This week, the world celebrates Valentines Day. Whether you’re riding solo or you’ve got a companion, one thing is for sure: music matters; whether you’re looking to soothe an aching heart, serenade another’s, or whether you really just don’t care but want some solid tunes anyway, here’s some of the best new music for you – the most important love of your life.
NoMBe, Young Hearts
Following on from the stellar Wait, LA’s NoMBe ha just released Young Hearts, the second track from his upcoming album They Might’ve Even Loved Him. Taking the pre-album single release process a step further than the norm, he’s promised to release one track at a time throughout the year, with the full release coming out later in 2017. This latest is an incredible blend of indie rock, R&B and electronic elements, effortlessly interchanging throughout the song. Driven by his sultry, spaced out vocals, the track casually builds with the addition of synths and electronic wails into one of the most emotional releases this year. Gird your loins – who knows what’ll come next?
BJ The Chicago Kid, Roses
Fresh from his three Grammy Award nominations, and from being personally invited to sing the US National Anthem at President Obama’s Chicago send-off, the angel-voiced BJ The Chicago Kid is back with Roses, a smooth, sultry, upbeat tune released just in time for the airy romance of the week. Like his 2016 album In My Mind, it shows off his incredibly vibrant, irresistibly slick voice to perfection. Booming trap instrumentation accented with sharp guitar twangs, this dark twist on a love song fittingly mixes with the BJ’s bold, swaggering verses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsDucVp7_No
Oscar Key Sung, Shallow
Returning again with his blend of electro-R&B and pop-leaning melodies, Oscar Key Sung’s latest single Shallow pushes the boundaries of a conventional love song once again. Inspired by the idea of how a couples perceive their futures together and the “absurd force draws you to each other”, the tune builds from a pulsing synth heavy piece into an oddly dark and dance-worthy anthem. All the while, Oscar’s broken, heartfelt voice pulls you through, keeping you entranced throughout each part of the journey.
SAATSUMA, Isolate
Melbourne-based SAATSUMA have returned with their third incredible single, a vibrant slow burner titled Isolate. Packed with a range of analogue synth tones, pulsating drums and brilliantly layered vocals, Isolate grows to become a really beautiful soundscape, perfectly fit for two.
Ray BLK, Patience (Freestyle)
Okay, so this tune came out a few weeks ago, but we just found out about it, and we love it. Ray BLK is one of the the big buzz artists coming out of London right now, and for good reason. As is the trend right now, she brilliantly blends beautiful and passionately sung verses with razor-sharp rap verses. This tune Patience particularly shows off her talents, backed by a soulful yet fresh beat, finding a perfect balance between her spine chilling falsetto choruses and flavour as an emcee, creating what is ultimately an empowering tune we simply can’t ignore.
Image: NoMBe – Supplied
Soul crooner BJ The Chicago Kid has today been announced to commemorate the 45th anniversary edition of Marvin Gaye’s timeless What’s Going On as a posthumous duet with the late singer. It follows the regular Top Dawg collaborator’s breakout sophomore album In My Mind, released earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim and boasting features from some of the elite names in hip-hop including Chance The Rapper, Kendrick Lamar and Big K.R.I.T. The record cemented him as one of the most versatile singers in the game.
As a fellow Motown Records artist, having his voice heard directly alongside perhaps the label’s most legendary and lauded singer is a huge honour. On his joy in collaborating with one of his idols, BJ said, “Marvin Gaye is a huge inspiration to me. The music he graced us with gave the world a little more beauty, and a lot more soul.”
The duet will be a part of the Motown: Reimagined series as an EP released on 10″ vinyl and featuring original mono versions of the title track as as well as God Is Love plus a coffeehouse remix of What’s Going On. Released in 1971, What’s Going On became Motown’s fastest selling single and the album itself spent a total of 53 weeks on the Billboard pop best-sellers charts. Politically-charged and socially-conscious, the song remains one of the best ever written and as relevant today as it was 45 years ago. It will be interesting to see what BJ will add to it but it will be sure to tug at every heartstring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Z-kjrSomw
Set to embark on a world tour beginning in June (although there are no stops in Australia as yet), this latest honour is just another hallmark in a career spanning over 15 years now.
Read our review of BJ The Chicago Kid’s In My Mind.
Image: Red Eye
This year’s Mother’s Day was welcomed by hip-hop in a large way, with artists sharing songs, t-shirts, and greeting cards dedicated to their mums. However, I think the crown goes to BJ The Chicago Kid for his visuals for his song Woman’s World.
This visuals start with the statement, “BJ’s mom was flown out to LA for a surprise performance for an audience of one. The magic was captured for this video.” The rest of the clip goes through visuals of BJ writing and performing the song, as well as footage of BJ’s mother and daughter, as they visit Motown Records and prepare to watch the touring intimate, touching performance.
Woman’s World appeared on BJ’s beautiful debut album In My Mind. In March this year BJ spoke to NPR, revealing Woman’s World is his interpretation of James Brown‘s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World: “I feel like we only listen to ‘This is a man’s world,’ and we forget about the part where he says, ‘It wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.’ So I wanted to take that part of that song and make that my magnified part. I wanted to make that my main part of the song.”
Check out the touching video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTjjAjy-53Y
Image: NPR
We’re almost a third of the way through 2016, and already it’s proven to be one of the most exciting periods for phenomenal hip-hop, soul, R&B and funk music in recent memory. Here’s some of the best new songs, remixes and videos from the last couple weeks.
BJ The Chicago Kid, The New Cupid ft. Kendrick Lamar
This track came out as part of BJ’s brilliant debut album In My Mind, and the video was released this week. The New Cupid was one of the smoothest tracks on his generally brilliant album, no less of course, because it featured hip-hop’s messiah, Kendrick Lamar.
The video, directed by Matt Barnes, stars comedian and actor Hannibal Buress as a rather uncouth cupid. Meanwhile, Kendrick and Raphael Saadiq (whose track Oh girl is sampled) add some hilarious star charm to the velvety smooth number. Buress spoke to Rolling Stone about the video, claiming it to have been a “spiritual experience. We’re gonna change lives with this one. BJ was telling how the video was missing one piece. It was me. I came into the picture and made this project whole. The cherry on top. The final stroke of the paintbrush on a masterpiece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrzTkP2bJpk
A$AP Ferg, Let It Bang ft. ScHoolboy Q
There’s been a lot of big news out of both Ferg and Q’s camps of late, with an imminent album from A$AP Ferg, and TDE’s head honcho teasing an upcoming Schoolboy Q release, coming later this year. Now, Ferg has dropped Let It Bang, a groove-laden track that’s somehow equal parts laid back and banger.
The video, which opens with a bit of a jazzy storyline, meshes scenes of a nightclub, nightmares, convenience store robberies and disturbing reaper-esque shot of Q, shadowed and hooded, stealing the show with his heavy-hitting words of wisdom.
I for one am really interested to see where Ferg’s album takes him, having spent three long years living out his self-fulfilling prophecy as the Trap Lord. This is a diverse, dense and aggressive release, and considering the intensity of both this and his recent New Level ft. Future, I have a feeling that this is gonna be a banger-laden album to remember.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2foQwkKQgc
Pusha T, Untouchable (Aesop Rock remix)
This is weird. Aesop Rock over Pusha T and Timbaland (whose beat this is)? Huh? These guys seemingly couldn’t be on farther ends of the hip-hop spectrum. The glamorous head of G.O.O.D Music has the attention, money and publicity of Kanye West and co. behind him, while Timbo is, well, Timbaland, himself largely untouchable. Aes, meanwhile, the most lyrically explorative storyteller in the game, seems to stray as far from the mainstream spotlight as possible, ferociously below the radar. This remixes marries the smokey club beat with headphone lyrics, and it’s fucking brilliant.
If Aes is trying to raise the bar (and his audience numbers) ahead of the release of The Impossible Kid, he done good. This is a fabulous remix, one that showcases the darkest corners of his mind and music. Aesop goes hard, it’s basically a diss track against everyone who has ever undermined him, increasing in aggression all the way through to the Biggie sample which rounds it off.
Also I would safely say that this is the only rap track in history that has name-dropped John Zorn and quietly disses Jay-Z within sixty seconds.
At fifty six bars long, this track kills. Aesop Rock, I love you. The Impossible Kid comes out on April 29 via Rhymesayers.
Future, Low Life ft. The Weekend
Future just dropped the video for Low Life, from last year’s album EVOL. This was a streamy track to start with, as is literally anything which involves Abel Tesfaye, and the video only adds another element to that. Watch as the pair rock a decrepit, abandoned warehouse and similarly downtrodden, ghost town scenery. Expectedly including a few shots of gorgeous women posing seductively, it’s everything you might expect from a visual accompaniment to the track. While I (shock, horror) am not usually on the Future train, this track lays low enough that I’m hooked.
XXL reckon that this clip reminds them of Mad Max: Fury Road, and I have to agree. The beat is low and ominous – more end-of-the-night than club banger (despite Future’s repeated promise, “’bout to fuck this club up.”) The clip features such decrepit scenery that it does have a kind of end of days, post-apocalyptic vibe, and that’s just the way I like it. A Low Life, indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_9tX4eHztY
Funkadelic & George Clinton, Ain’t That Funkin’ Hard On You? (Remix) ft. Kendrick Lamar & Ice Cube
Here’s a video and a track that nobody can say anything bad about. The song itself came out in 2014, but a number of remixes have since appeared. Kendrick Lamar first appeared on a Louie Vega remix last year, and a new remix, also featuring Ice Cube, appeared last month.
The space age video blends sensual funk with OTT science fiction, set in a space ship flying through space, making stops at nightclubs, in glitzy cities and beyond.
It’s basically an R&B Blade Runner.
The Clinton & Funkadelic outfits deserve a special mention, with polkadots, hats, long-tailed coats, feathers, headdresses and more absolutely stealing the glittery show – particularly when pitted against Kendrick’s simple TDE-branded hoodie and Cube’s simple yet classy gangsta wear.
I can only hope that Cornrow Kenny and George Clinton with Funkadelic will work on more music together in coming years – Clinton’s feature on To Pimp A Butterly was one of the highlights of the album, and considering Kendrick’s endless affection toward jazz, soul and funk, his tone and flow could not match this style more perfectly.
Lamar, who was in town this week to perform in Sydney, Melbourne and at Bluesfest, is an endless highlight on tracks, and as good as the original was, he simply makes it better. Okay, so Cube’s verse feels a little weak and arbitrary, but am I going to complain? Hardly. I love his flow, and even if it contributes absolutely nothing lyrically (“Some suckers don’t like it, ‘cos I’m a psychic, and if you tricks don’t like it, hoe you can dyke it”… zzzzz) his bouncy rhythm is always a nice addition.
Image: Vevo/Funkadelic
Bryan Sledge aka BJ The Chicago Kid is no stranger in the world of soulful hip-hop. Already demanding attention with self-released PINEAPPLE NOW-LATERS, and mixtapes The Life of Love’s Cupid and M.A.F.E Project, his instantly recognisable voice has also featured on tracks for old and new school magnates alike including Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, SchoolBoy Q, Chance the Rapper, Joey Bada$$ and many more. At the age of 19 he was already performing as a backup singer for gospel stars Mary Mary and Stevie Wonder and penning tracks for gospel and R&B artists in L.A.
This week, the son of a couple of church choir directors from south side Chicago is dropping his first studio album with Motown Records, In My Mind, and it is as smooth as some fine Egyptian cotton sheets (which will no doubt also be a prime listening ground for its fifteen sultry tracks.) At the top end, already released single Church featuring long time collaborator Chance the Rapper sets the tone for the record with it’s swaggering gospel funk and laments the divide between purity and pleasure: “She wants to drink, do drugs, have sex tonight, but I got church in the morning.” Its addictive slow groove revisits the common theme of struggles with faith among young rappers, but undoubtedly tops the game with a stellar production and vulnerable relatability.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAE52TBtVrc
The Resume sits on the upper end of the spectrum of songs to make you hot under the collar, wedged right between L$D by A$AP Rocky and Coffee by Miguel on a bedroom mixtape, with saucy hook “I wanna work that body like it’s a 9-5,” aided by a killer appearance from Mississippian Big K.R.I.T. Sensuality and romance run throughout the record, with Shine capturing all the feels of a Boys II Men ballad minus the kitsch, carried by exquisite harmonies and lyrics that will probably see it accompanying many weddings of the future. The New Cupid, featuring Kendrick Lamar, takes a more cynical approach, telling the story of a cupid gone AWOL, too busy in the club to make people fall in love. It’s not Kendrick’s finest verse, with a total focus on “skirts” a little below his aptitude, and the song is one of a very few on the record that falls flat.
Gospel elements reach the greatest heights on Jeremiah/World Needs More Love, complete with a spoken bridge about the tale of the titled prophet. The epic track that transitions into a repeated call for more love in the world is another clear standout. The juxtapositions across the album between the spiritual and material worlds strike the perfect balance and work on a deep level, with perfect shades of light and dark, and vocal tug of wars between power and subtlety. Two tracks feature female vocals – Love Inside features a restrained verse in french from Isabella, while Isa performs on Wait Til The Morning. With the slinky female tone paired so well against the potent voice of Sledge, perhaps more dual sex collabs will be in his future.
The fifteen tracks of In My Mind float by with easy elegance, cementing BJ’s place as one of the slickest voice in modern R&B, rivaled only in recent time’s by Miguel’s Wildheart.
For best results, be sure to get it before your next date here.
One of my absolute favourite musical discoveries of the past couple years is the incredibly talented, velvet-voice R&B artist BJ The Chicago Kid. Having quickly risen to attention following a slew of mixtapes and collabs with artists like Kanye West, Schoolboy Q, Vic Mensa and Big K.R.I.T, 2015 was his biggest year yet, with spotlight features on some of the best hip-hop and R&B albums of the year, including Dr Dre‘s long-awaited Compton, Joey Bada$$‘ B4.DA.$$ and Jill Scott‘s Woman. Just last week, he featured on Anderson .Paak‘s brilliant debut Malibu. Now, finally, BJ has announced a debut album of his very own.
Titled In My Mind, the fifteen-track offering is set to feature hip-hop heavyweights Kendrick Lamar, Chance The Rapper and Big K.R.I.T among others.
The announcement comes along with a stunning new single Love Inside, which you can watch and listen to below.
BJ The Chicago Kid will release In My Mind on February 19 via Motown Records.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jn1gnSYE4Q
In My Mind Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Man Down (feat. Buddy and Constantine)
3. Church (feat. Chance the Rapper and Buddy)
4. Love Inside (feat. Isabella)
5. The Resume (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)
6. Shine
7. Wait Til the Morning (feat. Isa)
8. Heart Crush
9. Jeremiah/World Needs More Love (feat. Eric Ingram)
10. The New Cupid (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
11. Woman’s World
12. Crazy
13. Home
14. Falling on My Face
15. Turnin’ Me Up
BJ The Chicago Kid has released a surprise new EP, celebrating the sixteenth anniversary of D’Angelo‘s classic track Untitled (How Does It Feel), from his groundbreaking 2000 album Voodoo.
In one word, the release is incredible.
Uploaded both as three separate tracks and a continuous eight-and-a-half minute mashup, BJ takes us through three incredible cuts from D’Angelo’s sophomore release: Always In My Hair, Send It On, and of course, Untitled.
“His musicality is beyond this world,” said BJ in a press release accompanying the EP. “I had to celebrate his genius by paying homage to his legacy while he continues to kill the game and make great music. It’s a new year and there’s no better way to start it off than taking it back to where it all began for me. This is real soul/R&B.”
The homage is unsurprising, really, considering how clearly you can hear D’Angelo’s influence in BJ’s music. His voice, his style, his blend of soul with R&B, hip-hop and rock elements and more all show that he’s not only been influenced by the legendary artist, but may even be something of an heir to his throne.
D’Angelo is set to tour Australia in March 2016, in support of his phenomenal 2014 album Black Messiah:
March 17, TSB Arena, Wellington
Tickets here
March 19, Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Tickets here
March 21, Sydney Opera House
Tickets here
He will also be performing at Bluesfest – details here.
BJ the Chicago Kid has dropped a new video for his single Ain’t Nothing But Love with a feature by Joey Bada$$.
The video opens with Bada$$ rapping his verses on a sunlit Brooklyn street in a pink hoodie, before cutting to BJ in the same location happily singing about love and dedication.
BJ then takes a stroll to Times Square, where he continues to recount the first time him and his other half came together. The result is a surprisingly heart warming, feelgood product. Watch the full video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx6zveUEvlE
The song will feature on BJ’s major label debut In My Mind, set to be released early next year on Motown.
The roster of feature artists for the record reads like a who’s who of contemporary hip-hop, with Chance the Rapper and OG Maco having already made appearances on the two previous singles Church and That Girl, and Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock also set to feature on the record.
BJ the Chicago Kid has featured on tunes from artists including Schoolboy Q, Kehlani and Kanye West over the years, with his soulful R&B tones adding a wonderful tenderness to anything he touches. Look no further than this Raphael Saadiq cover for validation.
While no official release date has been revealed for the record, In My Mind is sure to be one of the most anticipated releases of 2016.
BJ The Chicago Kid is one of my absolute favourite voices in soul and R&B today. While you might not know his name, you’ll certainly know his voice; he’s featured on tracks from the biggest and best in hip-hop, including Kanye, Kendrick, Chance, and Bada$$. Most recently, he features on It’s All On Me, from Dr. Dre’s LONG awaited Compton (read our album review here.)
This week sees the release of a tremendous cover of Charlie Ray, a classic from Raphael Saadiq’s catalogue (here’s the original.)
The track is the first in a series of six releases featured in the E&J Brandy Generations of Soul, which sees BJ joining forces with Saadiq and the legendary Lee Fields — three generations of artists uniting to celebrate that sweet, sweet soul music.
Charlie Ray is one of those soft and stunning soul classics, and BJ has put an incredible, unique spin on the beautiful track. Adding a chunky bass, twirling guitar licks, and backing vocal hooks, the track springs to life from the very first beat. With a hip-hop spin and the kind of voice that simply makes you melt, he has done this fine track real justice.
Keep an eye out for the remaining five songs as well as an online release — they will also be available on vinyl throughout the year.
We are very, very excited that BJ The Chicago Kid will be gracing our shores for Soulfest this November. Check out the full lineup, ticket details and more here.