I get it: R&B is going through this unorthodox hybrid of trap-inspired emo-mysteriousness, aggressive sexual bravado, and penchant for drugging away the pain. Musicians like Post Malone, Bryson Tiller, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Kehlani and a variety of others have played a role in this definition-less, refreshing alternative to the radio-traditional R&B that currently dominates the genre. Let’s face it, most people have more emotions than “these hoes ain’t loyal;” those people cry and laugh, they blindly love and hurt, they dream and they exist.
Which makes California-via-Indiana new jack Y.E. Ali such an interesting case. I came across his music recently, and like his contemporaries he doesn’t fit into any particular classification; he sings like he should instead be a rapper, has a penchant for warping and twisting his vocals a la Young Thug, and has a tendency to skate over instrumentals that are more suited for an offspring of Gucci Mane. It may have taken a while, but now I randomly find myself singing the hook to his single “Tingz” ad nauseam:
One of his more recent joints, “Truss Me Freestyle,” gets its own fair of burn as well.
Ali was supposed to have released a new project, Trap House Jodeci, in July. However, as of this piece there’s no sign of the project. Instead, he is working on a new EP titled Private Suite, which is slated to drop “soon.”
Until then, visit Y.E. Ali’s SoundCloud page to get familiar.
