Hip hop and R&B seem to be scooting closer and closer together these days. Lando Chill has dropped “Fwm,” and you can barely classify it as rap. Dreamy kaleidoscopic synths stream in and out of awareness. Maya Vera slides in under Lando’s refrains with her sweetly tranquilizing voice. We’re ready to be snowed in with our significant other, trapped in a mountain of blankets by the fire.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Mind of a Genius artist KWAYE nimbly channels the sound of multiple eras of R&B to a compact modernly arranged new track “Lost in My Boots”. A percussive main guitar, choral-reminiscent harmonies at the track’s most key dynamic points, and a cool neatly syncopated bassline frame up one of R&B (and indie music’s) best tracks of 2017.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Talented Aussie Jack Grace dials up the neo alternative R&B sound in a new (via some very spacious broad-palette dance referencing) and very listenable way on “Us”.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Swedish-Iranian singer Ayelle takes on male entitlement on Crayon-produced new track “Silverplates”. Out today on Majestic Casual Records, “Silverplates” smartly and subversively uses the R&B idiom as a setting in communicating its lyric, Ayelle says, “Silverplates is a metaphor for male privilege and the entitlement felt towards female identifying bodies. Too often in this narrative, women are made to feel as if they’re disposable, and it’s an exhausting landscape to navigate.”. On production is French producer Crayon whose warm tones jazz-influenced style adds further potency to “Silverplates” R&B as subversion. Stream the B3SCI Premiere, of “Silverplates” from Ayelle below.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Immensely talented Swede Snoh Aalegra picks up an assist from the Hot 100’s current reigning champ Logic for the neo-soul-informed “Sometimes”. “Sometimes” is excerpted from Aalegra’s debut LP FEELS, which in addition to the Logic feature, is outfitted with collaborations from Vince Staples and Vic Mensa
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Canadian artist Scott Zhang a/k/a Monsune debuts the especially impressive “Nothing in Return”. Boosted by a wide-palette set of samples and brass textures (and overall very strong production), “Nothing in Return” particularly excels on it’s instantly stuck in your head stable of melodies and really good hook writing. Listen to Monsune!
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
UK artist Yellow Days continues his 50’s-60’s pop-fueled victory lap around the blogosphere on the weirdo soul of “Holding On”
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring is the guest vocalist on “I Don’t Know”, the latest soul noir number from Torontonian Innovative Leisure act BADBADNOTGOOD.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
“Lost” is the perfect frame for Canadian singer MADDEE’s potent alto. Mixed to a of the moment blend of late night dance music and R&B, the Toronto-based MADDEE’s big voice and smart melodic choices drive “Lost” as the lead of a very listenable track that we are digging a lot so listen.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
