It's an interesting week for R&B lovers. Two breakout artists of the genre — Cali-brewed Anderson Paak, and She.go, who was homegrown right here in Tampa — are dropping albums in the next week. Neither Anderson nor She.go are afraid to take risks with their music, each experimenting and bending the typical aesthetic into his or her own distinctive sound that almost makes it difficult to put them in the R&B box. It's not your typical baby-making music but smooth jams you can groove to, nonetheless. Anderson Paak (stylized 'Anderson .Paak' and formerly known as Breezy Lovejoy) has been a very busy man. Last year, the multi-talented producer, vocalist, songwriter, and drummer put out his fourth full-length (though first under his own name), Venice, and produced nearly all of Watsky’s 2014 third album, All You Can Do. This year, Paak was heavily featured on Dr. Dre’s long-awaited Compton LP and collabed on a new project with prolific beat-maker Knxledge, dubbed NxWorries. Determined to continue this flood of fruitfulness, he tapped Chicago's diverse producer duo Blended Babies for another fresh release, The Anderson .Paak EP.
Paak's R&B, soul, and funk leanings complement the Blended Babies' own instrumentally crafted mix of soul, hip-hop, rock and blues, and so far, both songs off the EP prove equally impressive. On “So Slow,” Anderson’s signature raspy flow is accompanied by a rough, wry verse from King Chip. On “Make It Work,” Asher Roth joins in on a relaxed, subtle groove that also features silky horn riffs by Donnie Trumpet. Take a listen below.The Anderson .Paak EP comes out this Fri., September 25.
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After just a single year of releasing music, young Tampa vocalist She.go (real name Alyssah Serano) has already showed that she is a powerhouse and a superstar. She raps and sings over a mixture of trip-hop, hip-hop, and R&B production, her voice soft yet smoky and mesmerizing, her lyrics bold, poetic and empathetic.Thoughts Of, the first half of her album, was released in June and was received favorably by local R&B fans. The subject matter is largely about being in love, culminating in the singer realizing her love is unrequited and that she should move on, implying she'll be introducing a completely different vibe for the second half of the album, She, which is set to be released Wed., Sept. 30.
Expect a video from She.go for the single “Back to Black,” which you can hear below. It is a dark, alternative burner that finds the singer taunting a foolish former lover over a distorted, high-pitched sample of Amy Winehouse's track of the same name. The video is due out September 27, and She follows on Wed., Sept. 30. In the meantime, listen to the single below along with the full stream of its predecessor, Thoughts Of, also posted below.