R&B / Soul: Summer 2021

Monarch R&B/Soul Recommendations

Naomi Cowan
Energy

Emerging artist Naomi Cowan will release “Energy” produced by Izy Beats. The project centers on the important message of protecting one’s peace and not allowing any bad energy to dim your light.
Born from reggae royalty, Naomi Cowan is the daughter of Carlene Davis and Tommy Cowan. Perfectly balancing her energetic persona with lyrics that uplift, motivate and simply make you want to sing and dance along, Cowan is here to fill a void in Caribbean-twinged R&B music that icons such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj have made so popular.

Paula Fuga
Rain on Sunday

“Rain on Sunday” is Fuga’s much-anticipated, second full-length album and also her debut album on Jack Johnson’s own Brushfire Records and Republic Records. In bringing “Rain on Sunday” to life, Fuga worked with producer Mike Love, recording live with her longtime bandmates and infusing every song with a kinetic and joyful energy. For the album’s creation, everything was tracked live, while playing in a room together, which was of utmost importance to Fuga.

Shaylen
Boiler Room

Way more than a singer and songwriter, Shaylen might just be your shoulder to cry on, partner-in-crime and the keeper of your most intimate truths. Spilling her secrets first, she doesn’t just welcome this sort of vulnerability as she commands it.

She’ll open up about days on the floor in tears, share the mantras she spoke to the mirror on Instagram and laugh about going home alone, despite eyeing a dude across the bar like,“You gonna make a move or what?” Listening to her is like sharing an Uber with a brand new best friend. It doesn’t matter where you’re headed; you just hope the ride doesn’t end, because the conversation is so interesting.

Tassia Zappia
You Don’t Want Me

Melbourne’s Tassia Zappia introduces herself with the debut single and music video “You Don’t Want Me” via Republic Records. Listening to the Australian singer and songwriter can feel like being in the room right next to her during some momentous turning point. About “You Don’t Want Me,” she shared, “I wrote the song about the first guy I tripped hard on. It’s just so real, I felt those lyrics. When you’re completely and utterly in love but this person doesn’t want you, there’s nothing worse. Musically, we dove into my roots and merged those with a modern vibe to mix two worlds together.”