LA-based crooner Jordan Raf makes sultry soul tunes that flirt with the line of deconstructed R&B and trap. He has a nice shifting aesthetic from minimal to a deft density that allows his exquisitely textured melodies to cut through to the forefront when he wants them to. He’ll drop the full-length offering Double Negative later this summer, and the lead single is “Frame.” It’s a sensual romp that builds in sexual energy beginning with flirty, playful conversation and building to the repeated climax, “Feel pleasure from your lips like a morphine drip yeah/ You walk with a limp ’cause I fuck you ’til you drip yeah.” That carnal electricity only gets more juice from the surrounding booming 808s, deep synth, cleverly syncopated drums and soulful guitar solo to close. Raf displays plenty of versatility as well, shifting from a rapid fire cadence to a slow, catchy melodies and a delicate falsetto. If you don’t have a standard R&B baby-making playlist, start it with this. Listen.

​

Tracklist:

01 “King Prince”
02 “Badlands”
03 “Treat You Good”
04 “Duvet”
05 “The Love Below”
06 “What You Want”
07 “Frame”
08 “Pages Apart”
09 “Paying Now”
10 “Roses”
11 “Asphalt”

Double Negative is out 8/19 via POW Recordings.