Nick Hakim: Artist You Should Know

I don’t like “neo-soul.”

Not because I don’t think it can’t be as good as “traditional” “soul” or “RnB,” but rather because as a genre, as a name/label, it’s just mad goofy to me.

I mean, I understand the concept and the reason for it, but honestly, it’s just wordplay, like “grass-fed” beef or how everything is suddenly “organic,” even if it’s not.

You know it. You can feel it. New or old, something simply has or does not have soul.

23-year-old Brooklyn artist Nick Hakim has soul.

His forthcoming EP, “Where Will We Go Pt.1” is a brief but incredibly strong set of finely crafted tracks that move, haunt and mesmerize.

Less than 30 seconds into his languid, woozy “Pour Another” and I was on some Marvin Gaye as Bukowski trip, sullenly drinking and chain smoking alone in some bar at 10am with the door locked from the inside.

Equal parts Rhye, D’Angelo and The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps“, “Pour Another” has way heavy vibes and is a stone cold stunner because of it.

There is soul there. At the bottom of the glass.

One more please, Nick.