With the disorder and mixed emotions that so many black men and women are experiencing globally, LORELLE HOWARD‘s alt afterhours single, ‘Easy’ is a track that offers a bit of uncomplicated listening.
The accompanied video features a collage of love scenes from black classic films like Poetic Justice, Coming to America and Love and Basketball, which works perfectly in unison with the song’s intimate vibes.
Add some love into your hump day and hit play on the video for ‘Easy’.
REGI FLIH sports some summer vibes with the release of his fourth and latest joint, ‘Bad For Me’. A different approach from his previous releases, ‘Bad For Me boasts’ an unexpected sound showing the versatility the artist has to offer.
With production work from Dough Related labelmate FRAAN, the singer-songwriter has come through with a perfectly constructed smooth, bouncy R&B anthem. Bad For Me alludes to the excitement of having a secretive, seductive encounter with your lover.
Regi Flih has scored success with previous singles, ‘Something For Me’, ‘Feeling Some Way’ and ‘Strip’ which have collectively amassed over one million streams on all platforms and has been featured on internationally recognized music blogs such as AU Dollars, Notoriously Canada, NXTSTYLE’s Top 100 Songs of 2019, as well as receiving airtime from radio station Power 106 (Los Angeles) from host Shirley Ju.
Check out the video for ‘Bad For Me’ below…
‘Jewels’ – the first single to drop from JYELLOWL‘s [J-yellow-L] forthcoming debut LP. Born to Jamaican and Nigerian parents and raised in Ireland, the Dublin-based rapper has drawn on all three origins to create a distinctly powerful sound that is radically individual.
Speaking on ‘Jewels’, JyellowL explains: “Jewels is a celebration of our multifaceted nature, as well as the complexity of the human condition. It’s about recognising our worth and understanding that we are all inherently valuable and that our value may just manifest itself in different realms.”
The 21-year-old artist is dynamic in his lyricism and is fuelled by political conviction. A leading voice emerging out of the fierce juggernaut that is Ireland’s rap scene, this debut LP follows two groundbreaking EP’s and a string of headline performances, both in Ireland and internationally. His standout track ‘Ozone’ has surpassed 1.5 million views on Spotify alone and the single, ‘Oh Lawd’, featured on the soundtrack of the ‘Normal People’ TV series, has already surpassed 1.1 million views. A self-driven artist and entrepreneur, his newly established JyellowL Records Ltd quickly landed a distribution deal with the international distribution company IDOL.
The lyricism JyellowL delivers cuts to the heart of issues that are at once deeply personal and urgent on a global scale, driving political change right now. With a degree in politics from UCD University in Dublin, he explores the social problems that both intrigue and disturb him, from international conflict to economic inequality, unafraid to tackle subjects like racism in his music early on. In 2020, as protests erupted across the world, he spoke to a crowd of thousands at a Black Lives Matter in Dublin, envisioning a future Ireland that is radically inclusive and anti-racist.
As far back as 2017, his track Cold In The Summer addressed the international crisis of racial injustice and the legacy of slavery, while voicing a defiant demand for change. He released a video with Dublin-based creatives. VICE Magazine profiled him as a leading voice of Irish rap in their 2017 Music Issue,’on the crest of a wave of young artists in Ireland with an increasingly political bent’.
It didn’t take long cutting his teeth in Dublin’s burgeoning rap scene to make his rise. By 2018, JyellowL had released his groundbreaking debut EP Bulletproof and was supporting Rap superstar Nelly on a 3-date Irish tour that November, followed by a sold out Dublin show with ‘Money Trees’ hitmaker Jay Rock.
In 2019, his highly acclaimed Me N Me 2 EP followed, coming out at the same time as he took on a headline Irish tour, his first headline show in London, and performed a headline international sold-out concert at Steck Poppodium in The Netherlands.
Named as one of RTE’s 2FM Rising acts for 2019, he released two singles – the catchy Ozone and hard hitting Tek Time, the latter of which featured on Spotify’s influential Who We Be playlist. Endorsements from Spotify solidified his position as one of Ireland’s most influential young artists, featuring on a plethora of editorial playlists.
JyellowL made his stamp on the Irish festival scene that summer with a series of knockout performances including Longitude, KnockanStockan, Body & Soul, Band On The Strand Festival, Red Bull Gaf Party, and an international headline slot at Delft Jazz Festival in Holland. He ended that summer on a high with a coveted headline slot at the ‘3 Made By Music Stage’ on the Saturday night of a sold-out Electric Picnic, the pinnacle of the Irish festival circuit.
This game-changing performance led to the next and most exciting part of 2019, with JyellowL’s single Ozone selected to feature on the in-game soundtrack for the mammoth EA Sports FIFA 20. The curated playlist placed his track on the same level as hits by Anderson Paak, Major Lazer, Hot Chip and Skepta to name but a few. The success of 2019 peaked with a live performance and broadcast of Ozone on Ireland’s biggest broadcast event of the year, RTÉ’s NYE party.
Stay tuned for future single releases from JyellowL’s forthcoming debut album – 2020 D|vision…but for now, check it ‘Jewels’ below…
Fresh off the heels of his come back single, ‘Raindrops’ (which premiered on BBC 1xtra and featured in several Spotify editorial playlists) RICARDO WILLIAMS presents ‘Sorry’.
The new joint is Ricardo’s 2020 style apology letter, admitting wrongs, realising mistakes and trying to make it right. This release yet again shows a different shade to Williams’ musical style, more upbeat and bouncy but still obtaining his R&B swag.
‘Sorry’ is taken from Ricardo’s upcoming EP, ‘Love Tape 2’, due out later this year. Check it out below…
Danish/London based artist MARIE DAHLSTORM‘s single ‘I Don’t Wanna Wake Up’, featuring South London soul singer James Vickery, is one stunning soulful slow-burner. Pairing soft synth lines with a groove-laden rhythm section, ‘I Don’t Wanna Wake Up’ tells a story of desire.
Speaking on the collaboration, Marie said: “I’ve been a fan of James’ voice for a while. James and I had a session at mine, and this song just came about so naturally, we just started humming melodies over the chord progression and not long into the session we had the line ‘I don’t wanna wake up’. I produced this song myself and I remember leaving the production for a while before actually committing to finishing it and that’s when I got my friend Liam Joseph to jump on some bass and Qmillion to get involved for the mixing.”
Brought up on some of soul and R&B’s greats; recalling the likes of Edwyn Collins, Womack & Womack and Gloria Gaynor being on regular rotation in her family home in Roskilde, Dahlstrom also cites the discoveries of Dwele, Musiq Soulchild, SWV, Dire Straits, Lucy Pearl, Erykah Badu, Kirk Franklin and Fleetwood Mac in her teenage years as key points of inspiration in her musical upbringing.
‘I Don’t Wanna Wake Up’ is taken from the BBC 1Xtra-backed songstress’ debut album, ‘Like Sand’, out now via JFH Records. Smooth out your hump day and wrap your ears around this stunning track below…
