walking upstream…
Brent Faiyaz
photo: hopex9 · cc0 1.0 ↗Brent Faiyaz
Brent Faiyaz is a Columbia, Maryland singer whose hazy falsetto and confessional lyrics about infidelity and heartbreak helped define alt-R&B's late-2010s turn away from big, belted vocals. He broke through with a scene-stealing feature on GoldLink's "Crew" before his debut album Sonder Son (2017) set the template of guitar-laced, 808-dusted mood pieces he refined on Wasteland (2022) and later projects, all released through his own independent label, ISO Supremacy.
the sound in question
2021
Wasting TimeBrent Faiyaz
walk the tributaries ↓
Lauryn Hill1990s · Hip hop soul / Neo soul / R&B / Reggae
Faiyaz has named Hill as the reason he started singing at all, tracing his earliest music memory to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill CD sitting on his family's fireplace mantel as a kid. Her genre-blurring slide between sung hooks and rap-cadenced verses set the template for the way Faiyaz moves between melody and talk-singing on his own records.
listen: upstream & heresource: FACT Magazine — Faiyaz ↗
1998
Ex-FactorLauryn Hill
2017
TrustBrent Faiyaz
listen forA vocal that drops out of melody into a half-spoken, conversational register mid-verse, and lyrics about broken relationships delivered with unhurried, plainspoken directness rather than big melismatic runs.
Sade1980s · Sophisti-pop / Soul / Quiet storm / Smooth jazz
Faiyaz has repeatedly named Sade among both his formative influences and his current go-to listening ("Sade, all day"), and her cool, unhurried quiet-storm sophistication is the clearest touchstone for the restrained, late-night mood pieces anchoring his catalog.
listen: upstream & heresource: DZI ↗
1992
No Ordinary LoveSade
2019
Rehab (Winter in Paris)Brent Faiyaz
listen forA sparse arrangement built around space rather than density, with a hushed, world-weary vocal that never over-sings — restraint and slow-burn atmosphere doing the emotional work instead of vocal runs.
Aaliyah1990s · R&B / Pop / Hip hop
Faiyaz listed Aaliyah among his foundational influences in one of his earliest interviews, alongside Static Major and Jodeci, and critics have repeatedly heard her hushed, syncopated phrasing over skittering, minor-key productions echoed in his own atmospheric approach to R&B.
listen: upstream & heresource: DZI ↗
1996
One in a MillionAaliyah
2020
Dead Man WalkingBrent Faiyaz
listen forA breathy, almost-whispered vocal sitting low and cool in the mix against clipped, off-kilter drum programming, with mood and atmosphere prioritized over big belted notes.