R&B
Zayn Unveils New Single “Better”: Stream
Zayn has returned with his first solo single in two years, “Better”. This is the first preview of his forthcoming third album, the follow-up to 2018’s Icarus Falls. “Better” is a velvety R&B love jam about the sexiest thing there is: open communication. Zayn asks his lover to express her negative emotions now, rather than waiting for the problem to get worse. “Why? Why wait to fight?” he croons, later wondering, “Can we save tears in your eyes?” The music video was directed by Ryan Hope and the concept seems simple enough: Zayn starts out shirtless, and then he gets dressed in slow motion. But there are also brief cutaways to people watching him through binoculars or listening to tape recordings, which suggest that the pop star might be under surveillance. Paparazzi? Foreign ...
H.E.R. Is First Black Female Artist to Launch Fender Signature Guitar
Two-time Grammy-winner H.E.R. is the first Black female artist to launch a Fender Signature Guitar in the company’s 74-year history. H.E.R. first revealed the new axe in her performance Sunday at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards. During the “In Memorium” segment, she covered Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, ripping through a flawless guitar solo in the process. Now, that same model can be yours for $1,099. The H.E.R. signature Stratocaster comes with an alder body that’s finished with a new iridescent color, which Fender is calling Chrome Glow. It features a modern oval “C”-neck shape, which should be comfortable for most hand sizes, as well as Fender’s Vintage Noiseless pickups that promise a clean, well-defined tone. The custom neck plate is engraved with H.E.R.’s artwork. In a statement, ...
R.I.P. Pamela Hutchinson, The Emotions Singer Dies at 61
Pamela Hutchinson, a member of the famed R&B trio The Emotions, died Friday (September 18th) at the age of 61. A post on The Emotions’ Facebook page confirmed the news on Sunday. “In loving memory, we are saddened to announce the passing of our sister, Pamela Rose Hutchinson,” read the posting. “Pam succumbed to health challenges that she’d been battling for several years. Now our beautiful sister will sing amongst the angels in heaven in perfect peace.” Hutchinson’s sisters Wanda, Jeanette, and Sheila began performing gospel music as the Hutchinson Sunbeams in the early ’60s. By the end of the decade, though, they’d pivoted to making soul and disco music as The Emotions, releasing their Isaac Hayes/David Porter-produced debut in 1969. The Chicago-based girl group found relative fame i...
Jamila Woods Shares New Version of “SULA (Hardcover)”: Stream
Last month saw Jamila Woods return with “SULA (Paperback)”, her first new music since releasing one of 2019’s best albums, LEGACY! LEGACY!. Now, she’s shared a different version of the track, appropriately called “SULA (Hardcover)”. Inspired by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s 1973 novel of the same name, “SULA” finds Woods rejecting conventional ideas of identity in order to “embrace my tenderness, my sensitivities, my ways of being in my body.” Whereas the “Paperback” version did this as a peaceful mantra, the “Hardcover” take features a more sensual grove. With a silky beat from Slot-A, “SULA (Hardcover)” fully embodies the sexuality at the song’s core. As does the accompanying music video. The clip would be labeled slightly NSFW in normal days, but let’s be real, this is a pa...
Blood Orange Teams Up with 박혜진 Park Hye Jin for New Song “CALL ME (Freestyle)”: Stream
Blood Orange (photo by Ben Kaye) and 박혜진 Park Hye Jin (photo courtesy of artist’s Bandcamp) Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, has teamed up with Los Angeles experimental pop musician 박혜진 Park Hye Jin for a new song titled “CALL ME (Freestyle)”. The track marks his first Blood Orange release since guesting on The Avalanches collaboration “We Will Always Love You” back in February. Today’s so-called “freestyle” falls somewhere between a remix and an interpolation of Park’s original “CALL ME” from 2019. Hynes alternately raps and sings over that song’s weary, lo-fi piano beat for a while, and then Park pops in later for her own verse. The collaborative track is accompanied by a video featuring footage that Hynes shot while wandering around New York City in March. It pairs perfectly wi...
Faye Webster Shares New Song “Better Distractions”: Stream
Faye Webster has returned with a new song called “Better Distractions”. Additionally, our former Artist of the Month has announced her first full-band livestream performance of 2020. “Better Distractions” follows the excellent one-off single “In A Good Way” from April, and marks the second offering since her 2019 LP Atlanta Millionaires Club. As with its predecessor, today’s track continues to push Webster’s sound in a gorgeously singular direction. It finds harmony between smooth R&B and minimalist indie rock, with the added bonus of a weepy slide guitar lead and a meandering jam in the vein of Kurt Vile or Courtney Barnett. In a statement, Webster revealed that the song flowed out of her with very little intention or purpose. “It’s a kind of free association, just thoughts running st...
Audrey Nuna Uncorks New Song “damn right”: Stream
Emerging singer/rapper Audrey Nuna has uncorked her new song “damn right”. This satirical stunt track is the first single from her forthcoming debut EP. Nuna grew up in New Jersey, releasing Instagram covers that eventually attracted the attention of manager/producer Anwar Sawyer. After high school, she split time writing with Sawyer and attending the prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. But soon, her studies had to give way to the real thing. Now 21 years old and signed to Arista Records, Nuna has released a string of buzzworthy singles, of which “damn right” just might be the best. Producer Nate Donmoyer has built a thumper of a beat, but with delicate synth touches which keep the track from sounding overly serious. Nuna kicks off with a slurred, chest-banging flow...
Song of the Week: James Blake Comforts Listeners with Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. Cover songs often get a lot of shade thrown at them. That’s nothing new. Don’t we all get at least a little skeptical (and disappointed) when one of our favorite artists announces a covers album or drops a cover instead of an original single? While we may dig the song, it tends to feel like we’re being re-gifted something, and part of us might even suspect that the artist is holding out on us or, worse yet, has nothing else on creative tap. Of course, how quickly we forget that some of the best songs in our collective canon are cover versions and that all musicians (from The Beatles to those assholes who “practice” in your neighbor...
MICHELLE and Arlo Parks Collaborate on New Version of “Sunrise”: Stream
Earlier this summer, New York City collective MICHELLE returned with “Sunrise”, their first single since 2018. Today, the R&B-inspired group of mostly queer PoC are releasing an alternate version of that song featuring new contributions from British poet and bedroom pop artist Arlo Parks. This new collaboration doubles down on the feel-good warmth of the original track, breezy, sunbaked melodies and all. Its air of longing — specifically for someone who’s definitely not worth a second chance — also remains, but is further emphasized by Parks’ additional verse. Although just 20 years old, Parks has earned a reputation for brutally raw and honest songs — including perhaps one of the most devastating of the year — and she shows that same self awareness here, recognizing that she needs to ...
James Blake Releases Studio Cover of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”: Stream
Earlier in the year, James Blake shared an intimate piano performance of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed” on Instagram. Today, he’s released an official studio version of his cover. Blake is extremely familiar with the Blonde cut, considering he provided both production and arrangement for the track. He’s also been known to whip out his solo version during live shows. But he’s done something an extra special for this official version: He’s actually dyed his hair platinum blonde, so now he’s a blonde playing Blonde. Obviously, his take is very faithful to the one Ocean recorded, only without the studio flourishes. It’s as sparse and evocative as ever, though, as you can hear below, followed by the Blonde rendition for comparison’s sake. Via his Instagram, Blake has delivered a number of other ...
Alicia Keys Teams with NFL to Launch $1 Billion Endowment for Black Businesses and Communities
As America continues to wrestle with the systemic racism that to this day impacts millions of its citizens, the NFL is undergoing a reckoning of its own. After blackballing Colin Kaepernick for beginning the “take a knee” protests during the National Anthem, the league has been clawing its way back from a hole of racial insensitivity. The latest move comes in collaboration with Alicia Keys, who has agreed to perform at the NFL Kickoff event and is teaming with the league to create a $1 billion endowment fund for Black business and communities. In a statement to Billboard, Keys said she saw the collaboration as an opportunity to “use my platform to further racial equity.” She also penned a letter explaining her decision to take part in the Kickoff show, which airs tonight, September 10th, a...
Bilal Releases New Star-Studded Album VOYAGE-19: Stream
Veteran R&B and soul artist Bilal has returned with his first album in five years. Stream VOYAGE-19 below via Bandcamp. The long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s In Another Life was created over the course of just three days last month in partnership with Brooklyn-based studio HighBreedMusic. Joining the Grammy-winning musician remotely was a long list of special guests, who all recorded their parts in real time as part of a live event. Among those who participated: Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Nick Hakim, Cory Henry, Madison McFerrin, Marcus Strickland, and Jaime Woods. Ben Williams, Ray Angry, Brandee Younger, Marcus Gilmore, Louis Cato, and Melanie Charles also appear on the project. VOYAGE-19 is broken up into three separate parts, one for each day: “Day One – Warning-19”, “Day Two...
