R&B
Song of the Week: Indianapolis Hip-Hop Trio 81355 Bury the Past in Hope of a Better Future on “Capstone”
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 Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, hip-hop trio 81355 return with the second single off their upcoming, full-length debut. If there’s any initial impression to be gathered from hip-hop trio 81355, comprised of three staples of the Indianapolis music scene (Sirius Blvck, Oreo Jones, and Sedcairn Archives), it’s that great music can come from anywhere. It’s commonplace to see artists emerging from the expected staples — Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Nashville — and, so often, it’s harder to find gems like 81355. This collaborative effort has alre...
oddCouple Share New Song “Reflections” Featuring Jamila Woods: Stream
Chicago producer oddCouple has teamed up with Jamila Woods for a new single called “Reflections”. It’s the title track from his upcoming solo album that’s due out later this spring. Although oddCouple has a pair of respected projects under his own name, the composer is best-known for his production work with other Chi-town figures like Chance The Rapper, Noname, Joey Purp, Saba, and many others. However, some of his most esteemed credits are for his work on Woods’ albums; he executive-produced her 2016 debut HEAVN and also contributed heavily to her 2019 follow-up Legacy! Legacy!. In a press release for “Reflections”, oddCouple dubbed the R&B champion “my most trusted collaborator”, so it’s fitting that he’d enlist her to help introduce this new chapter in his career. The DJ’...
Don Lifted Shares New Single “Lost in Orion”: Stream
Memphis artist Don Lifted has signed to Fat Possum Records and shared a new single called “Lost in Orion”. It’s his first new music since 2019, and it’s a fascinating blend of genres that feels both fresh and familiar. As Don Lifted, songwriter born Lawrence Matthews has been putting out music since 2013. According to his Bandcamp, he dropped three volumes of The December LP series within a one-year-period, and then he followed those with two other albums that are currently on streaming services, 2016’s Alero and 2018’s Contour. Although the former of those two albums predated Frank Ocean’s 2016 opus by a month, Matthews is planted firmly within the Blond(e) school of music. Contour and the handful of singles he released that same year meld together ...
Jamila Woods Teams Up with Peter CottonTale on “Breathe My Name” for Moog’s Explorations in Analog Synthesis EP: Stream
Peter CottonTale and Jamila Woods have teamed up on “Breathe My Name”, a new song from Moog Music’s freshly released EP, Explorations in Analog Synthesis. Stream the full project below. As with every other song on the 7-track EP, “Breathe My Name” was built around instruments and accessories included in the synthesizer company’s new Moog Sound Studio package. Accordingly, the beat combines R&B and ethereal synth-pop as Woods sings lyrics like, “It’s all on me, blessed burden/ You fall on knees, who you saving/ You know my name/ You don’t know my face.” Explorations in Analog Synthesis also features songs by Bonobo, Julianna Barwick, Dan Deacon, Madame Gandhi, Martial Canterel, and Ela Minus. Moog Sound Studio is marketed as a complete synthesizer package and features two variants, Moth...
Miguel Announces New EP Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4
Miguel has announced a new EP, Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4, out April 9th via ByStorm/RCA. News of the upcoming project accompanies the arrival of the first three volumes of Art Dealer Chic on streaming platforms for the first time since the EPs were first released in 2012. “I’ve been doing a lot of work to consider and refine my beliefs in the last few years,” the R&B singer said in a statement. “Inevitably, this brought me back to Art Dealer Chic as ADC is more or less an moniker for active mindset curation; choosing the thoughts, emotions, and actions that reflect my truest self instead of letting what I’ve experienced or what is expected of me dictate my choices.” He added, “As a basic operating system this mentality has made a profound impact on my life and I want to continue to share ...
Jackie Venson Teams Up with The Vapor Caves on New Song “Dreams”: Stream
Ever since Jackie Venson caught our attention with a mesmerizing performance at Austin City Limits a few years ago, we’ve been keeping our eyes on the Texas-based guitar virtuoso. Today, she’s back lending her skills to “Dreams”, a new funk-pop song by The Vapor Caves that exemplifies her singular talent well. Stream it below. “Working with Jackie Venson on ‘Dreams’ was such a cool experience,” the band wrote on Instagram earlier today. “We knew she would add something special, but the session flowed so naturally and led to the magic that this tune is today. Jackie drops the hammer with an epic solo that only she could play.” “Dreams” is a vibrant burst of retro funk-pop and melodramatic R&B. That seems to be the speciality of The Vapor Caves, but the fellow Texas-based duo wisely...
Artist of the Month serpentwithfeet’s DEACON Is a Bountiful Collage of Love and Care: Review
The Lowdown: Serpentwithfeet first gained attention in 2016 with his EP blisters, and then more broadly in 2018, when his debut album, soil , earned praise for its complex and subtle portrayals of love. Born Josiah Wise, he grew up in a religious family and sang in the church choir, and the influences of classical and gospel have long made themselves known in his music. DEACON isn’t quite a departure, but it is a move forward into more expansive territory; the sound serpent has taken on feels like it can accommodate more, and indeed, it does. DEACON is full of songs that wrap around the listener, showing in full resolution serpent’s expertise in using his music not only to portray love, but to extend it. [embedded content] The Good: The influence of religion feels present again here; along...
serpentwithfeet Releases Sophomore Album DEACON: Stream
Our March Artist of the Month, serpentwithfeet has today unleashed his stellar sophomore album, DEACON. Stream the 11-track effort below via Apple Music and Spotify, and read our review here. Serving as the direct follow-up to 2020’s Apparition EP, DEACON marks serpentwithfeet’s first full-length since 2018’s soil. The R&B artist has taken a more pop-forward approach for this release, as demonstrated on early singles like “Fellowship”, “Same Size Shoe”, and “Heart Storm”. Regardless of the shift in sonics, however, serpent is still writing about many of the same vulnerable themes, particularly Black gay love. As he told Consequence of Sound in our recent AOTM interview, “I see myself writing about gay love and Black gay love specifically for a long time. That’s what I’ve been writing a...
Artist of the Month serpentwithfeet on Black Gay Love, Relationship Advice, and Creative Honesty
Artist of the Month is an accolade we award to an up-and-coming artist who we believe is about to break out. We turn our attention in March to serpentwithfeet, an R&B singer-songwriter presently creating out of Los Angeles. When asked about any especially impactful messages from fans about his music, serpentwithfeet immediately recalls a tweet, regarding his Apparition EP, released last year. He quotes, “This project sounds like what happens in a dollhouse when the humans aren’t looking,” which he follows up with a hearty chuckle. “That is such a great appraisal. And I thought it was a great compliment,” he says. It’s also a more-than-accurate assessment, one that couldn’t be placed on just any artist’s work. Originally hailing from Baltimore — before moving to New York City and now, L...
Earth, Wind & Fire and The Isley Brothers to Battle on Next Verzuz Episode
Earth, Wind & Fire (photo by Ben Kaye) and The Isley Brothers (photo courtesy of artist) One of the true success stories of the pandemic era, Verzuz was recently acquired by Triller after a short-term deal with Apple Music. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s music “battle” series will return to the Verzuz TV website and the Triller app with an Easter Sunday meeting of true classics, as The Isley Brothers face off against Earth, Wind & Fire. The legendary R&B and soul bands will meet on April 4th, no doubt to bring some funk to the resurrection of Christ. Verzuz has featured some legacy battles before, like when Teddy Riley took on Babyface in Season 1, or Gladys Knight and Pattie LaBelle squared off during their Master Class live special back in September. However, never before have t...
Kali Uchis Walks the Streets of Colombia in Self-Directed Video for “telepatía” : Watch
Fresh off a Grammy win for her work on Kaytranada’s “10%”, Kali Uchis is showing off her hometown of Pereira, Colombia in her self-directed new video for “telepatía”. The song appeared on Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), Uchis’ first Spanish-language album. While her embrace of new sounds and rhythms might have seemed risky, the onetime blog-darling has grown into a bona fide star on the strength of the viral hit “telepatía”. The track became a TikTok sensation, earning Uchis the top spot on the Billboard Latin Pop chart, and it’s lingered near the peak of Apple’s Latin and Spotify’s Global charts. This tale of long-distance longing focuses on a steamy mental connection. “Quién lo diría que se podría hacer el amor por telepatía?” she sings, which roughly translate...
Rhye’s Michael Milosh Denies Accusations of Grooming and Sexual Abuse
Warning: The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you are a victim of sexual assault, you can access helpful resources by calling RAINN at 1-800-656-4673. Michael Milosh of Rhye has issued a statement denying accusations of grooming and sexual abuse leveled at him by his ex-wife Alexa Nikolas. Nikolas detailed the allegations in an open letter titled “Groomed by the Groom” earlier this week, and she has now posted a new postscript in which she says that multiple women have reached out to her with similar stories. According to Nikolas, Milosh began flirting with her while she was 16 years old, asking her to undress for him over Skype while she was still a minor. She also alleges that their first sexual enc...
