Anna Wise - 'As If It Were Forever'
Despite featuring on two of the most iconic hip-hop albums to have dropped this decade (Good Kid, M.A.A.D City & To Pimp A Butterfly), the hugely versatile singer this month released her first full length album, As If It Were Forever.
No stranger to dabbling in a variety of sounds and moods, Anna Wise never fails to draw you in emotionally and this album is no exception. As If It Were Forever offers a brilliant blend of modern acoustic soul and ambient feels making for a very chilled yet heartwarming 38 minute listen. Features from the likes of Little Simz and Pink Siifu further add to the diverse sonics.
Her ability to paint vivid pictures lyrically is another brilliant weapon in Anna’s arsenal and tracks like Abracadabra and What’s Up With You? are perfect examples. The theme of As It Were Forever is an array of her dipping in and out of surreal ideals as well as blunt realities and cohesively these relatable emotions are fantastically executed.
Nicole Bus - 'KAIROS'
Some artists the moment they begin to sing just hit you with genuine feels and Nicole Bus is one of them. Since signing to Roc Nation in 2018, the Dutch-born soulful songstress has progressed very well with her breakout single You, becoming one of the most played tracks of 2018.
KAIROS is album jam-packed with soul, that said, there are snippets and influences of Hip-Hop based production merged throughout which mesh very well. Tracks such as Rain, Mr Big Shot, S.O.S all adhere to this theme making for a very refreshing listen. However, it is not only Hip-Hop vibes showcased in the 14 track project with reggae and elements of 90’s R&B clearly evident.
That said, it truly is the unique tones of Nicole’s voice which is simply breathtaking from start to end on KAIROS. Nicole’s descriptive ability to lyrically take you on a journey from track to track on KAIROS not only resonates but truly hits home. In a nutshell, Nicole Bus is an artist we believe you certainly need to have on your spin list.
Singer, producer and songwriter Arin Ray is back again with a brilliant slow jam fitting for any winter night with A Seat.
A sensual track which personifies everything a true R&B slow jam should be, Arin truly gets his throwback vibes on here in full effect. The Cincinnati based musician is certainly one to look out for with A Seat being a great reminder of this.
Sonically, A Seat is a prime example of another artist bringing back the flavours of that vintage 90’s R&B that we all love. It’s a very nice follow-up to Arin’s single, Change, featuring Kehlani where this sound was also leaned on.
It comes with the perfect visual to match too. Brilliantly portrayed with direction from Keemotion, it illustrates romance and nostalgia to match the track. It sure seems like a sophomore project from Arin Ray is in the works and should be with us sooner than later.
Robert Glasper - 'F**k Yo Feelings'
The multifaceted musician that is Robert Glasper blessed us this month with his latest project abruptly titled F**k Yo Feelings. This is a very much soulful but experimental album which sonically branches off in many directions yet manages to remain coherent. With a number of MCs, singers, and musicians— including Yasiin Bey, Herbie Hancock, Rapsody, Baby Rose Denzel Curry, and Audra Day to name a few, F**k Yo Feelings is extremely free spirited and remains organic throughout.

At its core it is very much jazz-rooted, as you would expect with anything Robert Glasper. That said, it delves into soulful variations of Hip-Hop and R&B influences throughout. The track Expectations is a prime example of this, featuring Baby Rose & Rapsody. The pair vibe majestically over a jazz infused beat making for a delightful listen and is most certainly a highlight of the album.

The Grammy Award winning musician wanted to keep the vibe and aesthetics of the album very mixtape orientated as he explains “I want this whole thing to be mixtape vibe, so when we put it together it’s like a beat here, might be a song here”. On the whole, the album does that perfectly well and is a solid example of how a multitude of sounds and artists can still cohesively create memorable moments.
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