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Charlotte Dos Santos consistently shows a natural aptitude for blending progressive R&B, soul, funk, bossa nova and samba, and folk, among other sounds. She further distinguishes herself with idiosyncratic narratives, direct love songs, and tributes to her lineage representing a fraction of her songwriting perspectives. The Brazilian-Norwegian artist -- who is also an arranger and producer -- made a strong first impression with Cleo (2017), a set that led to a nomination for the Spellemannprisen award for Newcomer of the Year, the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammys' Best New Artist award. After an EP, Harvest Time (2020), Dos Santos made the full-length follow-up Morfo (2022).

Dos Santos' innate stylistic fusion relates to her multicultural background. Through her Norwegian mother and Brazilian father, she heard a broad mix of sounds during her upbringing in suburban Oslo. In the early 2010s, Dos Santos started uploading recordings to SoundCloud, making her low-key debut with a re-voicing of a Shuggie Otis song. She relocated to Boston in 2013 to attend Berklee College of Music, where she earned a bachelor's degree in contemporary writing and production and vocal jazz performance. Not long after she completed her studies, she put the finishing touches on her debut album, Cleo, and in October 2017 released it through the Fresh Selects label. The LP featured material recorded over a period of several years, including a few songs made in collaboration with producer Fredfades, a fellow member of Oslo's Mutual Intentions collective.

Harvest Time, Dos Santos' first release for the Because Music label, followed in March 2020, but a tour in support of the EP was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dos Santos worked on her second album over the remainder of that year and well into 2021, resurfacing in July of the latter year with "Away from You," the first of a few appetizers for the proper follow-up to Cleo. A few more previews were scattered across the ensuing months and set up the October 2022 arrival of Morfo. Titled after a blue butterfly native to the ÍøÆغÚÁÏ rainforest, the LP featured collaborations with Josh Crocker and Tom Henry -- Gotts Street Park members who had previously worked with Kali Uchis and Celeste -- and Paul White, a producer known for his numerous solo projects and work with the likes of Danny Brown and Homeboy Sandman. ~ Andy Kellman

Los Angeles-based R&B vocalist Joyce Wrice's music grew out of her affinity for the '90s and early-2000s output of iconic performers like Mariah Carey, Tamia, and Aaliyah. Wrice explored bright, feel-good melodies and collaborations with rappers like Freddie Gibbs and Westside Gunn on her 2021 debut album, Overgrown.

Wrice was born in California in 1992 and started her own musical journey uploading videos of herself playing covers, and later sharing tracks on various online platforms. Her first substantial release came in 2016 with the self-issued EP Stay Around. In the years that followed, she collaborated with peers such as Kay Franklin, Mndsgn, and Jamma-Dee on various tracks, and toured internationally. Her first fully realized studio album arrived in 2021 with Overgrown. The 14-track set was the strongest showing of Wrice's nostalgic but potent sound, and featured contributions from Freddie Gibbs, UMI, Masego, Lucky Daye, and others. ~ Fred Thomas