Detroit’s Mike Chek, a subterranean staple who quietly pens chart-topping R&B hits on the side, leans completely into the emotional fallout of ambition on his new single "Alright", featuring guest artist TMI 215. https://open.spotify.com/track/3l7HsXZuLdXn3LFmVnSqHl?si=9835f9f41db44d8b It operates in the heavy air of an aimless 3 AM drive. You immediately catch a melancholic, plucked string loop that circles your head, setting an undeniably tired but resolute mood. Soon,...

ANGELICA, the Colombian-born, New Yorker— wait, wasn't she a dancer? Yes, was. Now, she's singing, and her latest single, "Lincoln Pl," produced by Marrick Smith and Ian Kimmel, dropped. And my first thought, unbidden, was: Why do pigeons always bob their heads? https://open.spotify.com/album/3O23i4F0TvXtrIp8I6o9jl?si=t1MLgaIyQfWeU1UIobZ1iQ Anyway, "Lincoln Pl." It's a pop/R&B concoction, with a dreamy synth that makes you think you're floating, until ANGELICA's voice, all grounded and...