It was good news for Mariah Carey fans worldwide when she announced early this year a new deal with Epic Records and a reteaming with the legendary L.A Reid on the production of her forthcoming album.
Today she dropped the only new recording from her new upcoming Greatest Hits album (set for release 18th May) entitled, ‘Infinity‘. We all love Mariah for her incredible vocal runs, her authentic soulful ballad sound and her classic break up lyrics, all of which can be found on this new track!
With L.A Reid on production, this track really does sound like the signature Mariah sound from the 90’s is back. The question is – are the lyrics a dig at ex-husband Nick Cannon? Take a listen below and decide for yourself…
It’s been a while since we have heard any new material from Frank Ocean, then yesterday he broke his musical silence with an enchanting cover of The Isley Brothers classic, ‘At Your Best (You Are Love)‘, which he has expressed is a tribute to the late Aaliyah on what would have been her 36th Birthday.
The cover is stripped back, understated and hears Frank Ocean’s vocals sounding hotter than ever. There is no word of any other new recordings from the artist as yet, however he did sign under new management last summer so hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for that much anticipated follow up album to ‘Channel Orange‘.
It’s been a big year for the TDE signed singer, songwriter, ‘BJ The Chicago Kid‘, starting with his collaboration on the Schoolboy Q track, ‘Studio‘ he has gone on to drop solo tracks like, ‘Real Love Never Dies‘ and ‘Perfect‘, generating critical acclaim and demand from fans for a new album.
His new E.P ‘The M.A.F.E Project‘, features 12 new tracks, boasting features from Freddie Gibson and Schoolboy Q and production credits from Da Internz and Hip Hop duo Mike & Keys (formerly ‘The Furturistiks’).
The E.P is a perfect blend of RnB and Hip Hop with a bit of Mowtown flava mixed in. BJ The Chicago Kid pays homeage in style and lyrics to the likes of Jodeci, James Brown, Aaliyah and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, whilst maintaining a freshness with his musical style. High points of ‘The M.A.F.E Project‘ are the raw and bluesy, ‘Real Love Never Dies‘ and BJ’s version of the Aaliyah classic ‘One In A Million‘ which he geniusly mixes with Jodeci’s ‘Feenin‘ making the track a must for 90’s RnB fans!
‘The M.A.F.E Project‘ has something for everyone and is definitley a highlight album of the year, you can download it for FREE via BJ The Chicago Kid’s website, click on the link below and enjoy!!
It’s been a while since we’ve heard the soulful stylings of Jamie Foxx, after delivering huge RnB hits on his 2006 album, ‘Unpredictable‘ Foxx failed to make an impact with his follow up 2010 album, ‘Best Night of My Life‘.
Sounding back on top form Jamie Foxx has dropped a new track today entitled, ‘Ain’t My Fault‘ produced by singer and producer Mario Winans. With a smooth,seductive vibe and Jamie’s vocal’s sounding on point, the track is a must for all RnB fans. Unfortunatley there is no official word on a new album, so until we here more just hit repeat on this one!
Arguably one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2014 is released today, Jhene Aiko has just dropped her debut album entitled, ‘Souled Out‘.
Jhene Aiko is no stranger to the RnB scene, having started out in the industry in 2002, aged 12 performing backing vocals on B2K tracks. She stormed into the spotlight last year when she featured on Drake’s album, ‘Nothing Was The Same’ and released her acclaimed EP ‘Sail Out‘ later in the year.
This debut album showcases Jhene Aiko’s impressive songwriting skills, with writing credits on all 14 tracks, she also boasts a production credit along with several others including No I.D and Fisticuffs both of whom worked on ‘Sail Out’.
Souled Out stays true to Jhene Aiko’s distinctive style, exploring a more ‘indie’ side to RnB, similar to the sounds of Miguel and SZA. She keeps her hip hop vibe alive on track, ‘Pretty Bird‘ which features Common, she opens up about her personal life with ‘Promises‘, which is dedicated to and features her 5 year old daughter, while the rest of the album flows between the dark and haunting style of previous single, ‘The Worst‘, uplifting melodies and laid back, soulful vibes.
If you are a fan of any of Jhene Aiko’s previous work the album will not dissapoint, if you’re yet to get familiar with this ecletic soulstress go cop the album for a refreshingly unique and soulful experience!
In the past I have not been the biggest Beyonce fan, Destiny’s Child never really did it for me and when the ladies went solo I always preferred Kelly Rowland’s music. However there is no disputing the fact that ‘Queen B‘ is an absolute superstar! Her recent genius move of releasing a suprise visual album on ITunes demonstrated that not only is she on top of her game musically, she is ahead of the game when it comes to marketing herself and understanding the music business.
Things were all going so well; she had smashed another international #1 album, sold out a global arena tour and then came the ‘elevator’ incident with husband Jay Z and sister Solange – which did not look good for anyone involved! However Beyonce handled the fallout like a pro, publicly stating that she is part of a normal family and sometimes people fall out!
In a genius move she has addressed the issue head on in the lyrics to this fresh new remix of ‘Flawless‘ which features Nikki Minaj, where she explains, ‘We escalate up in this bitch like elevators, of course sometimes shit goes down when it’s a billion dollars on the elevator.’. I always think it’s an admirable thing when artists address negative publicity head on and aren’t afraid to talk about it, not only is this a great track, co-produced by Hit Boy and Boots but it shows a ‘human’ side to the international icon.
Exploring the flaws of her recent family feud has definitley propelled Beyonce one step closer to being ‘Flawless’….enjoy!
Straight off the back of his killer feature verse on Ty Dollar Sign’s ‘Oh Nah‘ remix The Weeknd has dropped a new track!
‘Often‘ is true to The Weeknd’s signature smooth style, his vocals sounding as strong and distinctive as ever! Details about the track and the artist’s highly anticipated new album are still sparse at the moment, so until we hear more news you can just enjoy the vibe of ‘Often‘…..
Who can forget when Mase stormed on the music scene in 1997 with his debut album Harlem World, featuring RnB classics such as ‘Tell Me What You Want‘ and ‘Feels Good’? But despite the success of this album and his second ‘Double Up‘, Mase made a shock announcement live on radio in 1999 that he was retiring from music to answer a ‘call from God’ and become a Pastor.
Subsequent years have seen attempted comebacks with some success and this week Mase dropped a new track featuring Eric Bellinger entitled, ‘Nothing‘ from his forthcoming album ‘Now We Even‘. Mase has teamed up with Chris Brown’s ‘Loyal‘ producer Nic Nac, so what the track lacks in lyrics it makes up in beats, but the question remains – is Mase still relevant?
Decide for yourselves and check out the new track below:
Over the past two weeks not one but TWO incredible EP’s have dropped in the world of RnB! Raleigh Ritchie who has been blowing up the UK RnB seen over the past year, has collaborated with American Neo-Soul group The Internet on a new EP entitled, ‘Black and Blue Point 2‘. The EP features hot remixes of tracks from Ritchie’s previous EP as well as a new song, ‘Chased‘ showing his lyrics and vocals are as on point as ever. This is a great collaboration and another fantastic EP for Raleigh Ritchie fans to add to their collection – lets hope to hear more from this team in the future! You can buy ‘Black and Blue Point 2’ now on Itunes.
The second EP comes from unsigned American artist Gallant entitled ‘Zebra’. Gallant has teamed up with producers Felix Snow and Maths Time Joy to release this incredibly unique EP, at first listen I became an instant fan – the style lies somewhere between RnB, Neo-Soul and this new electronica soul coming from artists like Sampha and SZA. Gallant’s vocals are stunningly distinctive and at times haunting (in a good way!). His lyrics are rich and emotive and scream wisdom years beyond his young age of 21, if the music industry has any sense this guy won’t stay unsigned for long! If you are a fan of Maxwell and Frank Ocean or just want to hear something enticingly unique you can buy ‘Zebra‘ from Itunes.
With this level of talent being brought at the start of their careers I can’t wait to hear what Raleigh Ritchie and Gallant will be bringing in the future – these two are definitely ones to watch!!
So last night Ronnie Herel and I were lucky enough to spend the evening with The Robert Glasper Experiment, and I use that terminology deliberately…I will explain later.
For those of you who are still not familiar (shame on you) Robert Glasper is a musician and producer who recently released two albums; ‘Black Radio ‘ and ‘Black Radio 2‘ with his band under the title ‘The Robert Glasper Experiment‘ and who treated London to a live performance at The Eventim Apollo last night.
From the start of the show one thing was clear – this was going to be a night of effortless, unapologetic musical authenticity. Robert and the rest of the ‘Experiment’ band came on stage sporting their own unique styles but sharing the same laid back vibe with Robert on keys, Derrick Hodge on guitar, Casey Benjamin on lead vocals and saxophone and Mark Colenburg on drums. This collaboration should be re launched named ‘The Robert Glasper Masterclass’ as all 4 members are exceptional, world class musicians who played with finesse and have an incredible chemistry together. Mark Colenbug gave without a doubt the best drumming performance I have ever seen, his sticks did not rest for the first 30 minutes of the show, he was effortless yet so full of energy and I’m pretty sure we could solve the Global energy crisis by using the power which he emulates from his drums!
The night felt like everyone there had been invited to a private jamming sessions in Robert Glasper’s basement, he explained that the group suffer from ‘Musical ADD’, an excellent description as they flowed across genres, mashed and riffed contemporary and classic songs, going from Cyndi Lauper to Janet Jackson to Bill Withers then to J Dilla. The Robert Glasper Experiment were on stage doing their thing – at many points with their eyes closed just feeling the music and that is why I say I spent the evening with Robert Glasper because it didn’t feel like a performer / audience scenario, it was everyone in the room together celebrating their passion for music.
What made it feel even more unique was the way that special guests Raheem Devaughn, Laura Mvula and Emeli Sande all casually joined the band on stage at points to jam with them. Each guest provided roof raising vocals; Raheem Devaughn performing a number of tracks including ‘Worries‘ and ‘Woman‘, Laura Mvula joined for ‘Calls‘ and Emeli Sande for ‘Somebody Else‘ all sounding even more incredible live than on any of their recordings.
Robert Glasper was the ultimate charismatic front man; funny, genuine and infectious, he was clearly having the time of his life on stage and you couldn’t help but feel the same. This experience was unique and exquisite, I would challenge anybody who is passionate about music regardless of genre not to be in awe of the performance that The Robert Glasper Experiment gave last night and if you were not fortunate enough to be there then make sure you don’t miss out next time!!
