Calling all R&B lovers! We may have found your new favorite club – and no it’s not the type with a dance floor and overhyped DJs.
Victoria Monet took over Atlanta Tuesday night at the Buckhead Theatre where she performed on her first, official headlining tour The Jaguar Tour. On Aug. 25, the singer-songwriter released her debut studio album Jaguar II, the sequel to her 2020 EP Jaguar.
The Jaguar Tour kicked off Sep. 6 in Detroit and quickly made its way through the northeast until landing in her birth city of Atlanta. The venue was packed at every corner with fans dressed in Victoria’s signature brown hue. Once she opened the show with “Moment,” it was clear that we were in for a legendary night.
The audience belted out every word as she danced along with her backup dancers to “Coastin’”, “FUCK” and “Jaguar” in a sheer, brown two-piece embellished with crystals.
As she transitioned into “Party Girls” featuring Jamaican Dancehall artist Buju Banton, the audience could hear the familiar melody of Beyonce’s “Baby Boy” featuring Sean Paul intertwined with the track; a nod to one of her biggest inspirations.
Highlights from the night included her entrance during “Cadillac,” decked out in a bedazzled Zoot Suit and a fedora. Her signature dance break to Trillville’s “Some Cut” which sparked a viral online dance challenge last year. Lastly, she couldn’t end the night without performing the standout track “On My Mama,” a song with a nostalgic early 2000’s vibe and a heavy mix of R&B and Hip-Hop. The song samples Chalie Boy’s 2009 hit single “I Look Good.”
Victoria Monet by Chanel Moye
Later, it was revealed that the VMAs felt it was “too early” for the Grammy-nominated artist to make her debut on their stage.
This isn’t the first time fans have had to work overtime to give their favorite artist the (rightful) recognition they deserve. Fans pressured MTV into allowing Normani to perform at the 2021 VMAs after they discovered she wasn’t invited to sing her new single “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B.
Following her highly anticipated single “Motivation” and a messy split from the popular girl group Fifth Harmony, Normani was set to make her debut as a solo artist. Her 2019 VMA performance of the song was one of the best of the year, and naturally, expectations for what would come next were high.
So, when she and the eclectic rapper joined forces to release their chart-topping collaboration “Wild Side”, fans were surprised that the VMAs didn’t extend an invitation for her to perform, especially considering the waves the music video made online. However, MTV’s apparent snub left fans questioning the network’s influence in today’s music industry landscape.
There was a point in time when performing at the Video Music Awards was seen as a pivotal moment in an artist’s career. Now, we aren’t so sure. There is something to be said about MTV’s long-standing culture of excluding black artists but that’s a conversation for another day.
Nonetheless, while MTV was undermining her star power, she was preparing to embark on a sold-out tour. For the next three months, The Jaguar Tour will hit 22 cities across North America before ending in London on Nov. 15.
Amidst all the excitement around Jaguar II, the song was most excited to see Victoria perform on tour is “Stop (Asking Me 4Shyt).” It is truly one of a kind and was clearly the fan favorite of the night as the crows sang every word.
“Stop askin’ me for money, get your own
I barely even just got on
Do I look like a tree to you? Well, leaf me alone if I do”
…
“I need you to stop, askin’ me for shit Ooh, I put this on in case you forget”
As the show concluded, eager fans quickly exited the theater to catch a glimpse of the next spectacle: the massive Billboard towering over the Buckhead Theatre. There, Victoria Monet lays in a seductive pose, clad in an all-black catsuit, and beneath her image, in bold letters, the sign proudly announced “SOLD OUT” with “Victoria Monet’s The Jaguar Tour” written below.
Bowe’s change of musical direction is a good look for him!
FLO is been buzzing all over social media. It started with their song “Cardboard Box” going viral on twitter and public interest hasn’t slowed down since.
The catchy bop literally blew up overnight and had garnered an overwhelming amount of support. The music video, which was released last summer, is currently at 8 million views and counting.
FLO’s debut EP The Lead released shortly after and received praises from SZA and more of music’s biggest stars. Apple Music chose them as their newest ‘Up Next’ artist.
When it comes to conversations around what up and coming artists making waves, it’s nearly impossible for FLO to not be a part of the conversation.
Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer are reminiscent of Destiny’s Child in their early days. Three young and extremely talented black girls bringing a familiar yet innovative approach to the typical girl group “model.”
The continuing legacy of the girl group is an interesting trend that goes as far back as the 1920’s. And there’s been a huge decline since its peak in the 60’s. A revival occurred around the 80’s and had a pretty good run up until the mid-2000’s.
Long story short, every 25 years or so, we get a new group of women ready to prove why their harmonies are the best. Some last and some don’t but we have a strong feeling the latter will not be an issue for FLO.
They’re hot, they can sing their asses off, their chemistry is off the charts but more importantly, their bond is as solid as their voices.
At the opening night of their first North American tour in Atlanta, FLO proved why they’re here to stay. Center Stage Theater is one of the city’s smaller venues but almost every superstar of today has graced its stage including Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and Kehlani.
Though small, Center Stage holds well over 1,000 people. And every single seat was filled.
Fans patiently waited for the girls to hit the stage while enjoying a brief performance from opener Samaria, a singer from The Bay. She wasn’t the only Cali native in the room, though.
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Victoria Monet was also waiting in the crowd for FLO to come out before enthusiastic fans took notice and quickly blew her cover.
But Victoria’s presence was quickly forgotten once FLO made an appearance. Each covered in a black, glittery ensemble as they opened with “Immature.” The choreography was sultry and smooth. Their harmonies were pitch perfect. For this being their first tour, they dominated the stage like veterans.
Their acoustic ballad “Another Girl” came next, followed by a new, unreleased song entitled “Control Freak.” The crowd sung along to every word of “Summer Time” and their new song “Fly Girl” which samples and features the legendary Missy Elliot.
Finally, they closed out with “Cardboard Box” but didn’t leave the stage without a surprise from Victoria Monet. The singer handed the girls and extravagant bouquet of flowers while showering them in praises.
I talked with R&B singer Keithian as he went over his long and illustrious career in the music industry.
Richard: How did you get started in music and what drew you to the craft?
Keithian: I got started in music in church choir. I was just kinda vibing out with that stuff and it kept on going. Essentially, my grandfather gave me a saxophone and I just kept going from there.
Richard: What is it that you do specifically that you can tell the audience? Do you sing, song-write, DJ, produce?
Keithian: I pretty much do it all except I don’t really DJ. [laughs] If you give me the Spotify list and I’m at a party, I can DJ, but I’m not on the board mixing and stuff like that, but no, man. I’m a singer, songwriter, producer. I produce and songwrite all my songs. I co-produce, basically, with a producer partner and I’m an artist, so I sing. I’m in front of it all and everything. Musician, I play a few instruments.
Richard: So, is there any other artist that you were greatly influenced by on your journey towards this path?
Keithian: Honestly, I’m influenced by a lot of artists. I think most greatly, classically, I would say I was influenced most by Prince with his bravery and musicianship, as well as being a songwriter and everything. Just an all-around artist-performer.
(Rest of the interview is in the video)
Lisa Yaro recently released her single ‘Yaro’ featuring Zlatan on September 16th.
We have fresh, new tunes from rising songstresses NERIAH and chae, as well as some selections from Laidback Luke, Gian Varela, Duke Boara, and more to soundtrack your weekend.
R&B vocalist Sevyn Streeter was enlisted by Mary J. Blige to perform at The Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in Atlanta this past weekend. The show took place at The Tabernacle on Friday night, where she performed alongside Kiana Lede, Rubi Rose, Emotional Oranges and more.
In 2021, Sevyn released second album Drunken Wordz, Sober Thoughtz. On this project, she exercises a great amount of transparency and gives some insight on where she’s been these past few years. It has its introspective moments on songs like “Fall Back” where she speaks directly to the other half of a toxic relationship that is coming to an end. Then, there’s songs like “Wet Dreamz” featuring singer Jeremih and “Change My Mind” where Sevyn shows off her naughty side while delivering addictive harmonies.
The album is the perfect balance between sweet and sour and perfectly encapsulates how the singer has grown musically and personally.
The catchy melodies and flawless vocals are what draws people in to the world of Sevyn, but it’s her duality that hooks you. And at the end of the day, Sevyn is just like us. She, too, has her fair share of problems and emotions to sort through. The only difference is that she used those emotions to create one of the best projects of the year.
We spoke with Sevyn to discuss the inspiration behind the album, touring and what it’s like working in the studio with music industry vet Jermaine Dupri.
The Knockturnal: How have you been?
Sevyn: I’ve been amazing and in a good space, just creating new music.
The Knockturnal: I saw you linked up with Jermaine Dupri, so were you guys working on something?
Sevyn: We are working on my new project. We just started but we’re having a great time. He’s the G.O.A.T. and such a legend and it’s such a honor to work with him. He’s super cool and so talented. To sit there and watch him make a beat last night, I was just staring like “yo, you really that n***a.”
The Knockturnal: How are you enjoying Atlanta?
Sevyn: I love Atlanta. I’m a Florida girl, I’m a country girl. So, Atlanta feels very close to home for me.
The Knockturnal: I have been a fan since your first project Call Me Crazy, But… You’ve came a long way since then and you’ll only get bet bigger. But, I have been waiting to ask you this: you released your EP Shoulda Been There Pt. 1 seven years ago… your fans have been been begging for a part two since then. Will we be getting a part two?
Sevyn: Listen, Twitter is gonna love you for this cause they be on my head about that! I mean, Shoulda Been There was a little moment. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a part two, I’ll be honest. I feel so bad because I was gone for four years and left you guys but I’m not gonna do that anymore. I promise to give an abundance of music. That’s where my head is, just to give you guys more music and more visuals.
The Knockturnal: You released your album Drunken Wordz, Sober Thoughtz last year. What inspired the title of that album.
Sevyn: When you hear drunken words and sober thoughts you think, “Okay, Sis had one too many drinks and is telling all of her business.” And it’s a little bit of that because I definitely had a couple of drinks and told some of my business. But, when I really think about it in my mind when I was creating it, I felt like you can be under the influence of a million emotions. Anger, heartbreak, jealousy, love, so many different things. I wanted to write from all of those different spaces. I just like that at any given moment, no matter what you’re going through, you can pick one of those songs off the album and if you’re under the influence of a certain emotion then you can play that record.
I started a lot of [the album] before quarantine and I finished it during quarantine. We were all under the influence of different emotions during that time. Some days, I was sad. Some days, I was angry. Some days, I was so at peace and happy to be home. I just allowed myself to not be afraid of those emotions and just dive right in to them, then write from that space. That’s really where the title came from.
The Knockturnal: You hit 5 different cities during your tour for this album and it was very intimate but will we be getting a bigger tour from you soon?
Sevyn: We’re in talks of doing a bigger tour. It was a little warm up for me and I hadn’t seen [the fans] in so long. So, I wanted to be able to be so close that I could touch them. To be able to yell at them and they could yell at me back, it was very close and intimate and I love that. But, we are going to do a bigger tour and have more fun. I love live shows and going tour because my Street Team is crazy. They be yelling at me, telling me what songs I should sing. I live for it, though.
The Knockturnal: If you could open up for any artist who would it be? And don’t say Beyonce because everyone says that.
Sevyn: Actually, my old girl group RichGirl opened up for Beyonce’s I Am Sasha Fierce Tour back in 2009. That was fun. But that’s a great question. I would have to say Rihanna. I would love to open up for Rih, I think that would be so much fun. Once she has the little baby, if she gives us this album that we’re dying for then I would love to open up for Rih.
The Knockturnal: As a woman, where do you find your strength from and what is your greatest strength?
Sevyn: I find my strength from a number of different things. The older that I get, I find that I get a lot of strength from what I call my trinity: my mother, my aunt and my grandma. The three of them keep me together. I will call that four in the morning if I need to cry or vent or talk or just get some knowledge on things. We’re talking about three different women who have obviously lived different lives but they have so much wisdom to offer from their experiences, the good, the bad the ugly. They won’t lie to me and that’s what I love the most. Even when the conversations are not so great, they always end up in a positive light. There’s always something to be learned.
Feb 26th- Irving plaza was filled with energy as a packed house welcomed Marc E. Bassy – Nothing In This World tour. Both Marc E. Bassy and and coming R&B sensation John K. The Epic Records artists did not fail to deliver.
As the show began, John K showed his crowd control as his many fans sang his songs word for word. He did not miss a beat as the audience seemed to grow as he continued to run through his catalog. 
John K’s soulful talent was evident by the end of his set. It is clear that his talent has potential to explode as his sound is extremely distinctive and has the ability to grow in a massive way.
From old songs to his newest single “A lot”- it was evident that John K has lasting power if he is given the chance to grow and shine as an artist. His versatility was on full display by his closing moments.
The energy continued to elevate as Marc E. Bassy hit the stage with a bang- showing those in attendance why he is a platinum recording artist. 
To kick off his performance- Bassy began with a guitar in his hands as he warmed up the audience with his soothing acoustic talents. However, it did not take long for Bassy to put his ambidexterity on full display. From amping the audience with his beat machine mixed with the live acoustics you almost forgot what concert you were attending- as the lights and the beats coordinating made for a colorful and engaging experience.
One thing was evident by the end of the night at Irving Plaza- If this is the start to Marc E. Bassy’s Nothing In The World Tour, fans around the country are in for a full experience.
This week’s edition of our NMR includes some fresh R&B from newcomer chae, sonic bliss from ATTLAS, a slamming new EP from Chomper, and more.
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