Happy Veteran's Day

#SALUTE to all the brave men and women that served and protected this country.  ~Qamil 

R&B NOW: What dropped. What's hot. What you need to know about!

I might be in the minority but I believe that R&B is on the come up. There are some things happening right now that are giving me hope and making my ears very very happy. I'm starting to hear more lyrical substance and passion. I think some of these artists actually mean what they are singing about and I can't tell ya'll how refreshing that is.  That to me...is a sign that things are moving in the right direction. 

When it comes to R&B people often speak about the genre in terms of what it used to be. I'm sure folks were doing the same thing when R Kelly came out.  I'm sure they were comparing him to Marvin Gaye and saying music wasn't what it used to be.  Humans are nostalgic.  I get it.  What I also get is that music has to be allowed to evolve.  Yes.  The 90s were great but that era is over. It's not coming back.  Artists today should definitely be mindful of what has come before them but they should be brave and create.  We don't need what has already been done.  We need a fresh era with unique music that defines TODAY.  What we don't need is a copy cat era. It's time for R&B to shake things up and to make people FEEL again. It's time for listeners to hear exciting things.  It's happening.

A perfect example of an artist that is giving the world something fresh and still finding away to deliver a sound that is reminiscent of the music we have always loved is THIS guy. 

Name:  BJ The Chicago Kid

His current single "Church" is exactly what I'm talking about. It's creative, lyrically clever and infectious.  I must admit,  I wasn't hip to BJ until I heard this song.  It sucked me in and I was quickly all over Spotify trying to find him.  I'm so happy that I took the time to look because his 2012 album "Pineapple Now Laters" blew my MIND.  This guy is going to to be a big deal.  Write that down.





Check out "Pineapple Now Laters"

LOOK.  Even Jill Scott knows.  #HEGOTNEXT 

"Beautiful Love" Ft. BJ The Chicago Kid appears on Jill's current album "Woman". 

BACK AGAIN

I've been wondering what happened to Melanie Fiona.  The Canadian songstress had a great momentum going after dropping her hit singles "4am" and "It Kills Me".  She has a knack for delivering a good heartbreak track.  I was pleased to discover that she recently dropped  some new music.  She is sticking to what works for her.  

Soulful. Heartfelt.  Emotional.

"I Tried"

I'm really feeling "Bite The Bullet".  That reggae feel is dope.

HOT SINGLES

There is a song that jumped out at me the second I heard it.  That doesn't happen often.  The last time I heard a song on the radio and NEEDED to know who it was immediately was back when Jazmine Sullivan dropped "Need You Bad".  

This time it was Alessia Cara.  This young lady's voice had me with the first syllable that came out of her mouth.  Her single "Here" is stunning.  If she keeps this up she will be HUGE.  

I hear a lot of artists using  lyrical and musical samples from 90s R&B lately.  Tory Lanez has done this with his single "Say It".  The sampling of 90s girl group Brownstone's hit "Say It" is prevalent throughout his track and it's very well done.  Actually.  This song BANGS.

That's what I have for now!  What did I miss? What are you listening too?  Drop a comment or link.

~Qamil