JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Jill Scott’s 54th birthday.
Tag: neo-soul
New Audio: MADELEINE Shares Atmospheric “Give Back To Her”
MADELEINE is an emerging and rising talent in the UK nu-jazz and soul scene. Citing Flying Lotus, James Blake, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Ego Ella May and Sampha as influences on her sound and work, her early output has seen praise from The Line of Best Fit and Jazz re:freshed as well as airplay from BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, and Jazz FM. She also played last year’s SXSW.
Building upon a growing profile in the UK, the rising British artist will be releasing the Earth Cry EP through Bridge The Gap on June 16, 2026. The self-produced, self-arranged and self-written effort features some additional production and mixing from Lewis Moody and Will Heaton. The EP reportedly sees MADELEINE taking on a much more futuristic turn, with the material featuring glistening synth textures complimenting her ethereal yet soulful delivery. The restful is an effort that explores future soul while balancing organic textures with an intergalactic interpretation of the sound of London’s cityscape.
Earth Cry EP thematically picks up from where 2023’s full-length Sun Daughter left off, acting as a cry for consciousness and care in relation to both the planet and to our fellow human beings. “I find the parallel between my own personal life, and the relevance of the world around me (nature, politics, the natural world, the dream world), extremely important,” MADELEINE explains. “Sometimes the two are so interlinked within my lyrics – they can almost blur into one. With this project I feel more confident in my directness with some of my themes. After the absolute horrors of the last couple years, it feels important to be talking about something that really matters.”
The forthcoming EP’s latest single “Give Back to Her” is a shimmering and atmospheric take on neo-soul that showcases MADELEINE’s effortlessly soulful delivery and knack for tight, catchy hooks. The result is a song that feels simultaneously improvised, sculptured and crafted. Fittingly, “Give Back to Her” was workshopped and crafted through a mix of her home studio and developing ideas on the road while touring as a keyboardist for Olivia Dean, Jorja Smith and Rachel Chinouriri.
Thematically, the song, as the rising British artist explains is about restoring balance, that people should return what is given, all while asking if we can learn to nurture the planet. “Mental health, for me, is strongly entwined with nature, and this idea of things being taken from us found itself manifesting in the verses from a more personal perspective,” MADELEINE says.
Throwback: Happy Black History Month!/Happy 55th Birthday, Erykah Badu!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and Erykah Badu’s 55th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 55th Birthday, Questlove!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Roots’ co-founder and drummer Questlove’s 55th birthday.
New Video: GENA Shares Breezy and Sultry “CIRCLESZ”
Deriving its name from an acronym “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and loosely inspired by the Gina from Martin, GENA is a new collaborative project featuring arguably two acclaimed and talented artists:
- Liv.e: In a short period of time, Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Liv.e has quickly established a reputation for restless experimentation with the release of her full-length debut, 2023’s Girl in The Half Pearl, an effort that received praise from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vulture and more, and last year’s synthwave-driven PAST FUTURE.e. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based made surprise appearances at last year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, joining Earl Sweatshirt and Andre 3000 during their respective sets. She’s currently on Earl Sweatshirt’s Live. Laugh. Love. world tour, with Zeelooperz and Cletus Strap.
- Karriem Riggins: Over the course of his 35-year career in music, Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based Karriem Riggins has firmly cemented a reputation as one of the most respected drummers and beatmakers out there. He has played with and produced for an eclectic array of acclaimed and legendary artists including Common, Erykah Badu, KAYTRANADA, Steve Lacy, The Roots, Madlib, Paul McCartney and Norah Jones. Notably, he formed a close kinship with the beloved, fellow Detroiter J. Dilla. In 2017, Riggins won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and lyrics for his work with Common and Robert Glasper on “Letter to the Free,” which appeared on Ava Duvernay’s 13th. Recently, Riggins reunited with Common and collaborated with James Poyser to write and record “Victory,” the theme music for NBA on Prime for the 2025-2026 season and beyond.
The pair can trace the origins of the project to when they met through a mutual musical acquaintance and quickly recognized each other as kindred musical and creative spirits, who started playing shows as GENA earlier this year. GENA sees the Los Angeles-based duo channeling the instinctive musical prowess of both artists while seamlessly meshing their imitable style. The result is a playful and soul-driven improvisational work that captures Liv.e’s vision of reconstructing R&B her way paired with Riggins masterful percussion which spans improvisation and beatmaking alchemy.
GENA’s debut single “CIRCLESZ” is a remarkably breezy, jazz-tinged bit of neo-soul featuring an arrangement of precise, boom bap meets-bop jazz-like four-on-the-floor and glistening and arpeggiated Rhodes serving as a hook-driven, lush, dusty sample-like bed for Liv.e’s sultry delivery. While sonically nodding at Yasiin Bey‘s “Umi Says,” “CIRCLESZ” evokes the woozily intoxicating connection you can build with another person and the small moments that can color that romantic bond.
Shot with a grainy, analog quality, the accompanying video features the pair performing on a The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson-styled show and set, including an interview with the host.
New Audio: Devantier Rain Teams up with kiana on Vibey “CONSERVATIVE INC.”
Devantier Rain is rising, Berlin-based Cameroonian-German singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose work sees him blurring the lines between R&B, hip-hop and Afrobeat paired with soulful melodies, intricate, jazz-like drums and a cutting-edge production approach. He has quickly become a standout in Berlin’s vibrant scene, playing at events like Poetry Meets alongside Tan Brown, bat zoo, Monica Mussungo and Dini Rompos.
Beyond music, Devantier Rain is a fashion world staple — as a model and stylist. Formerly signed to VIVAMODELS, he has collaborated with ADIDAS, Puma and BMW and walked for Kitschy Couture and Afrobodega at Berlin Fashion Week 2024, where he serves as in-house model.
Adding to a busy year, last year also saw the release of three striking singles, each brimming with his signature flair, which teased the forthcoming release of his highly-anticipated full-length debut.
Last year, the rising Cameroonian-German artist released three striking singles which teased the arrival of his highly-anticipated full-length debut, MELATONIN. MELATONIN‘S latest single “CONSERVATIVE INC,” a collaboration with kiana is a vibey, swaggering and hooky mix of hip-hop, neo-soul and R&B.
Throughout the track Devantier Rain and klana trade confident yet vulnerable, heartfelt verses that dive deep into themes of self-worth, betrayal, heartache and resilience with grizzled, hard-fought experience: Devantier Rain’s verses focus on strength forged through being underestimated. klana’s verses focus on standing firm without remorse after being wrong. Throughout the song, the pair offer the sort of much-needed lessons the old heads would try to give the young bloods at a gathering — or the sort of intimate “real life” conversation you’d have with a dear one, late at night as the party winds down.
Throwback: R.I.P. D’Angelo
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of D’Angelo.
New Video: bat zoo Returns with Aching “Lemon”
bat zoo is a rising American-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and producer, who has developed a reputation for boundless creativity — and for genre-agnostic work.
As a child, the rising artist and producer was immersed in a melting pot of musical influences, as a result of his father’s eclectic record collection. He grew up listening to soul, R&B, hip-hop and much more — and it opened his young years to kaleidoscope of sounds and styles, which helped informed his genre-blurring sound and approach.
He also brings his artistic vision to life by seamlessly blending his work with dynamic visuals. Embracing authentic and innovation, the American-born, Berlin-based artist continues to push boundaries as a jack-of-all-trades creative director of his solo recording project, a culmination of many years of trial and error. He’s extremely busy: while developing his own sound as a solo artist, he’s also a part of the acclaimed Berlin-based vocal ensemble A Song For You and one-half of R&B duo GOLDA.
bat zoo’s forthcoming EP, The Upward Bird is slated for a July 22, 2025 release through Lekker Collective. And in the lead-up to the EP’s release in just a few weeks, I’ve written about “Frozen Milk,” and “Diamond Lane.”
The EP’s third and latest single “Lemon” is a classic soul-tinged ballad that seemingly channels contemporaries like Monophonics and Bobby Oroza while featuring warped guitar, a supple bass line, bursts of twinkling synths as a lush bed for bat zoo’s achingly tender falsetto, which expresses urgent, desperate yearning defiant pride within the turn of a phrase. But throughout the sense of yearning and pride simmer with an unresolved, uneasy tension that churns and shifts without resolution.
The accompanying video for “Lemon” sees the American-born, Berlin-based artist reflecting back on the bittersweet moments of a presumably recent breakup, seemingly focusing on the moments in which he should have done better, said more, worked for the relationship and so on — with the ache of regret and shame.
Throwback: Happy 53rd Birthday, Jill Scott!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Jill Scott’s 53rd birthday.
Throwback: R.I.P. Angie Stone
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of Angie Stone.
Throwback: Black History Month: Erykah Badu
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and pays tribute to Erykah Badu.
Throwback: Happy 54th Birthday, Questlove!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Questlove’s 54th birthday.
New Audio: Frenchie Teams Up with Frida Touray on Soulful “Love Reservoir”
Today has been a difficult day. Work has just felt stupid and next to impossible. I suspect that’ll be the case for the next few days. Pretending that things are normal and that any of this make sense right now,. is just fucking wrong. But here we are.
Initially, receiving praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, Clash Magazine and airplay from the BBC 6 Music’s Jamz Supernova, Jazz FM, Reprezent Radio, BBC London and BBC Introducing with the moniker, The Naked Eye, acclaimed French-born, London-based singer/songwriter Frenchie will be releasing her self-titled debut on March 28, 2025.
Produced by one of the UK’s leading lights in the jazz scene, Femi Teomowo, who has worked as a producer, guitarist, arranger and composer for the likes of Amy Winehouse, SAULT and Gregory Porter, the rising French-born, British-based artist’s highly-anticipated debut will see her collaborating with an all-star cast of some of the UK’s most talented musicians and vocalists, including Corinne Bailey Rae‘s and Chaka Khan‘s Luke Smith (keys), KOKOROKO‘s Ayo Salawu (drums), Hohnen Ford (vocals) and Frida Touray (vocals), along with additional instrumental and production contributions from Aaron Taylor, Alex Maydew, Chris Hyson and Jas Kayser.
The full-length album sees the acclaimed artist continuing to draw inspiration from the likes of Cleo Sol, Lauryn Hill, Khraungbin, Minnie Riperton, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Bob Dylan and The Meters to craft a sound that traverses soul, jazz and alternative R&B paired with honest, heartfelt emotion.
The album’s latest single “Love Reservoir,” a collaboration with Swedish-born, London-based artist Frida Touray is a slow-burning, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu-meets Soul II Soul-like take on soul, anchored around a strutting bass line, glistening Rhodes, ethereal bursts of harp, and skittering boom bap serving as a lush bed for Frida Touray’s soulful delivery and a French spoken word bridge by the acclaimed French-born, London-based artist.
Inspired by the work of SAULT, the new single thematically addresses a desire to replenish the emotional stocks of relationship, pulling things back from the brink.
“‘Love Reservoir’ lyrically explores the theme of seeking to refuel and revitalise a relationship’s emotional reservoir, symbolising a desire to overcome challenges and nurture love and connection,” Frenchie explains. “Femi and I wrote the song together – and I knew I wanted my talented friend Frida Touray to feature on the track. When she came down to record her vocals, the song was elevated to a whole new level.”
New Audio: clo Shares Vibey Neo-Soul Track “appetite”
clo is an emerging, 20-something, San Francisco-born, Brussels-raised, neo-soul/R&B and jazz singer/songwriter, who’s currently splitting her time between New York and Paris, where she’s simultaneously pursuing studies in Neuroscience while modeling, and starting a professional music career.
The emerging Belgian-born artist can trace the origins of her music career to when she started receiving classical and jazz training in piano when she turned four. Since then, clo has spent much of her formative years creating her own original music, inspired by Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Snoh Aalegra, and CELESTE.
The young emerging artist’s recently released debut EP Brut derives its name from the French word for “raw.” The EP sees the San Francisco-born artist balancing vulnerability with strength while showcasing her effortlessly soulful vocals.
Brut EP’s latest single “appetite” continues a run of vibey neo-soul tracks that reveals a young artist, who’s not only remarkably self-assured for her relative youth, but who possesses an effortlessly soulful, powerhouse vocal. But let’s not forget, that the new track also showcases an artist whose lyrics come from a real, lived-in place; so, the hurt and heartache at the core of the song was deeply experienced — and in turn, deeply felt.
New Audio: deathybypeanuts Teams Up with J.A.D.E on a Sultry Ode to Black Hair
deathbypeanuts is a mysterious and rising Berlin-based producer, multi-instrumentalist and artist. As a classically trained pianist, the mysterious and rising German-based artist switched to contemporary jazz piano and bass guitar as a teen, before starting his music career at 17 as a touring musician.
During the pandemic, the rising German-based artist took his first steps as a producer and songwriter. And since then, he has collaborated with an eclectic array of acclaimed and rising artists including Kelvyn Colt, Chris James, Noah Slee, Beau Diako, JOVM mainstay Marie Dahlstrom, Sipprell, J. Lamotta, and a lengthy list of others while showcasing an ever-evolving sound and approach.
deathbypeanuts’ highly-anticipated debut EP is slated for a November release through Lekker Collective. The EP’s latest single “4 My 4Cs” features vocals from Amsterdam-based neo-soul/R&B artist J.A.D.E. The Dutch-based artist’s work delves deeply into her open-minded exploration of love experiences, featuring her captivating and soulful melodies. Anchored around a lush, Quiet Storm-like production with glistening synths, a strutting bass line, “4 My 4Cs” sees the Amsterdam-based artist singing about self-love — namely loving your coily, kinky Black hair — with a sultry vocal turn.