With her debut album Devotion due out August 20th, Brixton native Jessie Ware releases a new video in support of her current single ‘Wildest Moments’. In contrast to the dramatic nature of the song, the video itself is simplistic featuring just an in-studio performance from Ware. The record itself, a festival/stadium anthem waiting to be born, is available on iTunes now.

Last night the annual BET Awards took place in Los Angeles. Unlike previous years in recent memory, the show pulled out all the stops and racked in some mega-star names including Kanye West & Jay-Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Usher and most amazingly, D’Angelo who performed ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ for the first time in America in over 10 years (he also performed ‘Sugar Daddy’, a new song her debuted during his European tour).

The night was also dedicated to those the industry had lost this past year – including Donna Summer (who was honoured by Chante Moore) and of course, Whitney Houston – who’s tribute was lead by Mariah Carey and performed by mother Cissy Houston, her brother Gary, Brandy & Monica and Chaka Khan.

Watch all the performances after the jump…

Read more…

Ambassador of avante-R&B Miguel officially releases ‘Adorn’ (originally featured on his Art Dealer Chic EP) as the first single off his upcoming sophomore album. This newly mastered version features additional vocals – which just adds to what already was a brilliant song.

As Miguel continues to commit whole heartedly to his art, it’s with a lot of faith and anticipation we await his follow up LP – an album he’s already described it as being “progressive”.

Alicia Keys returns to music since giving birth to her son with a new single titled ‘New Day’, produced by husband Swizz Beatz. Applying his trademark over-percussive production to Keys’ style is an interesting marriage (excuse the pun). Does it work? If the songs melody was stronger and if Alicia delivered a better vocal – it could have. But at present, unfortunately, ‘New Day’ hits below the mark. Whilst I respect her attempt at creating something new, I feel this ultimately lacks the soul and maybe most crucially, the heart I’ve come to expect from Alicia Keys songs.

Last night the DJ at Kendrick Lamar’s gig in London played a Cassie tune – it instantly triggered (a random, but) heated debate about her whole existence. We all pretty much made the similar point – that despite not necessarily being the best singer or performer, her first album and lead singles were cold as f*ck. And despite royally crapping on her career by ditching R-Les for Diddy and failing to follow up with anything worth while, her voice and songs continue to get sampled (evidence that despite what anyone may say, is proof that she’s made some type of impact). This probably has something to do with the lack of complexity in her vocal arrangements and tone but either way – it’s always good to hear another producers take on her material.

Enter Sweater Beats. A producer from New York, who by his own accounts makes “music to make your booty bounce”. Listen to his undeniably fragrant take on Cassie’s ‘You & U’, re-titled ‘Make a Move’ – refurbished with 80′s synths, sexy drum patterns and twinkling keys. A vibe.

Expect an EP later this year.

(via Indie R&B)

With his new album Fortune out at the end of this week, occasional R&B singer Chris Brown has unveiled a new track featuring God-emcee Nas.

Whenever Brown releases a track akin to the sound he first broke onto the scene with, we’re (bitterly) reminded of the talent and potential he once displayed. It’s difficult to remember nowadays but at one point, this young man was heralded as ‘next on the throne’. An artist who had the potential to fill the shoes of Usher, some even said Michael Jackson (folk like to hype, you get our point though).

Unfortunately, unlike this song which showcases the best of what Brown has to offer – we no longer expect quality like that from him. Production wise, ‘Mirage’ knocks with classic sample flavour whilst vocally, it suits him to a tee. Nasir here delivers a solid guest verse too, the pair sound great together. It’s undeniable that commercially a track like this would make little impact unlike one of his Euro-Strobe atrocities. So let’s accept another great little R&B gem tucked away as an album cut in amongst undignified crap.

Don’t get your hopes up with this one though – can’t imagine the rest of Chris’ new set will sound like this. Recommend dusting off yee ol’ fist pump if you’re going to hit play on that.

What better time than 4am to discover a brand new Rochelle Jordan track?

Continuing to carve her own lane in the burgeoning nu-wave, Alt-R&B movement, the Canadian songstress drops a dark sky mid-tempo, complete with sexy post-Aaliyah vocals, soft drums and expansive synths. Kudos again to KLSH for another perfectly suited, crisp production. The track – available for free download – is the first official single taken off Rochelle’s forthcoming P R E S S U R E album.

What’s most promising here and across many of Jordan’s strongest tracks is her ability to harness her influences while clearly expressing her own style. It’s easy to cat the traditions of any golden era – what’s less easy is to imprint your own mark. If she continues to develop as she has done here – our original hopes for this young lady won’t have been misplaced.

A faith restorer. Reload a couple trillion times.

The BBC’s Hackney Weekend was by all accounts a roaring success this weekend. Set in the heart of Hackney, the 2-day event saw performances from superstars Jay-Z & Kanye West (The Throne), Nas, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Plan B, Labrinth, Jessie Ware, Azealia Banks, Jessie J, Michael Kiwanuka, Santigold and loads more.

Watch some of the highlight performances from the festival up top and after the jump and check our tumblr for some snaps of our adventures from Saturday.

Read more…

On July 17th Frank Ocean will release his much anticipated debut album channel ORANGE. In the lead up to what will probably be one of the biggest releases of the year, the Odd Future singer  has unveiled the LP’s album artwork and tracklist.

The minimal cover reveals very little about the album itself, but the tracklist (see after the jump) uncovers some interesting news. Boasting only three guest features, Ocean has gone for quality over quantity – inviting Earl Sweatshirt, John Mayer and Sir Andre 3000 to contribute to his debut. Not a bad list of acts; And a smart move at that.

… And if reports from his album playback in the States earlier this week are anything to go by, it would appear Ocean’s upcoming release could be something quite special..

Read more…

XO Crew affiliated producer and Weeknd collaborator DropxLife has come through with a brand new instrumental titled ‘NoxEl’. The expansive production borrows elements from South Asian influences and marries them with the sound he and a few other key producers from Toronto have championed over the past few years. Drop’s thick layering creates a grand and cinematic sound – this may possibly be one of his most emotive pieces to date. Reminds me a little of Bonobo as well.

The song comes with a description:

“It’s not that, Billy. We’re just fucked up off this concept of good and bad. Y’know, this perceived notion of morality. I mean, if you saw a shark eating an orangutan, you’d feel ‘bad’ for the ape, right? But if it was the other way around, you’d probably feel ‘bad’ for the shark. In our naively idealistic minds, the only ‘good’ thing would be this: nothing ate anything and everything just danced in a big circle along the equator in harmony. And hopefully, some day soon, that will happen. And hopefully they’ll be playing good music to dance to.”