sahn, Alex Isley, Terrace Martin, Jesse Boykins III, And More New R&B To Welcome The Morning
This week, these artists are leaving their hearts in our hands as they unveil some of their most personal bodies of work. For some artists, the new albums, singles, and EPs served as creative rejuvenation. For others, the projects are a tribute to someone or something special.
Chadwick Boseman’s wife, Simone, shared her debut album under her moniker, sahn—an evolved version of herself. Alex Isley and Terrace Martin joined forces for their new collaborative album to celebrate their hometown, the city of Los Angeles.
Jesse Boykins and Beharie are honoring their personal growth as Arin Ray wraps up a sonic trilogy with Phases III. Asiahn is praising her independence while Jai’Len Josey serves fans a sample pack following the release of her sophomore EP, Southern Delicacy. Hunnah does the same, giving listeners an appetizer in the interim. Then, there’s viral phenoms, Elmiene, Shaé Universe, and Felix Ames who all shared new offerings to mark their time as budding R&B stars.
Whether you want to bare it all as the morning sun breaks through the horizon or leave your heart in a place you call home along your own journey, there’s something within these new releases you didn’t know you needed. Trust us.
Alex Isley, Terrace Martin – I Left My Heart In Ladera
Alex Isley and Terrace Martin brought the best of their creative selves to the forefront with I Left My Heart In Ladera. The album serves as their love letter to the Ladera and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles for the vibrant Blackness and global impact that’s been birthed from there.
With this LP, Martin said on Twitter, “We didn’t hold back anything musically on this album . @LoveAlexIsley is the first artist in years to actually challenge me and pushed me to be better.” Noting that he’s only felt like this three times prior, “The few times, i have felt like this is when I work with Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar. I feel like it’s no boundaries with those four.”
He and Isley lead the release with a cover of Sade’s “Paradise” and later enlist the talents of Robert Glasper and Paul Cornish to cultivate a sonic experience unlike any other.
sahn – the mornings
sahn, f.k.a. Simone Ledward Boseman, is one of them ones. For her debut album, she opened her heart to the music on nine emotive and powerfully raw tracks. In it, she details how she grieved, forged a new relationship with her love, Chadwick Boseman, and ultimately, used the spiritual realm to find a evolved version of herself. It’s sorrowful yet joyous as you quickly realize love doesn’t die; it simply transforms.
“I felt called to really lay it all bare [because] otherwise, if I’m not going to be open, vulnerable, and honest, then what is the point of writing this album?” she tells VIBE. “It’s still a little bit scary, but I do feel very sure that showing that vulnerability was and is the right thing.”
The full visual album will arrive on Oct. 25.
Jesse Boykins III – New Growth
Jesse Boykins III took a minute to let life life and he used that “period of musical introspection” as impetus for New Growth.
The soulful crooner allures fans with his delicate “sanctuary” of melodies as he confronts the journey of unlearning and triumphantly makes space for the possibility of romance where “love can give birth to truth time and time again.”
He explained in a statement, “This album is the rawness of emotions presented in a space that has every intention to become a sanctuary. The process of creating this album was more about putting all the different versions of me against a mirror to see which ones I felt needed love and which ones I felt needed accountability. It’s what I feel love songs should do. I challenged myself in ways I felt no one else would when it came to the songwriting and my choice in space and restraint, when it came to the production and sound palate. It’s an album about being semi-vulnerable, the waves that come with life as a black man who wants progress more than he wants power.”
As far as what he wants listeners to take away from the project, Boykins added, “I hope for this project to be a contribution to their desire to incubate new ways of living and growing with the loved ones around them. Making it a safe space to be individuals in love with ourselves and our partners.”
Beharie – Are You There, Boy?
Beharie’s debut album, Are You There, Boy?, is also an introspective recollection as he explores the “complexities of human emotion.”
The vivid albeit pensive album is relatable for those navigating self-doubt, regret, love, and the aspect of identifying one’s ever-changing self.
“This album has given me the opportunity to delve into various aspects of my own identity, and in the process, I have explored the complexity inherent in my personality and expression,” the Norwegian singer expressed in a statement.
He first teased the album back in February with the traditionally soulful love song, “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?”
Arin Ray – Phases III
Arin Ray concludes his musical trilogy today with the highly-anticipated Phases III. The 11-track EP is considered his most “mature yet playful” release thus far. Enlisting the likes of Tricky Stewart and James Fauntleroy, Phases III is more about living in the emotional realm versus the logical one especially in the age where delusion breeds manifestation.
“Maybe I’m a little more bold and more vulnerable,” says the heartthrob about the EP. “My writing comes with experience, and always trying to have a cool little swing to my sound. I’m just being honest; a lot of people just ain’t honest.”
As he plays around with themes of casual hookups and the desire for something more, he also toys with bouncing from a neo-soul sound to ’70s and ’90s R&B to a completely experimental one, which all gel together quite well.
The LP follows his sophomore album, Hello Poison, which dropped in June 2022.
Asiahn – “Feel Good”
Asiahn is independent and couldn’t be more thrilled about this next chapter in her music career. She’s welcoming this joy into all of our lives as she stands tall in her “Feel Good” era. “Y’all…… y’all don’t understand how long it took to get to this point in my life where I’m just good,” she notes of this personal journey on Instagram.
Without the backing of management or a major label, the multi-faceted singer revealed that now she believes in herself more than ever.
She adds about the records, “FEEL GOOD is song that you dedicate to yourself, FEEL GOOD is self care, FEEL GOOD is you taking off your bra after a long day, FEEL GOOD is removing hard bottom shoes you had to wear for work that make your feet sore, FEEL GOOD Is making yourself your favorite meal having a glass of wine and watching your favorite shows, FEEL GOOD is recognizing that you don’t have to be “Perfect” you simple have to be you and exist… and THAT existence is ENOUGH. FEEL GOOD is knowing that no one can give you this type of peace but yourself, you have to choose it everyday!”
Jai’Len Josey – Conversations from a PayPhone
Jai’Len Josey is previewing something new with a two-part single release titled Conversations From A Payphone.
The Southern Delicacy singer isn’t here for the games when it comes to her romantic partner on “Playground.” She gets vulnerable about wanting to love, but the reciprocity is lacking on “Mixed Signals.”
With this release, Josey will hit the road for a mini-tour later this month, hitting Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New York City.
Elmiene – Marking My Time
First came EL-MEAN. Now Elmiene has returned with his new EP, Marking My Time—his first full-length major label release.
The project features his hit single, “Mad At Fire” and the previously released “Mama.” Regarding his new EP, the Oxford-based crooner noted, “The general theme of this project is trying to mark my time not in terms of history but just for me personally, so I don’t get lost. Almost making a checkpoint to anchor myself. Even sonically it’s like I’m marking my stamp that I put on things. Because I’m so deep in looking back behind me, I always found myself stumbling over what’s gonna happen next. So when my life started speeding up massively, I had to learn how to keep an eye on both sides — appreciating the past in order to do the future the right way and do it justice.”
Marking My Time comes ahead of his intimate tour hitting London, Toronto, New York City, and Los Angeles later this year.
Felix Ames – JENA
Felix Ames’ debut album, JENA, is the best of jazz, soul, and R&B.
Prior releases, “Taxi Driver/7711,” “Bend, Don’t Break,” and “Shoestring,” get paired with new arrivals, “Always, I’ll Stay,” “Liquor Locker,” and “97 Nissan,” and Ames does his best to forget a man, find his way, and confess the inner workings of his heart.
When explaining the album’s title on Instagram, the 27-year-old detailed, “Growing up in Milwaukee I’d hear stories from my grandfather about growing up in the south & how his lineage was brought to Jena, Louisiana as slaves. Those stories & conversations are fragments of my heart that you can feel all throughout the album. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but it might roll.”
Catch Ames on his headlining Speakeasy Tour this November and December. In support of JENA, he’ll hit a handful of major cities domestically like New York City, Los Angeles, and Dallas before heading overseas to Paris, London, and Berlin.
Hunnah – That’s All For Now
We first became fans of Hunnah in 2021 after hearing her acclaimed EP, Unloved. Now, the Toronto-bred songbird is back with the intensely soul-penetrating EP, That’s All For Now.
Upon her return, she noted on Instagram, “I hope these songs can be to you what they were to me, a cathartic expression of my frustrations and insecurities. That it’s a release of some kind to listen to this project […] Been two years and honestly didn’t know if I’d be sharing with y’all again but it’s happening!!!!”
Baring your soul in your work isn’t for the faint of heart, but we’re thankful she chose to share this therapeutic reflection in such an succinct way.
Shaé Universe – “LOML”
Shaé Universe is back with her seductively romantic tune, “LOML.” Coming on the heels of “Passenger Princess,” the London-based singer is reflecting on a honeymoon phase with a past lover and is something we can collectively reminisce on. “I remember writing ‘LOML’ like it was yesterday,” said Shaé in a statement.
“I was in LA, it was early afternoon and the sun was beaming through the prettiest blue sky. I was in with producing duo SOS (Sons of Sonix) and my partner at the time decided to come to the studio with me that day. I sat face-to-face with him, with my notes app open and began to write down the first things that came to heart. That’s how ‘LOML’ was written. I drew my inspiration for the whole song directly from what I felt as I sat across from him.”
“LOML” is described as the most “heartfelt song” she’s ever written and “as “it was “birthed from pure vulnerability & honeymoon love.” Get in your feels with this offering and her intoxicating tone immediately.
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