KCRW's Top 20 (9/23 - 9/29)
Anne Litt shares the Top 20 releases across KCRW. Brittany Howard's Jaime is resonating with DJs at KCRW, along with the soul sounds of Neil Francis, Brooklyn's Phony Ppl and more.
By Anne Litt • • 1 min readI love it when our KCRW DJ crew gets together and shares music. It is always inspiring, surprising and perfect. Last week over beers we shared new songs we are loving and why, and did some listening. A few ended up in our Top 20 this week.
Neal Francis is from Chicago and reminds me of Leon Russell, Dr. John and JJ Cale every time I hear him. His sounds are smooth, drenched in New Orleans rhythms, the blues and the early 70’s. He’s opening for Black Pumas this fall and will be in LA in late October. Do not miss him.
Another gem from our gathering was Sameya’s “Westtown.” Samantha Marie Ware is best known for her role on Glee and is currently in a Netflix show What/If. She released this debut single in August and walks one of those beautiful lines between pop and r&b.
Hannah Williams and the Affirmations burst onto the scene out of the UK when Jay Z sampled her “Late Nights And Heartbreaks” for his album 4:44. She’s full of funk and psychedelic soul and this song is another powerhouse. Album is out October 18!
Brooklyn’s Phony Ppl channel the warmth of Stevie Wonder with a dash of soul, jazz and hip hop.
Brittany Howard is coming to KCRW next week to share her gorgeous new album Jaime and it’s an honor to include Raphael Saadiq, Kate Tempest and Automatic – all incredibly different and exciting.
Dig into our Top 20 playlist below.