SEARCH FOR: DANIEL CAESAR

“It’s crazy because about fifteen months ago, I was a server at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. To come from that, to where I am now was just amazing to see. -Giveon The journey to becoming a musician can be something that can be very difficult to venture. There are many aspects to consider when you start with that initial thought or dream. What will your sound be? Who are you inspired by? What do you hope to leave the fans with? These questions and many more are some of the things that come to the minds of artists all around the world who may be sitting in their car on their lunch break-trying to find a way out of their hard times. One of the most important questions of all, is how will I be differentiated from my peers? Giveon, the rising star out of Long Beach, California has asked himself each and every one of these questions and then some. What we are witnessing right before our eyes, is the blossoming if the next music sensation that will begin to take over the industry, one harmony at a time.  Giveon’s initial burst into the musical realm came from a …

Jacob Collier is an artist who I got in tune with earlier this week after coming across his music in our email submissions, after learning a little information about him I pressed play on this new record “Time Alone With You” and I was instantly blown away. I loved everything about this track; the amazing vocals from Jacob, the soulful + unique production, the soothing tones + last but not least, the sensational feature from the great Daniel Caesar. It’s always great to find new talent like Jacob Collier because he makes fantastic music and this single led me to check out the rest of his incredible catalog, he gained a new fan today and I am sure I won’t be the only one after you give it a chance. This is the first offering off of Jacob Collier upcoming project called Djesse – Volume 3, and if the rest of the project resembles the same sound of this new single then it’s sure to be an overall great listen. Stream this soothing R&B cut below!

One of Toronto’s most exciting collectives this decade has been the Prime Boys, consisting of certified hitmakers and some of the hardest spitters North of the Border. By far one of their most electrifying artists Donnie has taken a break from music but return with his wildly impressive debut project From the Beginning to End. This project is a long time in the making, initially gaining some buzz earlier this decade with booming street anthems and a real perspective of what is actually going on in Toronto. It seems that 2019 has been a year for all of the Prime Boys to really claim their place in the Canadian Hip-Hop pantheon, ready to take over the world next. This album not only features Donnie’s signature intensity but shows a completely different side of the artist that in his absence Donnie has been hard at work expanding what he is capable of in the booth. The song that really connected with me was “Good As It Gets” alongside Prime Boys founder Jimmy Prime and a Canadian treasure who left this earth far too soon in Smoke Dawg, touching on themes of success and even though they have begun to find more of it …

Sydny August is one artist out of Chicago that we have been covering since damn near the beginning, and if you are a hardcore & long time LL supporter you may remember way back when we first did a Q&A with Sydny in November of 2016, but today she is back as the feature of a brand new interview piece! Obviously Sydny has grown since the last time we sat down for a interview, at the time she was barely out of high school and was just getting started in her music career, and now she has become one of Chicago’s best young singers & is well on her way to a degree in English Creative Writing at University Of Kansas. About a month ago Sydny released her latest project titled Uni (You and I), and it is easily one of my favorite tapes to come out of the city this year, so I recently sat down with her to catch up with everything she has been doing and get a closer look at the idea that became this project. Stream her brand new project via Spotify  + watch her new visual below while you read through the interview, and …

Chicago’s own Eli Major singer and songwriter drops his first single of 2019 with “Just Friends.” This new offering embodies the perfect mood for the Springtime. “Just Friends” is a smooth laid back ballad that combines contemporary r&b with melodic and soulful sounds. The narrative of the track explained by Eli via email is him “telling a story of rekindling feelings from a past relationship that has to begin to resurface over time.” “Just Friends falls into the alternative r&b category and Major has expressed his desire to continue experimenting with this style of music. This doesn’t come as a surprise as Eli Major stated to me some of his musical influences include Frank Ocean, Khalid, Coldplay, and Daniel Caesar. It should be interesting to see what path his musical journey takes as we travel deeper into the year. We should expect a project from Eli around this Fall so that gives us something to look forward to. Listen to Eli Major’s soothing track “Just Friends” after the break.

At a time when constantly inundating the internet with every single thing you’ve been working on seems to be the move for a lot of up-and-coming artists, singer-songwriter Juto is proof that some of the best work comes after you’ve remained low-key. My introduction to Juto’s music came sometime last year when I heard his cover of Daniel Caesar’s “Get You”, and since then, I was hooked to the soulful, guitar-drenched R&B that he carefully crafted in the few pieces of music he’d put out. Today, Juto makes his boldest statement as an artist yet with the release of his new EP, Velvet. Over 7 tracks, he locks a listener into a shoegaze daydream where it feels like you’re constantly stumbling into love with the start of each new song. For an artist who seems decisive about what he decides to put out into the world, Velvet feels like an especially refined step, communicating profound attention to detail that comes through in the selective production choices throughout the EP. In such a way, Juto makes the most of the strongest weapons in his arsenal — his voice and his guitar — giving these elements the most shine while simultaneously creating …

As the R&B genre continues to grow with artists such as 6LACK, Solange, and Daniel Caesar, the influence that it has on the culture of music continues to increase as well. Releasing their first short film titled today “Late Nights”, EscapeTracks showcases the three types of love that are felt throughout the music with the delivery of an impressive cinema directed by Kyle Sassi, Christo Anesti, Devante Thomas, and Jennelle Cruz. To start, the film takes viewers through Tokyo while expressing broken love and the feelings associated with falling out of love. Later on in the film, the second type of love is expressed within the city of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. Throughout this segment in particular, the energy and stigma associated with real love is depicted with the help of actor Mitch Modes and actress Aaliyah Ei. To finish the film and showcase the third type of love, the R&B rich city of Toronto is called on to illustrate the internal feelings of self love. While this film covers the basics of love and the different feelings we get as we fall in and out of it, it also sheds a massive light on the R&B culture and …

Peter Cottontale is a leader in the Chicago music community and in honor of Valentines day this year he just blessed us with a tear jerking new visual for “Forever Always”. You can tell that Peter and his team have worked closely on this video for some time now because it came out flawless, it’s filled with positivity and nothing but feel good vibrations, both sonically and visually. Watch this brand new music video below and if you like it be sure to give Peter a follow on Twitter here! ft. Chance The Rapper , YEBBA, Daniel Caesar, Madison Ryan Ward, Rex Orange County Additional vocals: Ben Lusher Richard Saunders Tierney Chamberlin Elliot Skinner Jabari Rayford (LifeofJackRed) Rachel Robinson Darius Scott (D. Scott) Additional Production: Nico Segal Nate Fox Strings: Amanda Bailey Bass: Verner Jr. (DJVerner)

I think we can all agree that R&B is having a moment right now. Acts like Brent Faiyaz, Sabrina Claudio, Khalid, 6LACK, Kali Uchis and Daniel Caesar have all taken the world by storm, rejuvenating a genre of music that held major dominance during the late 1990’s. Today, we add another name to the list who is bound for international superstardom, Dayo Bello. The young producer/vocalist from southeast London first gained notoriety with the release of his self-produced single, “Mine” in mid 2017. Since the singles release, Bello has shared one visual and two additional singles that would prep audiences for his debut EP, 360. The 24-minute EP is a sonic representation of love in all it’s forms; bliss, agony, doubt and confidence. Bello delivers an impressive showcase of his talent and ability as an artist, already creating at a level of a seasoned vet. Listen to Dayo Bello’s new EP below and tell us what you think of the 7-track offering in the comment section!

The Free Nationals have released their newest single from their highly anticipated, self-titled debut album. Many know the Free Nationals as the backing band for Anderson .Paak but what many don’t know is their heavy involvement in all of .Paak’s projects. Their newest single, “Beauty & Essex” is a sultry, bedroom bop about the feelings of overwhelming infatuation. Utilizing Caesar’s croon, the band matches his tone with subtle live instrumentation that act as an accentuation to the vocals. UMO (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) provides additional production value to the song giving it it’s psychedelic shimmer. The new album from the Free Nationals is set to feature Kali Uchis, Syd, Chronixx, Mac Miller and many more. Check out the Free Nationals new song with Daniel Caesar and UMO below and tell us what you think of the groovy new track in the comments!