L.A. Electronic and R&B Music Is Suddenly Sexy

Categories: Neo-Soul, PBR&B

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Rhye
Most single Angelenos will tell you ours is a challenging city for romantic relationships. The sprawl and bad traffic make it difficult to even have a date. Also, there are so many incredibly attractive people here, it's hard to keep someone's interest (or maintain your own). And then, of course, a high percentage of the people who live here are more or less crazy, and thus largely undateable.

But the music coming out of Los Angeles right now -- that's another story. Consider the undeniably sexy slow jam stylings of Rhye, Shlohmo, inc. and Miguel, all Los Angeles artists that within the last year released albums that are the sonic equivalents of a roaring fire, a top shelf bottle of wine, a bearskin rug and two iPhones on "do not disturb" mode.

See also: Shlohmo Is Blowing Up Before Our Eyes

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Jhene Aiko Wins With the Hand She's Dealt

Categories: Neo-Soul

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Justin for J3 Photography
Singer Jhené Aiko has had more than her share of setbacks and misfortune. When she was in second grade, her family's house in South L.A. burned down. She says that as a preteen no cliques accepted her because of her mixed ethnicity -- she's a blend including Japanese, Native American, Dominican, black and Jewish -- so she asked to be home-schooled. At 20 she got pregnant, and this summer her brother died from brain cancer.

But those circumstances haven't prevented Aiko, now 24, from pursuing a singing career. In March 2011 she released a free mixtape, sailing soul(s). Sparkling with ethereal R&B and her sweet, powdery-soft voice, it features both Drake and Kendrick Lamar. By the end of the year she'd had meetings with all the major labels, and the producer No I.D. asked her to be the first artist on his Artium label, distributed through Def Jam.

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Alex Isley Has Her Own Thing

Categories: Neo-Soul

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Alex Isley is the daughter of Ernie Isley, longtime member of soul legends The Isley Brothers. In the '70s and '80s, the group had hits like "Footsteps in the Dark," "For the Love of You," and "Between the Sheets."

For Isley growing up in Los Angeles in the '90s, however, those revered voices were simply the sounds she heard daily. Watching The Isley Brothers perform publicly and in rehearsal subconsciously affected her style. "I was like a sponge when I was little," she says. "I feel like I inherited a lot of the same musical mannerisms... I write similarly sometimes to my dad."

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