Yung Fume and King Yanz have made something truly special with "Ray." It is like seeing two great artists work together on the same painting, each adding their own unique brushstrokes to make something that neither could have done on their own. King Yanz, an artist with Congolese roots who was born in Finland, has been making waves with his conscious hip-hop style. He...

Ava Valianti represents something increasingly rare in contemporary music: genuine precocity without artifice. This Massachusetts artist, who is only fifteen years old, handles general themes with a level of emotional depth that is shocking. She shows that youth can bring out the best in complicated human experiences, rather than hiding them. "Distant," her sixth single, functions as a sonic archaeology of friendship's dissolution. The track excavates layers...