The L.A.-based singer Brent Faiyaz dominates one of the stronger offerings, “Insecure,” showcasing range and power as he sings about his trust issues. is almost long enough to be considered an album, as Vidal acknowledged shortly before finishing it up in March, and is chock-full of impressive vocal takes, testifying to the young producer’s ear for talent. The drums are programmed and flat, the mix is smoky and these beautiful voices float atop it all, creating a drugged-out haze that will be exhaustingly familiar to anyone who’s kept an eye on the colliding continents of R&B and (so-called) alt-R&B in the last five years. STWO’s collaborators thrive over the kinds of beats that producers like Noah “40” Shebib, Clams Casino, and Shlohmo mastered long ago. But all of them represent the aesthetic offspring of artists like the Weeknd and James Blake.
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These names may not be familiar to you-they certainly weren’t to me before D.T.S.N.T. Chal, among many others, a chance to show off their voices. On his new EP, D.T.S.N.T., he makes room for a globally sourced array of collaborators, giving Rotterdam’s Sevdaliza, Sydney’s MK Grands and the Peruvian-born A.
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STWO, whose real name is Steven Vidal, is worth seeking out if, like Drake, you’re a vocalist looking to flex your abilities. The deft effect was contributed by the 24-year-old producer STWO (pronounced Stu), a Parisian who moved to Drake’s hometown in early 2015. It’s the most potent section of a deeply nostalgic song on a deeply nostalgic album as if to acknowledge that, the production contracts and chords blur together in a clear evocation of the production on the Toronto rapper’s early projects.
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In the final minute of Drake’s “Weston Road Flows,” the drums fade out and Aubrey goes in, multiplying the intensity of his bars.