Five For Friday [@arthurbeansound], [@DenaiMoore], [@joyamooi] + more

Friday’s are packed full of releases, these are 5 you should pay particular attention to today.

Five for Friday is back again. Friday is essentially the most important day of the week musically. Friday is also the day that the official charts are announced letting us know who holds the coveted number one position. To make life a little easier this Friday we are giving you 5 of our top picks that have just dropped.

arthur bean – YEAH

Emerging West London talent arthur bean makes powerful entrance with ‘YEAH’. No newcomer to music having worked as a producer and engineer for some of the biggest names in the game such as Dave, Octavian, and Skepta amongst others. Now ready to step into the forefront himself he hits us with the perfectly timed track which blends R&B, Afrobeats, Pop and more into a hit for the summer. ‘YEAH’ has already gotten the seal of approval from Che Pope, the former head of Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D Music who’s worked on projects from Kanye, Jay Z, Lauryn Hill and many others over the years.

Pop Smoke – Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon

This one should be no shock to anyone who’s been on social media in the past week. We all knew a posthumous Pop Smoke album was on the way with 50 Cent having been heavily involved in getting the project to come together. But it was the actions of the internets most recent meme Virgil Abloh that reignited fans passions to the album. Virgil was in charge of creative for the album artwork and his submission garnered universal discontent leading to the albums artwork getting a much needed update. This 19 track project is the send off Pop Smoke deserves, and we get to see why the New York talent will be so sorely missed because the potential is so clear on this album. Rest in peace Pop Smoke.

SL – Selhurst SE25

SL continues to be an enigma working outside of musics typical cycles being firmly focussed on doing what he wants. He garnered major support recently due to his pledge of at least £100k towards charitable causes that empower the youth. With that wind in his sales the young talent is only continuing to further his legacy as an artist the UK can be proud on in delivering a solid EP. The project features the already released ‘Bad Luck’ and ‘Hit The Block’ as well as the teased track ‘Little Bird’ which also had visuals released yesterday. This is a project that is going to do very well and is a good teaser for whatever SL‘s next longer offering will be, which I can only assume will be coming later this year.

Denai Moore – Modern Dread

Denai Moore is someone that deserves much more profile. Having already scored a coveted COLORS show for her track ‘Does It Get Easier?’ she is one of those talents that once you hear you won’t forget her. On this new project you get all of the best parts of Denai, and that’s her not being afraid of trying different things. Whilst she would primarily fall under the R&B label her music is much more than that with elements of Folk, Soul and more. On Modern Dread we get all of that and as can be gathered from the title some nods to her Jamaican heritage, she was actually born in Jamaica and only came to the UK at 10. This is one not to be missed, and you have to give it the time it deserves so no rushing to put it on whilst you’re focussed on something else.

Joya Mooi – Bitter Parts

Joya Mooi is a conservatory-trained musician and has been strongly influenced by jazz, hip-hop and R&B, while her roots in Soweto are a constant source of inspiration. ‘Bitter Parts’ forms part of an upcoming EP release due later this year. It’s about coming to terms with your flaws and the denial surrounding this. A mellow trap beat lays the foundation for her reflective lyrics, with the pensive track showcases her ability to deliver beautifully intricate R&B that’s also deeply personal.

You can check out the previous Five For Friday here.