

Moving away from those previously harsh tough times which threatened to sway him into the darkness of gloom, Othello is in top form and sings with so much love and rides the wave inside a whirlpool of the confusing romantic world we find ourselves in.

Fueled with his gospel energy and featuring terrific lyrics to lather deeper into, we are treated to a rising musician who sings from the heart.

SZA 4 NGAZ from New York City-based RnB/neo-soul artist Othello is a rather special ear-tingling experience to turn up on full volume. There is much to be thrilled about no matter what genre you’re usually into, as our emotions are taken on a breathless voyage to that happy place.

Listen up deeper on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Heir to the St Louis rap scene, K!NG QUE, created alt-hip-hop ‘Perfection’ in his latest single, ft Zaetheone, Daemon & Von Mitch 

Posted on 28 June 2023
For his latest single, Perfection, the prodigal son of alt-hip hop, K!NG QUE (AKA the Melodic Rebel), joined creative forces with Zaetheone, Daemon & Von Mitch and took over the St. Louis rap scene in the process.
Seeing barriers as sonic constraints to unshackle himself from, K!NG QUE created sultry groove-slicked production that exhibits the alchemy that breeds between the contrasting and complementary vocal timbres while the body-rocking beats and melodies to perpetually ascend in the RnB and Reggaeton wrapped mix. Very few contemporary hits have what it takes to take you to the heights Perfection does.
The dynamic versatility reverberating at its core is the evolution hip-hop was crying out for. From ethereal female vocal lines to rap bars with a cadence that punctuates the mix as much as the basslines to euphoric builds to just as galvanising breaks, Perfection just keeps on giving.
Stream Perfection on Spotify now.
Review by Amelia Vandergast