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LVRN R&B artist Alex Vaughn releases new single “Talkin” from forthcoming EP ‘The Hurtbook’

R&B’s favorite homegirl and talented singer/songwriter Alex Vaughn has released her latest single titled “Talkin” from her forthcoming EP The Hurtbook.  The single shares the story of how an amicable breakup turns sour after the other persons’ side of the story twists the truth. Alex makes “Talkin” an open moment to check her ex on what the facts really are with a reminder to keep quiet. The DMV native follows up on her raw and intimate three-track voice memo “Voice Notes” EP as the young soulstress sets the tone leading to her full-length EP debut slated to be released in the fall.

Talkin” is available on all digital streaming platforms. LISTEN HERE.

The track breaks down the communication silo that is oftentimes found when a hapless relationship comes to an end. In disarray of a he said, she said situation, Alex gives a soulful rendition of the struggles of delegating truth from falsehood all while sending the message of holding your peace to keep one’s peace. This eurythmic response validates Alex’s self-evident truths as “Talkin” sustains on the hypnotic, smooth and sensual flow that the DMV native gives so effortlessly. This eloquent slow-burning ballad makes for essential R&B listening with Alex Vaughn’s highlighted versatility of songwriting and emotive vocal showing, which at the same time, serves yet another seamless introduction of an R&B star in the making.

Over the last few months, she recently opened for Summer Walker in Atlanta and Houston and made her debut festival performance at Broccoli City Festival this Spring. She also recently wrapped an HBCU college tour making stops at Howard, Dillard, North Carolina Central and more. This summer, she released a project titled Voice Notes which plays on the way she creates music using voice notes and typically re-records the track in the studio. Earlier this year, Alex released her debut single “Mirage” to rave reviews.  The song received praises from BillboardESSENCEVIBEHot New Hip HopRated R&B and more. Alex is an incredible pianist and burgeoning star who is certainly creating a sound and lane for herself as R&B’s newcomer to watch.

Jade Novah premieres new music video for “Trip” on BET Soul

As both an actress and singer, Jade Novah can captivate an audience with her infectious presence both on stage and in front of the camera. Viewed over 70 million times online and amassing a social following of over 2.5 million, Jade is known for everything from her incredible vocals and original music to her hilarious viral videos and spot-on impersonations of celebrities like Beyoncé and Cardi B. Her wide range of talents has been praised by the likes of Lena Waithe, Reese Witherspoon, Anthony Anderson, and Stevie Wonder. In 2019, Jade’s debut album “All Blue” earned her an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding New Artist and had already amassed over 15 million streams independently. Jade has also written hilarious original content for BET, MadameNoire, and All Def Digital, and has voiced several characters on FUSE TV’s animated sketch comedy series, Sugar & Toys. Along the way, she’s earned acclaim from BuzzFeed, Rolling Stone, Good Morning America, Essence, and Ebony and won the Viral Sensation Award at TV ONE’s Urban One Honors.

Jade just wrapped up her “Moon in Pisces” tourw/ Jared Brady touring 20 cities around the country giving her fans original music, comedy, and a mindfulness variety show concert experience. After her tour, Jade is set to return as resident vocalist and comedian on NBC’s Season 2 of That’s My Jam with Jimmy Fallon.

Babyface & Queen Naija share “Game Over”, the new single from ‘Girls Night Out’

Babyface and Queen Naija team up on the new single “Game Over.” Atop a steady, driving beat, Queen processes the truth about a sweet-talking man but finds it hard to leave him. Babyface cuts to the heart of the situation, encouraging her to trust her intuition. Listen to “Game Over” HERE. The track is from Babyface’s new project, Girls Night Out, which will be released on October 21 by Capitol Records. 

Today, Babyface revealed the album’s cover art alongside the full track listing, which includes collaborations with some of today’s brightest female R&B stars, including Ari Lennox; Kehlani; Ella Mai; Coco Jones; Tiana Major9; Tink; Baby Tate; Muni Long; Amaarae; Seyvn Streets & TKay Maidza and Doechii. The songs tap into a range of subject matter as each collaborator shares stories from her personal point of view and experiences. See below for track listing.

Babyface turned to acclaimed, self-taught modern artist Ricky (“Rico”) Heeraman to design the album’s vibrant, evocative cover. Heeraman, who found inspiration in the urban graffiti art that surrounded him as a child growing up in the Bronx, uses geometry to separate each unique story in his mixed media pieces, which explore the complexities of human interactions and cultural mythology.

The pre-order for Girls Night Out is now underway HERE. Fans who pre-order the digital edition will instantly receive “Game Over” plus his collaborations with Kehlani (“Seamless”) and Ella Mai (“Keeps On Fallin’”).

“[Babyface] knows a thing or two about the female voice,” said The New York Times in the Fall Music Preview.“‘Girls Night Out’ harks back to the ‘Waiting to Exhale’ soundtrack from 1995, where he assembled an all-star cast…This time around, he shows how sharp he still is as a producer, talent spotter and sometime vocalist, teaming up with an impressive selection of R&B up-and-comers, including the ‘Boo’d Up’ singer Ella Mai on ‘Keeps on Fallin’,’ a dance-floor-ready ode to enduring love; and Ari Lennox on ‘Liquor,’ which equates romantic intoxication with the other kind.”

Track Listing – Girls Night Out

1.     Intro (with Angie Martinez and Lala Anthony)

2.     Liquor (with Ari Lennox)

3.     Seamless (with Kehlani)

4.     Keeps On Fallin’ (with Ella Mai)

5.     Game Over (with Queen Naija)

6.     Simple (with Coco Jones)

7.     Say Less (with Tiana Major9)

8.     Whatever (with Tink)

9.     Don’t Even Think About It (with Baby Tate)

10.  The Recipe (with Muni Long)

11.  One Good Thing (with Amaarae)

12.  G Wagon (with Sevyn Streeter and Tkay Maidza)

13. Girls Night Out (with Doechii)

Lupe Fiasco unearths two archival tracks from the 1st & 15th Vault

Weaving dense webs of wordplay, Lupe Fiasco has been blowing minds with his incisive pen for the better part of two decades. Today, the proud Chicago native shares The Pen & The Needlz” and Ohh Oh,” two new songs from his vast archive. Officially released on streaming as part of the new EP Chill’s Spotlight 3, the two unearthed tracks hail from Lupe’s 2005 mixtape Fahrenheit 1/15.

Produced by Needlz, who later found pop success producer for artists like Bruno Mars, Drake, and Cardi B, “The Pen & The Needlz” is a showcase for Lupe’s twisty turns of phrase, the product of a then 23-year-old rapper strutting his stuff and proving that he could spit with the best in the game: “Pivot my fitted, then begin to rivet, with a change of lyric/In other words, I reposition how I sit it/Then make you feel it like I mispronounced ‘filet’/On second thought, I can’t make you fill it/Like you digging your own grave, unless you can Kill Bill it.” The second song, “Ohh Oh,” is another lyrical exercise, as Lupe unfurls a torrent of no hook bars as he navigates a soulful vocal sample with skillful internal rhymes and wry humor: “What’s in your pockets my profits/Foxes pick me up like chop sticks, this hotness/They wanna put me in boxes like chocolates/That’s nonsense.” The two newly-released singles follow in the footsteps of Hustlaz,” a never-before-heard circa-2005 gem that dropped earlier this year.

Lupe turned heads this summer with his new album DRILL MUSIC IN ZION. The product of a burst of thoughtful spontaneity, Lupe created DRILL MUSIC IN ZION over a short period, diving into a folder of beats sent by Soundtrakk and emerging with a fully-realized album in just three days (“Sometimes deadlines are lifelines,” says Lupe). The album is home to highlights like “NAOMI,” in which Lupe fuses playful political analysis with poignant emotional resonance, and “MS. MURAL,” which continues a series of songs that started on 2014’s Tetsuo & Youth (“Mural”) and continued with his last album DROGAS WAVE (“Mural Jr.”), and the jazz-inflected title track, which slyly comments on how art created amidst strife becomes commodified entertainment for the masses. The ten-song album earned praise from NPRComplexThe FADER, and many others, including Vinyl Me Please, who wrote “At their best, Lupe’s bars are as visually and phonetically pleasing as popped bubble wrap.” DRILL MUSIC IN ZIONmade a splash on vinyl upon its release–Lupe was the top-selling indie artist at independent retail, reaching #1 on the Street Pulse chart, and reaching #4 on the Vinyl Sales chart and #3 on Breakout.

The Chicago native is currently on tour on a series of shows celebrating the 15th anniversary of Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, recently certified Platinum by the RIAA. Beyond music, Lupe recently launched his “LFT” program, a new NFT program that allows fans to get closer than ever to Lupe. Unlike many NFTs, which solely exist in the digital space, the “LFT” program offers token-holders an array of online and offline benefits. The benefits start with a generative art profile pic–each LFT holder gets a unique digital artwork inspired by Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, which celebrates its 15th birthday this year. Beyond music, Lupe continues to focus on the community organizations he founded, including We Are M.U.R.A.L, The Neighborhood Start-Up Fund, Society of Spoken Art, and his cross-cultural content venture, Studio SV.

With DRILL MUSIC IN ZION,  Lupe starts another chapter in his illustrious career, but he’s not done growing.

“Your whole life you’re physically growing, and as an artist, I feel like I’m taller now,” says Lupe. “Not that I’m at a higher place of morality, it’s that my vantage point and perspective is higher. I can see further.”