Four R&B tracks that lean into something specific: a White Plains industry veteran turning friction into form, a Blackpool neo-soul rising voice, a London-Ghanaian love song fusing Akan and Yoruba names, and a Louisiana Creole artist inventing her own genre.
C’batch – Trapped (I’m Doing Fine)
C’batch’s Trapped (I’m Doing Fine) is the rare R&B track where the groove and the vocals tell different stories, and the friction between them is the whole point.
Trapped (I’m Doing Fine) is a reworking of an original C’batch instrumental, now layered with lyrics and soulful vocals enhanced by modern technology while preserving its core emotion. The track lives on the contrast between a hypnotic, almost reassuring groove and vocals carrying an entirely different inner story, the feeling of holding it together on the outside while something heavier moves underneath. The production and sound world is fantastic, and there’s a huge amount of craft behind this.
C’batch is the artist name of Stephen H. Cumberbatch, a White Plains, New York composer, producer and guitarist with credits stretching back decades. He’s been an ASCAP member since the 80s and has co-written or produced tracks that have shaped club music history, including Sinnamon’s foundational 1983 anthem ‘I Need You Now’ (sampled in 100+ songs) and NV’s Paradise Garage staple ‘Let Me Do You’. With his label Stevette Music he’s still releasing original material that draws on a lifetime of grooves. It’s genuinely brilliant.
Lauren Eve – Your Friend
Lauren Eve’s Your Friend earns its warmth honestly: a neo-soul track recorded with a live band, exploring the underrated arc from friendship into love.
Your Friend is Lauren Eve’s third single, co-written with Simon Iredale and recorded at Rock Hard Studios with her live band. It blends neo-soul warmth with a clean, modern pop edge, exploring the journey of finding the perfect friend to become your life partner. The vocal delivery feels natural rather than overworked, and there’s a honest sincerity to it that lands straight away. What carries the song is its sense of Olivia Dean adjacent laid back ease, organic energy helped by the live-band feel running through every layer of the production.
Lauren Eve is a rising UK singer-songwriter blending soulful vocals with contemporary pop influences, born in Manchester and now based in Blackpool. She studied at MIT, where she sharpened her musical and creative skills, and has built a community of more than 25,000 followers across socials with only a handful of releases out. Your Friend is the kind of track that explains why: she’s not chasing a sound, she’s just becoming one. Genuinely worth following.
Marco Lowrey – ABENA (OLORI)
Marco Lowrey’s ABENA (OLORI) merges Akan and Yoruba names into a love song, KC Beatz on production and Lowrey making the case for romance as culture, not cliché.
ABENA (OLORI) is one of Marco Lowrey’s most intentional releases to date. The title merges Akan, where Abena names a woman born on Tuesday, and Yoruba, where Olori means Queen, into a tribute to finally overcoming heartbreak and discovering true love again. Produced, mixed and mastered by renowned Ghanaian producer KC Beatz, the single showcases Lowrey’s vocal ability and his talent for crafting lyrics that forge immediate connections. It’s polished, deliberate, and carries the kind of vibe you can’t fake.
Marco Lowrey is a London-based artist born in England to Ghanaian parents, with formative time spent in Kumasi, Ghana, where his ear was tuned by the sounds of West Africa. His music is a fusion of R&B, Afrobeats, Highlife and hip-hop, all reflective of his own experiences and the music that shaped him. The voice and the flow are instantly recognisable, and he has a gift for crafting uplifting, catchy songs that lift moods without sanding down their meaning. I love it.
Zióná Maré-Laveaux – Fold Me Like Sunday
Zióná Maré-Laveaux’s Fold Me Like Sunday introduces ZIONYX, her self-defined fusion of AfroSoul, alternative R&B and Louisiana Bayou, into a lane nobody else is occupying.
Fold Me Like Sunday feels less like a single and more like an introduction to an entirely new sonic world. Rooted in Zióná Maré-Laveaux’s self-defined ZIONYX sound, the track draws on AfroSoul, alternative R&B and Louisiana Bayou influence to build a distinct identity from the first bar. It’s rich, textured, and built to be felt as much as heard. The vocals sit at the centre, controlled and quietly powerful, while the production stays cinematic without losing any intimacy.
Zióná Maré-Laveaux is a Southern Louisiana Creole artist, songwriter, and visionary redefining modern music through her original genre, ZIONYX, a fusion of AfroSoul, alternative R&B, Louisiana Bayou Soul and ancestral frequency. Rooted in Southern warmth and global influence, her sound is both intimate and cinematic, designed not just to be heard but deeply felt. Fold Me Like Sunday is her opening statement, the kind of release that suggests she isn’t asking permission to define her own lane. It’s brilliant.