R&B

Azurah Vibez: “Headbanger” (prod. D-Madness)

Austin’s R&B scene…it’s out there; you just gotta know where to look. Now, we’ve kept a close watch on Mélat, Anastasia Hera & The Heroes, and Daniel Fears…but another Texas native has you’ll want to keep on your R&B radar is Azurah Vibez. There’s a chance you recognize the name from a feature we did a couple years back on Brighton Beach’s DVMA/Dama Nilz, but much more likely you’ve seen her name on bills opening for Justin Timberlake, P-Funk, Stevie Wonder, and Black Puma’s Jaron Marshall. In the pre-pandemic days, Azurah also curated the Soapbox Sessions Open Mic series alongside her Musical Director/House Band Leader D-Madness. And yet, in the eyes of the public, her immaculate set of pipes have yet to appear within Azurah Vibez’ azimuth. However, this past year, that all changed.

At the tail end of February, Azurah Vibez dropped her debut studio single, the reggae-R&B foot-rocker “Lover’s Paradise”, following it up with her sophomore “Headbanger” in mid-August. Once again produced by D-Madness, “Headbanger” immediately begs comparison to Dangerously In Love-era Beyoncé and’ll leave you eager for AZ’s first full-length (due out next year). With D-Madness’ MIDI flutes, live drums, and sensational six-string skills, Azurah Vibez received an ideal backdrop to go all out on “Headbanger”. And as tantalizing as “Headbanger” is on its own, it’s nothing compared to the song’s visual counterpart, which voraciously gyrates its way into the ever-growing collection of greatest twerk videos (from Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, and more).

Wes Denzel: “Zodiac Killer”

Astrology. It’s a one-of-a-kind litmus test in casual conversation; either people will scoff at you for believing that gobbledegook or chastise you for not knowing your ascendant. But if there’s one demographic who seems to get a unanimous pass, it’s lyricists. From Deep Purple’s “Maybe I’m a Leo” to Des’ree’s “What’s Your Sign?” and Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” to The Supremes’ “No Matter What Sign You Are”, perusing the daily horoscope appears to do pretty well. And as you can tell from that grocery list of greats, genre constraints have no place in the world of celestial phenomena. Which brings us to hip-hop/R&B renaissance man Wes Denzel. To say this San Antonio vocalist/producer is a beast on the mic and a scholar in his rhyme book…well that’s just a criminal understatement. I mean, he’s opened for both Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. As a matter of fact, we even named Wes Denzel our February 2021 Artist of the Month surrounding his LP I Was Almost Happy. And with the recent release of his fifth single of 2022, the elements seem to be aligning in Denzel’s favor. The latest track pays tribute to Tyrese’s 2002 baby-maker “Signs of Love Makin'” with a steaming, astrologically-sprawling piece of funk-soul sensuality, “Zodiac Killer”.

9m88: “Love Is So Cruel”

Ranging from Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA & GZA to Austin’s own Slothrust, the first step to truly appreciating an artist is knowing how to say their name correctly. So even though 9m88 may sound more like a robotic bounty hunter to a Native English speaker, when we loosely translate from phonetic Taiwanese, the actual pronunciation rolls off the tongue much more easily, “Jo-m-Baba” or “Joanne Baba”. With a voice like a Taiwanese Alina Baraz, 9m88’s jazzy spin on pop-R&B jostled listener expectations in the best way possible on her 2019 debut LP Beyond Mediocrity.

In the two formative years since then, 9m88’s entered her thirties and jettisoned some of Beyond Mediocrity‘s playful juvenescence in favor of a more mature mindset. To match that elevation, 9m88 recruited producers from across the globe to contribute to her sophomore full-length 9m88 Radio, which just came out yesterday. And just like a good station, it’s tough to pick only one bop off 9m88 Radio as a personal favorite, but the accompanying music video makes it easy enough to nominate the lush, Arthur Moon-produced banger “Love Is So Cruel”.

Casie Luong & waverly: “blessing”

There’s an adage that’s true for many things, but especially applicable to high-caliber collaborations; “you can’t rush greatness.” In the case of queer, second generation Vietnamese-American songwriter Casie Luong and Cambodian-born producer Wil Brookhart (who recently rebranded himself as waverly), they’ve actually known each other for quite some time, thanks to the Mother Falcon Music Lab, of which both are faculty members. Their mutual interest in the modern pop-R&B sound has overlapped their personal friendship for awhile, but it’s only been within the past year or two that they’ve actually made music together.

Inspired by the flirty, mischievous tones of Ariana Grande’s 2020 LP Positions, Casie Luong crafted the first draft of “blessing” at home over pastries and coffee last Fall. And while we’re sure that initial version was more than just a morsel, with the implementation of slick drum programming, vocal effects, and synthetically plucked strings (almost a call back to Mother Falcon), waverly has helped turn “blessing” into an absolute trap-R&B treat. Fingers crossed that this the first of many collaborations between waverly and Luong, and the best of luck to them on their journey to increase Southeast Asian representation down here in the Lone Star State and impact the demographics of mainstream music culture.

Daniel Fears: “Keep On”

It’s been a little under a year since we named Daniel Fears as our July 2021 Artist of the Month, right around the time he shared his debut EP Canopy. Since then this multi-instrumentalist-producer has had no problem selling out shows, thanks to his velvety vocals, intimate lyrics, and surreal R&B soundscapes. And although Fears’ style has been compared most frequently to that of Frank Ocean, it’s the endearing magic of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On that’s inspired Fears’ songwriting more recently.

That same sense of socially-conscious progressive-soul is present throughout Daniel Fears’ upcoming sophomore EP. His already-impeccable singing skills are somehow even stronger than on Canopy, giving Samm Henshaw and Daniel Caesar a genuine run for their money. Today Daniel Fears released the first single from that upcoming album, whose title, “Keep On”, immediately recalls the colloquial naming conventions of What’s Going On standout “Right On”. This poignant champion of pandemic-era perseverance is Fears’ most personal track to date, and staying true to the multi-media approach taken on Canopy, “Keep On” is accompanied by a gorgeous music video that features longtime KUT contributor Nadia Hamdan.

waverly: “every little thing”

Wil Brookhart’s neo-classical background has given him a leg-up on his contemporaries, but it certainly hasn’t defined his sound. Now based in Austin, this Cambodian-born multi-instrumentalist first popped on the radar with his eponymously-released 2019 debut “Warden”, then dove head-first into synth-and-guitar-driven-R&B as producer for Denton’s Carley Bearden, and co-founded the national collaboration Fruit Collective last summer. This year Brookhart’s production and songwriting talents collide once again and emerge under a new handle, waverly. With waverly, Brookhart maintains a indie-pop-R&B sensibility but has complete control over melody, lyrics, and arrangement. His keen ear and masterful mixing have both in the three brief years since “Warden”, allowing his already-subdued sonics to sink in in an even more understated way. The first sultry entry into waverly’s budding, all-lowercase discography dropped today, so back off the passionate voicemails and instead soak up “every little thing”!

Traetwothree: “Stuck In My Ways” (feat. Blueface)

Everyone’s referencing “four twenty” on this Wednesday, but if you’re sick of all the pot talk, you may want to shift your focus to another set of symbolic numbers: 323. That’s the area code for South Central, Los Angeles, which is the handle inspiration and home base for rising R&B star Traetwothree. And as opposed to the 40 oz-guzzling, blunt-passing braggadocio of ’90s West Coast hip-hop, Traetwothree tries to recreate the nighttime aesthetic of South Central – somewhere between sensual, introspective, and vulnerable. His half-rapped/half-sung style is plenty confident without being egregiously arrogant, and his use of auto-tune is more of a stylistic choice rather than a pitch-correcting necessity.

So far we’ve only had singles from Traetwothree, going back to 2019’s “Natural” but next Friday he’ll be releasing his debut mixtape, Out The District. At just shy of a dozen tracks, Out The District ushers in a new era of urban R&B for the 2020s, with crystal clear production, jazz-inspired chord progressions, and Traetwothree’s liquid vocals. Each track packs an infectious groove and relatable imagery, most notably on “Stuck In My Ways”, where Traetwothree’s in-the-pocket singing is balanced out by bars from fellow Los Angeleno Blueface.

PM Warson: “(Don’t) Hold Me Down”

Englanders raised after the tides of New Wave had waned and while the turn-of-the-millennium indie rock boom began to quiet down might’ve gravitated more towards the music of the midcentury. That’s exactly what happened with singer-guitarist PM Warson, who, after a stint as a full-time touring musician, has since settled nicely into a ’50s/’60s R&B-soul aesthetic. Backed by a chorus of women singers and a horn section, Warson’s debut album True Story was cut straight to tape, giving the ten vintage-style tracks an extra sense of authenticity. This year Warson dropped a new single (“Leaving Here”) that ventures into early garage rock territory, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight True Story‘s crown jewel, “(Don’t) Hold Me Down”.

Femme It Forward: “Mother Nature” (feat. Tayla Parx)

You may not have known her name until today, but you’ve absolutely heard some fruits of labor from Tayla Parx. This Dallas-born L.A.-based singer is a credited songwriter on Billboard blowouts like Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next”, “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, “Infinity” from Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera’s “Accelerate”…and that’s just scratching the surface. As a solo singer, Parx caught plenty of ears with her 2017 mixtape Tayla Made, premiered her first full-length We Need To Talk in 2019, and followed that up the next fall with her sophomore record Coping Mechanisms.

As you can tell, Tayla Parx has paved a name for herself as a hungry songwriter and must-have collaborator. But she really shines when she’s on stage, mic in hand, something she hasn’t been able to do for more than a year. You’ve got a chance to experience just that tonight at Container Bar, where Tayla Parx co-headlines the Dr. Marten’s Showcase along with Dawn Richards. So peruse Parx’s repertoire when you can, and treat yourself to something from Femme It Forward’s Big Femme Energy Vol. 1 on behalf of Women’s History Month with the Tayla Parx feature “Mother Nature”.

Anastasia Hera & The Heroes: “Like I Am”

Anyone who’s heard Anastasia Hera can tell that she’s a big proponent of Black activism, making her a prime candidate for the spotlight on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This native Austinitecemented her charismatic sense of verbal cadence early on by memorizing King’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech at a young age, andin 2015 Hera founded CAKE, a non-profit that empowers girls and women interested in musical performance. Anastasia Hera & The Heroes shared two new singles as part ofAustin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program and their 2022 compilation ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person including a luminous piece of R&B-funk perfect forLove Austin Music Month,”Like I Am”.

Anastasia Hera & The Heroes: “Illusion”

We’re already one week intoLove Austin Music Month but’ve only scraped the surface of ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person – the new compilation fromAustin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program. One of the more well-known contributors is native Austinite Anastasia Hera, whose early inspirations of ATCQ, Jay-Z, and MLK Jr. helped shape her verbal abilities and penchant for progressivism. Fast forward to the top of the last decade, when Hera released her mononymous debut Pretty Color Bad News and again to 2015 when she launched her female-empowering non-profit CAKE, showing off her polymath talents as an effortless R&B/Hip-Hop performer and as an organizer, respectively. These days Anastasia Hera’s got the support of her backing band The Heroes, who elevate her already-soaring vocals to an even higher plane and toss a little bit live funk flavor into the mix. Anastasia Hera & The Heroes find themselves in good company onATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person, which releases on vinyl later this year and features two incredible originals from Hera, including the synth-funk-soaked and harmony-heavy “Illusion”!

Shiela: “YO TE QUISE”

Raised in Nicaragua and inspired by the passion portrayed in 1997’s Selena, Austin indie-R&B singer Shiela began forging her own mononymous path to superstardom at a young age. Now, Shiela’s impeccable knack for crossover appeal (both genre-wise and through bilingual lyrics) has helped make her 2021 debut Chilita a treasure chest of eclecticism, one that even includes a brief feature from our very own “Fresh” Knight.

Shiela plays a quarter past two this Sunday at the Tito’s Handmade Vodka Stage for Austin City Limits Music Festival. So to get you settled into Shiela’s sentimental mindset for the weekend ahead, soak up her followup single to Chilita, “YO TE QUISE”!

Cory Henry: “Dreaming”

If you’re a connoisseur of contemporary jazz-soul, then you’re likely already in-the-know about New York’s Cory Henry. This Snarky Puppy veteran multi-instrumentalist-producer-composer shines chiefly on keys and vocals, and invites the classic gospel, funk, and R&B tones of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye into the realm of “future-soul”.

Cory Henry shared his aptly-titled LP Best of Me last Friday and kicks off a week-long stint at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club tonight. At just shy of a dozen tracks, the high-level ingenuity of Best of Me puts it in conversation with iconic soul records like Innervisions, Future Shock, and What’s Going On?, albeit with an inherently modern quality, best exemplified on “Dreaming Of”!

Sydney Ranée: “One Night Only”

L.A. native Sydney Ranée first started putting her pipes to work when she turned double digits, got a Bachelor’s in Music from Cornish, and now has fans across the globe. On top of being a virtuoso vocalist, some of Ranée’s more recent endeavors have included exploring the endless world of music production and dipping her toes into the fashion realm with her own custom wardrobe.

Last Friday Sydney Ranée shared another new cut off her upcoming album, a mesmerizing R&B-jazz-pop accomplishment that gives the likes of Lizzo a run for their money, “One Night Only”!

BLK ODYSSY: “Hang Low” (KUTX Live)

The name BLK ODYSSY might seem a bit grandiose on first glance, but a quick listen to their recent material justifies the epic magnificence of their sound. While D’Angelo & The Vanguard maintains a naming convention that touts their frontman’s saga, singer Sam Houston has graciously allowed his own name to go by the wayside as the “feature” of BLK ODYSSY and allowed his breathtaking vocals (almost reminiscent of post-Impressions Curtis Mayfield) to mesh effortlessly within a more traditional “band” framework.

Nonetheless, our August 2021 Artist of the Month‘s new record BLK Vintage could definitely make for a good pairing with Black Messiah, offering up a slick mix of modern jazz-psych-soul and seductive funk-R&B. You can catch BLK ODYSSY’s My KUTX session tomorrow night at 6PM and enjoy the grainy visuals of a three-song set below, taped just for KUTX at 512 Studios. The intimate performance (complete with a scarf-wrapped mic stand and plenty of stank face) opens with a previously unheard demo (“Gangster of Love” – that already packs a ton of potential) and KUTX rotation favorite “Funkentology”, but with Texas summer keeping the sun high and the heat in close company, the belle of the ball may just be “Hang Low”.

Reva DeVito & Midas Hutch: “One Shot”

You might not recognize the name Reva DeVito right away, but she should instantly get some extra credence based on the calibre of her collaborators, be it Young Franco or KUTX-favorite Kaytranada. The Portland singer absolutely slays it with a sensuous and soulful indie-R&B blend and just announced a national month-long tour alongside London’s Franc Moody, whose final leg includes a stop right here in Austin at Antone’s.

Assuming COVID conditions allow for it, DeVito’s set to hit the stage on October 26th, so here’s hoping her internationally-tantalizing tunes can safely grace the Live Music Capital of the World just before Halloween. Regardless, the tour news didn’t come empty-handed; Reva Devito just slung out her latest single, a motivational turn-of-the-millennium style R&B banger produced by Amsterdam-raised nu-funk connoisseur Midas Hutch, “One Shot”!

Anastasia Hera: “Ceiling”

Regardless of which city you live in, the ubiquity of home studios and social media has made the R&B market incredibly competitive. But Austin native Anastasia Hera seems to thrive off of that energy, growing bonds in her local community while excelling at her half-rapped/half-sung style, and opening for the likes of Dead Prez, GZA and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan, Boosie, and Geto Boys’ Scarface. During the mononymous portion of her career, Anastasia dropped by Studio 1A to promote her women-empowering non-profit CAKE, right around the same time she released her remarkable 2016 album of the same name.

Since then, Hera’s brought even harder-hitting performances to the table, heard most recently in May on This Is Anastasia, and EP that showcases both ferocity, tenderness, and everything in between. Last weekend Anastasia Hera got a chance to celebrate that EP release (and her birthday) at Geraldine’s, and we have a feeling she’s on a fast track to become an international superstar, thanks to her charismatic confidence on tracks like “Ceiling”!

Daniel Fears: “Windows” (KUTX Pop-Up)

Though his auspicious solo career’s only just begun, Austin-via-Houston producer/trombonist/vocalist Daniel Fears has already shown a real knack for wedding sound with image. As the only R&B singer we can recall who looks like they designed their wardrobe at a military surplus store, Fears (with his signature drab jumpsuit equipped) released his debut EP/visual album Canopy last October, and better late than never, earned him the distinction of our July 2021 Artist of the Month.

Defying any implications of his surname, Fears’ compositions are courageous to say the least, and yet he’s continued to shed any of the pretentiousness you might expect from an artist of his caliber. Daniel Fear plays tomorrow evening at Malverde, hosts My KUTX this Saturday, and graces us today with glimpse into his intimate performance style with one of Canopy‘s lushest originals, “Windows”!

Marcus Machado: “Shape Shift” (feat. JSWISS & Ahrel Lumzy)

Let’s get straight to the meat and potatoes of Marcus Machado; as a guitarist for D’Angelo’s Vanguard and session player for the likes of Robert Glasper and Anderson .Paak Machado’s got a gorgeous, highly-sought-after kind of talent. Machado’s also an accomplished songwriter in his own right, having incrementally expanded his solo discography since his 2015 EP 29.

And though R&B’s decidedly Machado’s strong suit, he’s clearly comfortable within the rock genre as well, heard most recently across his eclectic debut LP Aquarius Purple. Regardless of your sign, or even if you don’t go in for the whole zodiac thing, Aquarius Purple‘s pretty easy to mesh with across its one dozen tracks. The solo joints are nothing to scoff at, and the guest appearances, though sparse in comparison, inspire just as much awe as the rest of the record. Hear (and see) for yourself on “Shape Shift“, featuring New York rapper JSWISS and fellow Vanguard member Ahrel Lumzy!

Angélica Rahe: “tqro”

In this KUTX Producer’s humble opinion, Latin artists hardly get the press they deserve here in Austin. So today we’re shining the spotlight on Austin jet-setter Angélica Rahe, who grew up in Japan and Spain before settling in the States in her teens. After accruing influence from Erykah Badu, John Mayer, and Sade and elevating her own abilities, Rahe found herself on international tour with Kali Uchis as her musical director, guitarist, and backing vocalist in 2018.

Rahe dropped her Solange-reminiscent solo debut REINA last Valentine’s Day but had its promotional tour cancelled in light of COVID. Well, now Angélica Rahe’s back on the road and performing in Austin. She’ll be playing at 9PM this Friday at Mohawk and to get you back into that live music summertime groove, gyrate those hips of yours to Angélica Rahe’s latest single, “tqro”!