DOWNLOAD: oOoOO - NoWayBack (feat. Butterclock)
There's something weird about San Francisco – all the fog, potent medical flora and loose atmosphere result in a hazy city that's producing some strong experimentally-leaning artists. Take Christopher Dexter Greenspan, aka oOoOO, and this track "NoWayBack." It has a silky R&B element, but the creepy bed underneath might as well be filled with nails and fog. Butterclock, a German artist, comes on the co-writing assist, and I'm eager to check out more when the Hurting Us EP drops April 10 on the very good Tri Angle imprint.
DOWNLOAD: Nick Waterhouse - Some Place
Nick Waterhouse rollicks, rolls, vamps, wails and explodes into a soulful fury throughout "Some Place." No, the 25-year-old San Francisco native isn't some '60s singer that was found under a rock (that would be awesome, though!). He's just a wild R&B singer with a good grip on what made old 45 records so great. Hear more on his debut, Time's All Gone, which comes May 1 via Innovative Leisure.
DOWNLOAD: Rochelle Jordan - Here I Go
While Rochelle Jordan seems particularly adept at the ambient R&B thing that got so big last year via fellow Toronto practitioners The Weeknd and Drake, "Here I Go" goes for something that splits the difference between early-'90s slow jams and a Neptunes beat from 2001. It's a natural bed for a song about falling in love yet again.
DOWNLOAD: José James - Trouble (Oh No Remix)
It's totally obvious that we’re big fans of playlists, and once in a while you hear a song and instantly recognize that it would be wasted without landing on one. Case in point: José James' "Trouble." The acclaimed r&b/jazz/hip-hop artist is releasing his latest album, No Beginning, No End, next year, and “Trouble” is the lead single. The smooth, jazzy track got a remix from Oh No (yes, the brother of famed producer Madlib), who added some maxed-out bass and energy over the funky horns. It’s still smooth sailing here, though.
José James - Trouble (Oh No Remix)
DOWNLOAD: Goapele - Play (Los Rakas Remix)
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard some new music from Goapele (about six years to be more precise), but late this summer the veteran soul singer from Oakland (via South Africa) released the sexy single “Play.” Not to be corny, but try describing this track without at least being tempted to call it “sultry.” The remix to “Play” is a Latin-infused number featuring rappers Los Rakas, who maintain the track’s steam factor while kicking the tempo and party feel up multiple notches. Goapele’s fifth album Break of Dawn is out on October 25 via Skyblaze Recordings/Decon Records.
DOWNLOAD: Drake - Club Paradise
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Drake has promised to lay off the R&B on his sophomore album Take Care, but in the meantime the Young Money rapper continues to release soul-baring slow jams that chronicle the emotional ups-and-downs of his fame. "Club Paradise” is one of the latest in a series that included “Marvin’s Room” and “Trust Issues” early in the summer. The melancholy track, with its minimalist beat from producer Noah “40” Shebib, finds the Toronto native disillusioned with the distance between himself and his hometown. We also learn that other side effects of rap star fame include knowing strippers by name and having too many girls for mom to keep up with. Hey, it's rough out there.
DOWNLOAD: Teedra Moses - Another Luvr (feat. Wale)
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Maybach Music Group’s first lady, Teedra Moses, will drop her sophomore album The Lioness via Warner Bros. in 2012. But in the meantime, find her buttery R&B vocals peppering verses on MMG’s recent Self Made Vol. 1 album and on her own July mixtape Luxurious Undergrind. One of the tape’s most popular cuts, “Another Luvr,” gets the remix treatment with an opening verse from label mate Wale, whose rhythmic flow over the beat sampled from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Excursions,” perfectly accents Moses’ melodic crooning. It might sound odd, but breaking up has never sounded so sweet.
PREMIERE: Neon Hitch - On My Level (Wiz Khalifa Cover)
Wiz Khalifa’s gone soft…on this miniature redo by Brit singer-songwriter Neon Hitch, anyway. This excellent R&B version of “On My Level” is merely a minute and a half of clomping beats, toddler xylophones and Neon’s mellifluous voice, though it packs a sonic punch of tunes twice that size—and is the perfect intermission on your barbeque playlist for when you want to transition from hip-hop to straight pop without a blip.
Neon Hitch - On My Level (Wiz Khalifa Cover)
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