Summer is on the horizon – and that means R&B and hip hop SZN. The year's remaining event albums should drop soonish. Kanye West has delivered JESUS IS KING (with a mooted Christmas Day companion, JESUS IS BORN). Possibly we'll have fresh Rihanna, The Weeknd and Adele fare. Alas, GOOD Music's buzz rapper/singer 070 Shake is yet to release Modus Vivendi, originally expected in August. However, she has teased songs – such as the '80s bop Guilty Conscience – on social media.
In the interim, many of urban music's finest are destined for Australian festivals.
In 2019, the Californian polymath Tyler, The Creator orchestrated an epoch-defining album in IGOR – queer soul-pop with psychedelic whimsy and lush sentimentality (Channel Tres lately serviced a micro-house remix of EARFQUAKE). Having cancelled a run four years ago amid Collective Shout's visa ban campaign, he'll finally return for festie dates, starting with Brisbane's Wildlands. Meanwhile, is it time to revisit Tyler's yuletide I Am The Grinch?
Some legacy acts are bound for Australia, too. Janet Jackson, who last toured in 2011, is currently fronting RNB Fridays Live alongside the likes of 50 Cent and Brandy. Jackson is savouring a resurgence – which will hopefully culminate in a new album. This year, in addition to appearing at Glastonbury, she celebrated the 30th anniversary of her landmark LP, Rhythm Nation 1814.
The Avant 'n' B Queen, Solange rolled out one of 2019's most anticipated albums in When I Get Home – which is to A Seat At The Table what Blonde was to channel ORANGE with its latent exploration of geographical roots. She is back at the Sydney Opera House for a residency in January, buoyed by the success of 2018's Vivid LIVE spectacular. (Before that, the Brit R&B star Ella Mai will hit the venue on her inaugural Antipodean tour.) Incidentally, Solange is tipped to participate in 2020's Coachella, as she withdrew this year. As for homegrown talent? Our rising surf 'n' B fave Stevan – presently promoting his record Warm, which sounds like Frank Ocean covering The Drums – will play December's Fairgrounds Festival.
Here, OG picks summer's 10 hottest names.
1. FKA Twigs
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The UK auteur FKA twigs (aka Tahliah Barnett) is following 2014's acclaimed debut, LP1, with MAGDALENE. In 2016, Barnett aired a surprisingly poppy standalone single, Good To Love, co-produced by Lana Del Rey's longtime collaborator Rick Nowels. Curiously, it sets the tone for MAGDALENE. Barnett embraces traditional songwriting structures, but without compromising her individual perspective and predilection for splintered electronics. After all, she has chosen New York's Nicolas Jaar to be her main studio partner.
Barnett seemingly allegorises the Biblical Mary Magdalene to expose the dissonance between lived experience and narrative; the psyche and corporeality. In fact, the singer's unmediated lyrics reference her health concerns, much-scrutinised romances (she dated Robert Pattinson), quest for autonomy, and fortitude.
Barnett opens MAGDALENE with the choral a cappella thousand eyes – her inspiration supposedly Enya. The pinnacle is the title track: a futurist take on Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill. Barnett's comeback, cellophane, is celestial piano balladry – and it concludes the album (she staged it operatically on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon).
Barnett has in the past expressed frustration at being classified as 'alternative R&B' – and, yes, she is actually closer to art-pop practitioners Yoko Ono, Björk and Grimes than Aaliyah. But, ironically, her influence over urban music has allowed others to become more amorphous. Barnett graced A$AP Rocky's cyber-shoegaze Fukk Sleep and, for MAGDALENE, she's accompanied by an Auto-Tuned Future on holy terrain: curated art-trap that also reveals input from Jack Antonoff and Skrillex.
2. Frank Ocean
No one imagined that the reclusive Frank Ocean would yield new material in 2019, given that, similarly to Kanye West, he typically announces projects only to vanish. But, recently, the NY inhabitant has been busy hosting his private queer party series PrEP+ and previewing tracks. Indeed, Ocean – who connected with Calvin Harris (and Migos) for 2017's soft funk Slide – is increasingly enamoured of dance culture, telling W Magazine, "I've been interested in club, and the many different iterations of nightlife for music and songs. And so the things I look at now have a lot to do with those scenes: Detroit, Chicago, techno, house, French electronic…" In October, Ocean disseminated the trip-hop DHL, helmed by German techno-type Boys Noize (also involved in Kelis' 'EDM' LP Flesh Tone). He's since followed with the minimalist glitch In My Room. Will Ocean shortly stealth-release an album?
3. Rex Orange County
The UK's Rex Orange County (Alex O'Connor) was among the most popular names on last summer's Laneway bill – even touring outside of an album cycle. The bohemian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist placed second in the BBC Music Sound of 2018 poll (Sigrid won). He's just proffered a first major label album (and third overall), Pony – primarily his own work. While the SoundCloud wunderkind was championed early by Tyler, The Creator, cameoing on Flower Boy, he himself hasn't booked big validating guests or producers. Pony is charming, melancholy, wry, soulful and folksy – with the string-cascading ballad Pluto Projector a stand out. Somehow, O'Connor renders his anxieties about fame relatable and, though leaning into the sad boi trope, the music is ultimately sanguine. O'Connor could be an alternative Lewis Capaldi or accessible King Krule. He'll play here from in May, with shows already selling out.
4. Digable Planets
Brooklyn's feted Digable Planets – Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving – broke out in 1992 with the single Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat), scoring a Grammy. The trio's debut album, Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space), established them as pioneers of conscious jazz-rap, together with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. But, today, 1994's sequel, Blowout Comb, is considered the cult classic with its organic instrumentation and incisive political commentary. Later, Butler pursued a solo career as Cherrywine, then introduced Shabazz Palaces – the earliest hip hop act aligned with Seattle's Sub Pop. Yet Digable Planets quietly reunited in the 2000s, performing on and off. In December they'll belatedly tour Australia, where audiences adore old school hip-hop. The group will preside over Melbourne's new FLOW Festival, with sideshows in Sydney and Perth.
5. Billy Davis
Melbourne is a hub for future soul, being home to Hiatus Kaiyote. The scene's buzziest emerging act is the Filipino-Australian keyboardist/composer Billy Davis, who leads his own band, The Good Lords. He might be compared to Anderson .Paak, Jordan Rakei and The Bamboos' Lance Ferguson. Davis issued his debut album, A Family Portrait, independently in 2017 – recruiting Denzel Curry for the slinky Goldfish. He has now signed to Sony, premiering the deep house groove Shoulda Known late last year. This month, Davis will share Wilderness, featuring The Good Lords' MC Jordan Dennis, soulster EMRSN, and Chicago producer Phoelix (Saba, Noname, Smino). An album is touted for 2020. In downtime, Davis has gigged as a sessionist, assisting GoldLink and BROCKHAMPTON for Like A Version. He and The Good Lords opened Ruel's recent national tour (Davis previously jazzified the Sydneysider's Not Thinkin' Bout You). They'll next headline The Operatives' Espionage bash in tandem with Melbourne Music Week.
6. BROCKHAMPTON
The emo-rap boy band BROCKHAMPTON toured in 2018 with Listen Out, on the back of the bombastically brilliant iridescence – their US#1 major label debut. This year Kevin Abstract & Co offered GINGER. Abstract heralded GINGER as "a summer album" in a GQ interview, but it's ultra-subliminal – cue the psych preface NO HALO. The posse, billed at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles, will return here for FOMO 2020, joining Lizzo.
7. Lucky Daye
One of OG Flavas' predictions for 2019, Lucky Daye (David Brown) transcends eras with his lavish neo-soul, Southern funk and Steely Dan-mode jazz-rock. The New Orleans singer/musician competed on American Idol in 2005, eventually writing for Mary J Blige (he's credited on her Kanye West-featuring Love Yourself). In May, Brown made a low key debut, Painted, via Sony, compiling two EPs. Brown's first single, Roll Some Mo, is his signature – although Karma, which riffs off Ginuwine's Pony, is more immediate. He's since aired a bonus acoustica jam, Buying Time. Brown will warm up for Khalid at his Australian concerts and perform intimate side-gigs.
8. Tinashe
In 2019 Tinashe marked the fifth anniversary of her auspicious debut, Aquarius – a trap 'n' B blueprint. Unfortunately, post-Aquarius, she hit turbulence at RCA Records. Inexplicably, Tinashe switched to generic commercial sounds, and cut an excess of collabs, just as other aesthetes (including FKA twigs) blew up. Her official sophomore, Joyride, didn't get traction. Happily, having left RCA, Tinashe is relaunching herself as an indie artist. She materialised on Blood Orange's Angel's Pulse mixtape (Dev Hynes contributed to Aquarius). And Tinashe has re-discovered the sonic experimentation of her initial mixtapes. She will drop a new "project", Songs For You, before year's end – led by the dark banger Die A Little Bit with London rapper Ms Banks.
9. EARTHGANG
The Atlanta hip hop combo EARTHGANG – Olu and WowGr8 – have been active for a decade-plus, circulating EPs, mixtapes and albums. But, now rostered on J Cole's Dreamville Records, they've crossed over globally (a Billie Eilish co-sign helped). EARTHGANG released the concept album Mirrorland, modelled on the '70s black musical fantasy The Wiz, in September. The Southerners are routinely likened to OutKast – but, while heeding a Dungeon Family eclecticism, they have a distinct vibe. Guesting on Mirrorland are Young Thug (the bouncy trap Proud Of U), T-Pain and Kehlani. EARTHGANG's current single is the eccentrically boisterous UP. The ATLiens toured here with Cole two years ago. They'll headline east coast club shows in December.
10. Mahalia
The UK's R&B movement is surging – and women are at the fore. Where Emeli Sandé blesses us with gospel ballads, Mabel brings the bangers. In contrast, Leicester's Mahalia contemporises '90s R&B and hip-hop-soul, incorporating underground club elements. In September the former teen prodigy presented LOVE AND COMPROMISE, encompassing the UK garage Do Not Disturb and dancehall Simmer (featuring Burna Boy). Mahalia turns the affirmative song Regular People into a funk throw-down with Lucky Daye and London newcomer Hamzaa. The star's newest single, What You Did, is a cruisy duet with friend Ella Mai guided by Pop Wansel (Kehlani). Last in Oz for Falls Festival, she'll join Laneway with Earl Sweatshirt.
