Source234Ethiopian-American singer Kelela lands her first ever magazine cover.
Kelela in Interview Magazine.
The Ethiopian-American singer channels a late-80s and early-90s classic tomboy femme look in a crisp white Maison Martin Margiela shirt, baggy Celine pants and patent vintage Comme des Garcon buckle shoes.
Listen: Kelela 'The High'
"My lips are creeping up your neck / You shiver and try to pull back." So begins LA-based R&B singer and internet game changer Kelela, on her new track 'The High' — and 'high' is exactly how you feel upon listening to the five-minute, 808-heavy slow burn.
Last year, the London producer Bok Bok worked on “Guns & Synths,” the opening track from the L.A. future-soul singer Kelela’s wonderful Cut 4 Me mixtape. Last week, Kelela returned the favor, singing on Bok Bok’s new glitch&B single “Melba’s Call.” Kelela is also in the song’s brand-new video, beaming her image into a futuristic recording studio that’s otherwise cold and deserted. Watch the video below.
Source2SZA Announces ‘Z’ EP: Watch Her “Babylon” Video
Somehow SZA‘s new song/video “Babylon” has been around for almost a week and we haven’t talked about it yet, so we’re going to rectify that right quick. The track is off her just-announced Z EP (out April 8), her first release as a part of TDE. Her ethereal coos are paired with a brain-melting beat care of DJ Dahi, and right now, it’s this one vs. Bok Bok‘s “Melba’s Call” for trippiest R&B beat of 2014, as far as I’m concerned.
Source23Jhené Aiko Covers Complex, Talks Debut, Drake & More
R&B singer Jhené Aiko recently took fans a bit deeper into her personal life by dishing out her marital status and addressing connections to ex-boyfriend Donald Glover and music soulmate Drake.
When asked about where she stands with Drizzy, Aiko said they connect on a level deeper than music."I look up to Drake," Jhené says. "Everything in his whole career is commendable. He can act, he can rap, he can sing. I can relate to him. He's mixed; I'm mixed. Everything he does, I take note because I feel like he's doing a really good job of being, like, well-rounded. And not only that, he's really talented. I'm always asking him for advice with stuff and trying to figure out how he deals with being such a big celebrity." (Complex)
Aiko also ended speculation on whether or not she has a man by her side."I'm about to give you...not a bulls**t answer. There is, but I'm single. Not by choice. Only because I found now that when I talk to guys, they're wary because they know about Donald, they know I've worked with Drake. They're always side-eyed, suspicious. But I'm loyal in relationships. If I'm your girlfriend, that's it. I'm practicing to be your wife at that point because I treat it seriously. I feel like I was born to be a mom and a wife and totally domesticated. I'm not going to spend my time trying to prove that I am really who I say I am." (Complex)
Source23Dawn Richard Doesn't Mind Being R&B's Coolest Outcast
The singer discusses why she returned to Danity Kane, her 'medieval' album trilogy and making music that Joan Of Arc would listen to.
Dawn Richard understands why people were confused when she announced that she was returning to Danity Kane. After the R&B-leaning girl group -- which enjoyed considerable success with singles like "Show Stopper" and "Damaged," but never achieved the renown of the Spice Girls or Destiny's Child -- disbanded in 2009, the New Orleans native set forth on a career renaissance, first as one of Diddy's female counterparts in the electro-R&B project Diddy-Dirty Money and then as an unsigned solo artist.
A pair of promising EPs, "Armor On" and "Whiteout," were released in 2012, and in January 2013, Richard released a wildly imaginative full-length, "Goldenheart." The album has sold only 9,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan, but was roundly acclaimed by critics -- and, as the first installment of an announced trilogy of full-lengths, signaled the strong step forward for a pop-group survivor.In the following months, Richard confirmed that a new Danity Kane comeback would arrive before "Blackheart," her completed next solo effort. For many, Richard's decision to pause her solo career and return to her long-defunct girl group was dubious. For Richard, however, it was ultimately easy to agree to the homecoming when the rest of the group approached her about reuniting last year.
"This was a decision that wasn't a music decision -- this was a personal decision," Richard tells Billboard."It came out of left field, and it was hard at first, because the momentum was really great and it would have been perfect to drop 'Blackheart,' but I wasn't looking at it for selfish reasons. My girls asked me to come back, and I had to pay homage to the fact that there wouldn't be 'Goldenheart' if there wasn't Danity Kane."
Richard describes her choice to return to Danity Kane as part of a "noble cause," a theme that's popped up in "Goldenheart" and her preceding EPs. She laughs when asked about the tag "GOT&B" -- or a "Game of Thrones"-influenced style of R&B -- as it relates to her music, which includes lyrics that reference swords and armor, and song titles like "Warfaire," "Wynter" and "Gleaux." Richard tells Billboard that she hopes her music helps listeners "slay every dragon" that they encounter in their lives, that her album becomes "the shield that they carry with them every day, that helps them feel like they could conquer all things." Admittedly, most R&B artists do not use this sort of language in casual conversation -- in the 21st century, at least.
Dawn Richard Drops A Spooky Electro-R&B ‘Unicorn Remix’ Of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse”: Listen
Source23Azealia Banks talks with MTV
Source2Childish Gambino – "What Kind Of Love" [LISTEN]
Today, Childish Gambino returned to deliver a track and a message. Titled "What Kind Of Love," the song sounds like a throwaway from his Because The Internet sessions.The guitar Gambino sings over sounds very similar to the one heard on "Flight of the Navigator." Like cuts heard on his LP, the actor/rapper is emotionally candid about love and lost.
SourceSolange asked about her next projects
Do you have any future projects coming up aside from this collection? I’m finishing my next album as we speak, as well as running my record label, Saint Records, and our new project Saint Heron; playing Coachella and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival soon, and continuing to being mom to my 9-year-old.