The San Franciscan rising star, ZOLA‘s first single off her forthcoming EP, ‘Glitter and The Gold’, speaks of the singer/songwriter’s hesitancy to move to Southern California.
“‘Glitter and the Gold’ was written directly after a phone call with someone telling me that if I didn’t move to Los Angeles I would never be successful… “Glitter and the Gold” flooded out of me in less than an hour. I wanted this song to be about how family, community, and knowing yourself are more important than going to any party or signing any deal because the money looks appealing. It’s about knowing who is on your team and making sure they genuinely believe in your authentic self and art. I want to work with people who know me because knowing me is understanding the music I make.” – ZOLA.
Here’s your chance to check out ‘Glitter and The Gold’ below…
Artist/producer Callie Reiff and singer-songwriter Kaeyra have teamed up to deliver single, ‘Heart Ain’t Safe’.
The track represents another bold progression for multi-hyphenate act Callie Reiff who has been making waves this year with a string of impressive singles. On ‘Heart Ain’t Safe,’ her soaring soundscapes and hypnotizing beats provide a cinematic base for Kaeyra’s soulful vocals — it’s the perfect example of Callie’s signature ‘indie-club’ sound, which she describes as a fusion of “pop/indie-forward vocals and New York club energy production.”
“‘Heart Ain’t Safe’ is about that one person who is always in the back of your mind. Wherever you are at, you know if they were there you would ditch the party to be with them,” Callie says. “I tried to mimic the lyrics with a somewhat dark feeling bassline, intense drums, and an energy that makes you want to be in the middle of a dark rave dancing with all of your friends.”
Sampling from Amel Larrieux’s soulful R&B classic ‘For Real’, E5QUA drops a hot new summer love track titled ‘Stealing My Heart’. On this new melodic, Summer vibe, E5Qua is in his element flowing his cadence over a sultry sample. The record is topped off with a blazing guest appearance from DYFL that instantly makes this more than just a formidable Summer record.
E5qua is currently working on his next full album – so keep your eyes peeled out for that, as he’s sure to set the hot season blazing…but for now, wrap your ears around ‘Stealing My Heart’ – highly recommended…
Atlanta’s R&B singer CHIAE (formerly known as Malachiae) returns with a lush and lavish new single, ‘Cash Out,” out today on Motown. The swirling instrumental produced by T-Minus (Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd) is smooth yet vibrant, setting the tone for Chiae’s tales of romantic encounters in the lap of luxury.
This new single follows a string of sensitive and colorful tracks from the vocalist. In 2020, he released ‘Bedroom to the Club,’ a luxe R&B song full of light-hearted come-ons, and ‘Get to the Bag,’ a money-minded cut about providing for the one he loves. These tracks follow four years of EPs, singles, and steadily building buzz for one of R&B’s rising stars. Though Chiae’s just getting started, he’s already had huge success working with fellow Atlanta superstars Migos, playing a lead role in the movie Million Dollar Quartet, and securing national radio and TV plays on channels like BET Jams.
Last year, Chiae played TRILLERFEST, one of the largest virtual music festivals, alongside Migos, Mario, Pitbull, Marshmello, G Herbo, and many more to help raise money for those affected by COVID-19.
Singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist CAUTIOUS CLAY‘s track, ‘Strange Love’, featuring rising Chicago rapper Saba, is about the push and pull of identity in late capitalism.
Cautious explains further. “We’re constantly told we need x, y or z to let the world know who we are, inundated with information about what the latest and greatest and coolest is. I love fashion and clothes and putting them together to telegraph myself to the world, but sometimes it’s hard to separate what I like from what I’m being told to like. I think it’s a struggle lots of people can relate to.”
The smooth R&B/pop banger is taken from his long-awaited debut album, ‘Deadpan Love’ – out now independently via The Orchard – includes previously released singles ‘Wildfire’, ‘Karma & Friends,’ ‘Roots,’ ‘Dying In The Subtlety,’ and ‘Agreeable,’ and wraps influences from R&B, hip hop and indie pop in Cautious’ trademark sophisticated songwriting and jazz- and blues-inflected instrumentation. The album finds Cautious collaborating with a host of notable co-writers for Deadpan Love including Tobias Jesso Jr. (Adele, HAIM), Jim-E Stack (Caroline Polachek, Empress Of), Daniel Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, FINNEAS), Jesse Shatkin (Sia, Kelly Clarkson), Ammar Malik (Maroon 5, Halsey) and Sir Nolan (Shawn Mendes, Selena Gomez).
Since the release of his breakout debut single ‘Cold War’ three years ago, the 28-year-old has been on a whirlwind ride. He’s released three EPs—Table of Context, RESONANCE, and debut Blood Type—that have earned critical praise from The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, TIME, Complex and many more. His songs have soundtracked key scenes in films like Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart and TV shows like Issa Rae’s “Insecure” and Selena Gomez’s “13 Reasons Why.”