Kareem's Pick: Men I Trust

Based in Montreal, Canada, Men I Trust began in 2014.  The indie band consists of five members, which includes Emma (Vocalist/Guitarist), Dragos (Keyboard player/Guitarist), Jessy (bassist), Alexis (Bassist) and Mathieu (Drummer).

The group's single "Show Me How," has a bass that caresses your soul.  The track keeps my head bopping while relaxing my core all at the same time.  The song is simply about unrequited love.  Emma is singing about someone who she can't seem to stop loving—even if her affection will never be returned.

Enjoy the Men I Trust-directed visual for their tune below:

Written by Kareem Hilaire

H.E.R. vs H.I.M.

If you have not been put on to the alternative R&B songstress, Gabriella "Gabi" Wilson, then what are you really doing?

Better known as H.E.R., the SoCal born singer/songwriter is currently signed to RCA records.  She released her debut album, H.E.R. Volume 1 on September 9th, 2016, featuring hits such as Focus, Losing and U.  Fans took a liking to H.E.R.'s style of anonymity and soulful sounds rather than her actual appearance.  Due to the unexpected amount of success from her initial EP, she was mentioned on iTunes' Best of 2016 R&B/Soul Albums list.  Furthermore, the track, Losing, made the cut on iTune's Best R&B Soul Singles list with over seven million Youtube views!

In October of 2017, H.E.R. released her second album, H.E.R Volume 2.  The project included included "Best Part" featuring Daniel Caesar, which immediately went viral earning her the support from celebrities such as Usher, Alicia Keys, Bryson Tiller, Kylie and Kendall Jenner and so many more.  Rihanna even posted a clip on her Instagram listening to H.E.R.'s hit, Focus.  Rolling Stones said that H.E.R's debut album "shows off her rich, velvety voice and diaristic lyrics about love, pain and all the emotions in between."  At this point in her career, it is safe to consider H.E.R. as an accomplished underground sensation.  That is until H.I.M. surfaced.

Meet the Queens, New York native H.I.M, an acronym for Her In Mind.  The singer is equally as mysterious and deliver the exact smooth sounds as H.E.R.  His debut album was marketed and mastered very well.  The idea of a male version of H.E.R was pretty genius.  H.I.M's career officially began in 2016 when he released his debut album, H.I.M Volume 1, only about two months after the release of H.E.R Volume 1.  The world immediately went berserk, in a good way.  Fans started to suspect that these two similar sounding artists were secretly and item, communicating with one another through their music.  H.I.M and H.E.R's album covers, musical styles and song titles were related.  One fan even tweeted, "When you find out that H.E.R and H.I.M have been communicating through their songs."  

This felt like a revolutionary Romeo and Juliet love story.  The only issue that stood in the way was that the two were not communicating with one another.  In fact, H.E.R has never even met H.I.M.!  He actually stole her entire concept and did it quite well.  Spotify said that H.I.M. "created a more complete response album than anything that has been made and does it from a genuine perspective."  The world still praises him for his musical style that he completely plagiarized.

Although H.E.R is anonymous, she still is findable.  After doing a diligent amount of research, I discovered her personal Instagram account, @GabiWilsonOfficial.  I went though her anonymous Twitter account and found a tweet dating back from September 23rd, 2017 that seemed to be subtweeting H.I.M. for stealing her vibe.  The tweet reads,"It's never cool to copy someone's whole concept and call it a 'response' to try to come up.  Be you!  Be original."

What do you think about these talented songwriters?  Should we be praising H.I.M.'s music?  Let me know in the comments below:

Written by Sir Julien George

Kareem's Pick: Raveena

Raveena Aurora, better known as Raveena, is a 25-year-old singer/songwriter based in New York.  The Indian-American goddess' voice is sweet and light like the smell of honey suckle.

"If Only," found on Raveena's Shanti EP, is a song that explores the mind of someone who has clocked out physically, mentally and emotionally from a relationship.  Furthermore, it also discusses the perspective of the counterpart in the failed union.  The one that ran away is now making an effort to be available for the partner who's already moved on.

Check out the single below:

Produced & Mixed by Everett Orr Lyrics by Raveena Bass: Aaron Liao Rhodes/Guitar: Cale Hawkins

Written by Kareem Hilaire

Kareem's Pick: Jadu Heart

The mysterious duo named Jadu Heart consists of two musicians named Dina and Faro. They are signed to Mura Masa’s label Anchor Point Records.

The artists, who have seemed to start buzzing as of last year, are seriously releasing interesting content. The group's sound is indefinable—one thing that remains true, though, is that their tunes are dope!

Check out the visual to Jadu Heart's latest single, "U Never Call Me," featuring Mura Masa himself down below:

Written by Kareem Hilaire

Kareem's Pick: Kelela

Kelela is an Ethiopian-American songbird that is worth listening to.

“Blue Light,” is a song from her debut studio album, Take Me Apart, which was released on October 6th, 2017. The tune entangles the listener in Kelela's experience with freeing herself from a past lover. From the afro-futuristic visuals to the sensual production, "Blue Light" is a piece of art that all should be blessed to experience.

Check out the video below:

Written by Kareem Hilaire

Kareem's Pick: Jessie Reyez

Hey! It's your boy Kareem Hilaire and I'm back again to showcase artists of the now who are starting their own wave in the music industry.  

Jessie Reyez is a multi-talented singer from Toronto who released her debut EP, Kiddo, earlier this year  in April.  "Gatekeeper," is a stand out track from the colombian crooner's project that highlights the topics of sexual abuse and misogyny in the entertainment industry. 

check it out below:

Jessie Reyez on tour now. Tickets available here: http://jessiereyez.com/

Written by Kareem Hilaire

Kareem's Pick: Tama Gucci

What's good everyone!  I'm happy to announce that my 19-year-old cousin Kareem Hilaire will be providing you all with some potent tunes that might not necessarily be on your radar every Wednesday from here on out (well, most of the time at least).  With that said, check out his first installment below:

Hey! It's your boy Kareem and I'm here to showcase artists of the now who are starting their own wave in the music industry.  Kymani Floyd, better known as Tama Gucci, is a musician from South Florida that caught my ear.  His soft and eerie vocals calms my mind or breaks me into a contemporary dance number.

The 20-year-old singer/songwriter/model debuted his mixtape, Out of Order, in July of 2017.  Treat yourself to one of his gems below:

off my mixtape " OUT OF ORDER " coming july 21st

Written by Kareem Hilaire