By Jem Aswad
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Executive Editor, Music
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“Stoner R&B” is not an insult: It’s the opposite, a loose term to describe a sprawling genre of music that includes everything from Dijon and Frank Ocean to Brent Faiyaz and Jhene Aiko. It’s R&B that has smoked a strong blunt, with languid grooves, heavy bass, psychedelicized production and an unhurried vocal approach. Unlike the tight rhythms, choppy guitars and urgency of traditional R&B, it’s not in a hurry to get anywhere.
When Nick Hakim first emerged in 2014 with his “Where Will We Go” EPs and subsequent albums, he was a bright new voice in the genre, but as the years went by, his music sailed further and further out until, by 2022’s “Cometa,” conventional song structures had pretty much drifted off.
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