Over the course of his distinguished and influential career, AZ has been nominated for Grammys, sold millions of albums, created hit singles, and lent his voice to some of Hip-Hop’s most timeless music.
It had been a decade since AZ graced fans with an album, but his long-teased sequel, ‘Doe Or Die II’, became one of 2021’s undeniable success stories and was a mainstay at the top of the DSP charts upon its release. ‘Doe Or Die II’ featured appearances and production from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, T-Pain, The Alchemist, Conway The Machine, Dave East, Pete Rock, Statik Selektah, Idris Elba, Bink, Buckwild, Kaygee, Heatmakerz, Rockwilder, and Baby Paul.
“My last release was at the top of 2022 with the Doe Or Die 2 Deluxe. I feel really enthusiastic about releasing new music” AZ attests. “I wanted to drop a new single, “Respect Mines,” before year-end, to prepare listeners for my upcoming album that will be released in early 2023.”
AZ’s new video “Respect Mines” (produced by Buckwild & B Hawk) is now available for your inspection. Check it out below…
Acclaimed musician SAINT JOSHUA completes his trilogy of EP releases with his highly anticipated ‘EP3’. The release of the 4-track opus includes the recently revealed ‘Even If We Don’t’, alongside lead single ‘Trip’ and a carefully crafted selection of 2 other previously unreleased tracks, ‘Love Game’ and ‘Where Did It All Go Wrong’, that entwine together to take us on a journey of self-reflection and emotion surrounding the world of relationships, dating and self.
Stand out record ‘Trip’ takes on an upbeat, feel-good rhythm that breathes hope, acceptance and freedom into the emotional whirlwind of a journey. The track stands for those post break up moments. The moments of navigating love in a fun and free manner when you can finally take control again and you no longer carry the burden of heartache and heartbreak, or in some instances use it to help get over the heartache and heartbreak.
Hotly tipped as ‘one-to-watch’ and gaining a wealth of national and international support, South-Londoner Saint Joshua continues to emerge and astound with the delivery of consistently captivating music. Since the release of ‘EP2’ in May, he has garnered over 2 million streams, 200,000 monthly Spotify listeners, ‘Track Of The Week’ at both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra and been selected as a beneficiary for PPL Momentum funding by PRS Foundation. Perhaps such positive reactions have quietly helped to give him the confidence to delve further into the talent and soul that lies within him, as on ‘EP3’ we’re invited to share the most vulnerable and intimate side of Saint Joshua that we’ve seen so far. Unravelling emotion surrounding relationships, and the often-impossible world of dating, Saint Joshua explores a beautiful account of his own struggles and lessons that are extraordinarily poignant and relatable.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Frank Ocean, Solange, and R&B hit-maker D’Angelo, Saint Joshua has formed a cinematic sound that’s made up from a cocktail of genres. Teamed with honest vulnerability, his skilled artistry and stirring penmanship, it is the unique combination of everything he embodies that makes him such a remarkable talent and is seeing Saint Joshua grow at every turn. It is why his music resonates with those it reaches, and also why he is seeing a continuous build in support from the world’s largest platforms, including the likes of BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1, Rinse FM, 1883 Magazine, Wonderland Magazine, Last Bus Magazine, Atwood Magazine, Capital Xtra, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, Apple Music, Heart Radio, and many more. Having already performed at the likes of Soho House, alongside headlining at the BBC’s Introducing Stage at Latitude Festival, Saint Joshua makes his debut headline show on February 1st at The Social, with tickets on sale now from http://gigsandtours.com/
London’s singer JAYBAY makes her debut on the blog with the smooth and sexy sound on her new single, ‘My Bed’, produced by XVRBLCK (Kadeem Tyrell, Shae universe, Mark Asari).
Known for her backing vocals on tracks like Ghetts & Stormy, Skengman, MNEK’s Crazy world, and brother Labrinth’s All of us, this soprano has teamed up with R&B powerhouse, Ricardo Williams who will forever give you a reason to believe R&B is here to stay. A BBC1xtra-approved artist Ricardo has scored a number of hits including, ‘He Ain’t Me’, ‘Come Over’ and ‘Personal’ and has collaborated with Yummy Bingham, Teedra Moses and Lioness.
Hackney native JayBay says: “My Bed is about making love, and my experience with being free in black-on-black intimacy. My Bed is not a physical bed, it’s a metaphor for my body where my partner can rest. It’s intense, It’s emotional, its space of vulnerability. a safe space for me and mine.”
Ricardo says: “I’ve been chilling and taking in life and working on my next project when JayBay reached out to me to jump on this song. I’ve been a fan of hers for some time now so it was an instant. Little did i know how magical this song was and the minute I heard it I knew we had something special”
‘My Bed’ was released on Friday (9th December) across various on all DSP’s.
JSJ (Joshua Säde James) is an emerging Canadian artist who incorporates self-worth and love within his music, with the message that “you are worthy, you are loved, and you are imperfectly you.”
Just because you’re thinking about them does not mean they’re ‘Thinkin Bout U.’ That’s what JSJ learned in penning a love letter to a long distance relationship that only existed through FaceTime and ultimately didn’t last. Craving intimacy, he explores the push and pull between feeling lonely versus feeling completely alone.
JSJ has worked his way from coast to coast in Canada and is now traveling along the Baltic performing all over Northern Europe with Norwegian Cruise Lines. After declaring never again, the hopeless romantic is six months into a new relationship, 6000 miles apart. Have a listen ‘Thinkin Bout U’ below…
New York-based singer and songwriter MAE KRELL is closing out the year with the release of the ‘imposter syndrome (b-sides),’ which features singles, ‘tooth fairy’ and ‘(like) spring’ both written during the ‘imposter syndrome’ sessions. After the EP release, Mae revisited the unreleased demos with her producer Jakob Leventhal and decided to rework these two tracks.
“A lot of times my favorite tracks from an artist are the ones that almost didn’t make it out, so I thought it would be only fair to give people a chance to love these songs the way I love some almost-forgotten-about ones,” she says.
Mae released ‘tooth fairy,’ a heart wrenching track about realizing you may be better off without someone you thought you couldn’t live without, as a standalone single earlier this year. “(like) spring” rounds out the B-sides collection. A sparse, hypnotic and enchanting listen, “(like) spring” is a song about falling in love for the first time.
Elaborating on the new track, Mae writes: “I fell in love for the first time in February 2020 and by the end of the year I had followed her to a different state. Although I was away from my friends and family, I still had a feeling of home and belonging- thanks to her. Writing (like) spring originally started as me being fearful and lonely and trying to figure out why, and it led to a love song. For the places I never saw myself being happy in, until I was. For the neighbors and routines I didn’t think much about in the moment, until I moved away and started to miss them. And most importantly, it’s a love song for the girl who made me realize that I could write one, after thinking that I absolutely never would.”
At just 23 years old, Mae exudes a musicality wise beyond her years. Influenced by revered singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers and Gregory Alan Isakov, Mae writes intimate reflections that confront past trauma, self-love and personal truths. With a distinct folk-pop sound and undeniable lyrical prowess, she has earned millions of streams across her repertoire with multiple tracks breaking 500K.
Her 4-track EP, ‘imposter syndrome,’ was released in early 2022 and instantly struck a chord with fans and tastemakers alike, with PRIDE aptly describing it as “an intimate and heart-wrenching dissection of the unavoidable self-doubt we all experience in our 20s.” This year has also seen Mae embark on two different tours, one supporting Ethan Jewell and a SoFar Sounds series that runs until the end of the year.
Listen to ‘imposter syndrome (b-sides)’ was released last Friday (2nd December) on all streaming platforms. Have a listen below…
New Lease Music 