Photo by Jonathan Mannion.
You may already be familiar with Lauriana Mae thanks to her 2013 duet with Cee Lo, on the retro-soul of "Only You," or maybe you know her from the jazzy soul-stoked cuts from her Soundcloud, or her debut EP Love Mae, where she boasts velvety vocal runs that swing somewhere between Winehouse, Aiko, and Badu. Last week she dropped the skippy R&B soul groove of "Protect Ya Kneck"—her finest work yet—and below is the full stream of her EPCity of Diamonds (out on 3.17 via Atlantic), which features a guest appearence by B.o.B. Here she largely leaves behind any big band leanings (although some brass remains) for a more modern, parsed back take on her dusky R&B-pop. Have a listen.
Advertisement