A few years ago, during one of the DopeHouse’s year-end lists, I mentioned that my tastes had begun to steer toward non-rap music. That sentiment was thanks in part to my discovery of Malaysian songstress Yuna. On May 20th she will return with her fourth international album (and first since 2013’s Nocturnal) Chapters on May 20th. Following previous strong offerings like the DJ Premier-produced “Places To Go” and the Usher-guested “Crush,” she has revealed “Lanes.”
With music like this, it’s virtually impossible to deny the fact that Chapters is shaping up to be one of the better non-rap releases of 2016. Add to the fact that albums from JMSN, dvsn, and KING, my year-end list may be dominated with R&B and soul releases than hip hop ones.
