I have always been a big fan of R&B music, but I have come to appreciate it more than ever over the last couple of years. I feel like R&B has become as unique and eclectic as any style of music recently. New R&B artists are drawing from all sorts of places and styles of music, making so much of today’s R&B feel inspired by the old school, albeit with a new school twist. One rising artist who embodies this idea perfectly is Genia. As has happened with a lot of my current favorite artists, I first came across Genia last year when scrolling on Tik Tok. My algorithm is full of up-and-coming artists who are captivating music lovers on that app, and Genia was one of my favorite finds last year. Genia has not been in the game for super long, but she is already making an impact because of her immense talent. I could only find a couple of covers she released on Soundcloud a few years ago that preceded the release of her debut EP, which came out last summer. That project, 4 PM In The Ville, ended up being a top EP for me from last year. Genia shows so much potential on 4 PM In The Ville; the songwriting is deep and personal, the vocals are exquisite, and the sound of the EP is captivating and potent. Genia wears her heart on her sleeve on this EP and takes inspiration from so many different kinds of R&B artists to create a sound that is familiar and distinctive at the same time. Genia recently returned with a follow-up to that 2023 debut EP called 4 AM In The Ville. Here is how I feel about this new EP from Genia. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from 4 AM In The Ville, and also comment on how you feel about the EP as a whole!

Genia gets 4 AM In The Ville going with the last single that was released in anticipation of this EP. ‘Let Me Wander’ has that 2000s R&B sound that Genia excelled with on her debut EP. Like a couple of the best songs from 4 PM In The Ville, ‘Let Me Wander’ is a song that is very obviously inspired by Beyoncé, not only in the instrumental but in Genia’s cadence and tone. The instrumental for ‘Let Me Wander’ is driven by a light and warm melody that is so floaty. This melody, which is provided by a guitar riff and complemented by synths and squeaky sound effects, is pleasant yet melancholy; although it is soothing, there is an apprehensive feeling to it. The beat for ‘Let Me Wander’ is pretty understated. It really does not do anything to improve or inhibit the song, and is kind of just there. As I mentioned, Genia’s vocals on ‘Let Me Wander’ feel so inspired by Beyoncé. This is not a bad thing, as Genia’s tone is super pretty and her range is vast, but it also doesn’t help the song stick out necessarily. In ‘Let Me Wander,’ Genia is singing about drifting away from a former partner and finding herself as they beg for her to stay. ‘Just Fine’ has a lot more of a modern feeling than the song that precedes it. This is a melodic Trap sound that fits so well into the R&B landscape of today. This instrumental feels very similar to the music that artists like Don Tolliver 6lack, or even Gunna are making today. The first thought that went through my head when I played ‘Just Fine’ for the first time was that this is really good and that I have to immediately download this one. ‘Just Fine’ has a cold and rigid synth-driven melody with such a dynamic and luscious tone. This melody is put on top of a hard-hitting Trap beat with a tough bassline that gives the song emphasis. Genia’s vocals on ‘Just Fine’ are awesome. The range that she sings with fits the emphasis of the instrumental so well, and the way she is constantly switching her cadence throughout this track makes it so catchy and enjoyable. ‘Just Fine’ is a song with an energy that could get any function jumping when it plays. On ‘Just Fine,’ Genia is singing about drinking and partying every night to forget about someone that she keeps wanting to go back to. ‘Pretty Lies’ is a song with an interesting sound that feels classic and futuristic at the same time. The melody for this track has a trippy sound that feels inspired by 1970s Psychedelic music but also has an almost robotic sound that makes it feel like it’s ahead of its time. The tone of this melody is sweet and delicate, but also kind of trippy. This melody is put on top of an upbeat Trap Drum pattern that is super groovy and immediately gets me moving my hips when it plays. The mix for this track, which is very quirky and goes from super clean and light to increasingly muffled, adds to this futuristic feeling. Genia’s vocals on this track feed into the ethereal feeling of the instrumental. Like this instrumental, Genia’s vocals are so airy and gauzy. In ‘Pretty Lies,’ Genia calls out her ex for cheating on her and addresses the fact that she knows they lie to her all of the time.

‘Bottling It Up’ is another song that definitely feels inspired by the R&B music from the early 2000s. Instead of being inspired by artists like Beyoncé or Rihanna, though, this one is more reminiscent of artists like Alicia Keys, TLC, and Aaliyah. ‘Bottling It Up’ is driven by a super funky guitar riff that is complemented by a keyboard riff and various synths. This funky melody is put on top of a deliberate beat with a tempo that is so reminiscent of the aforementioned R&B music from the early 2000s. Anyone who is a big fan of that kind of music would absolutely love this track. The instrumental for ‘Bottling It Up’ is cool, but the thing that stands out the most about this track is Genia’s vocals. Her range is not as vast as it has been on some of the other tracks, but the cadence she sings with makes this song such an earworm and is super fun to sing along to. ‘Bottling It Up’ is the kind of track that will get stuck in anyone’s head when it comes on because of how cool Genia’s vocals are. In ‘Bottling It Up,’ Genia is singing about biting her tongue and now saying how she feels when her partner hurts her because she does not want to offend them. This ends up making things harder on herself in the end. ‘Know!’ was the first single released in anticipation of this project. ‘Know!’ has a sound that is way different from what I have heard from Genia to this point. When I first listened to this single, I was excited, because I thought the whole EP might go in this direction; obviously, that was not the case. Although ‘Know!’ has a sound that is unfamiliar to Genia, its sound does follow what has become a pretty popular trend within R&B and Pop music recently. This track has a sound that is inspired by 1990s DnB music. The synth-driven melody for this track is so atmospheric and whimsical. This melody is put on top of a quick, off-kilter beat that feels almost like a fusion of Jersey Club music, Garage music, and AfroPop. This makes ‘Know!’ so quirky and unique, making it one of the most memorable songs of the EP. Admittedly, Genia’s vocals feel a bit overpowered by the instrumental. I feel like I remember and enjoy the instrumental more than I think about Genia’s vocals on this track, which is a shame because Genia is such a great vocalist. On ‘Know!,’ Genia sings about how she does not care that her former partner wants her back, as she has moved on and has realized her value. Genia closes out 4 AM In The Ville on a strong note with the song ‘Dear Life.’ This is the biggest and most intense song of the project. This track even has a bit of a Rock music element to it through the guitar riff that drives the melody, which makes this song hit so hard. This tough and gritty guitar riff is complemented by a piano melody and synths with a dainty feeling that contrasts it and reigns in the feeling of the track a bit. The beat for ‘Dear Life,’ which does not come in until about halfway through the song, also has a Pop Rock element to it. Its tempo sort of has a retro R&B feeling, but I could also see this drum pattern (maybe)being in Pop Rock music as well, making it go with the melody super well. At the very least, even if the beat is more R&B than Rock, it still fits the melody nicely. Genia’s vocals on ‘Dear Life’ are just as poignant as the instrumental. Her vocals fit the larger-than-life feeling of the track and help close this EP in an anthemic manner. In ‘Dear Life,’ Genia is singing about wanting life to slow down and feeling like everything is rushing past her all of the time. Genia wanted to close this EP out on an epic lyrical and sonic note, and she does this with ‘Dear Life.’

As I stated in the introduction, I feel like R&B music is in as good a place as it has ever been. There are so many great new R&B artists emerging all of the time who put a unique twist on some of the music they grew up knowing and loving, and it has made the R&B landscape of today as zestful as ever. Genia is such a great example of this. 4 AM In The Ville is the second EP in as many years from Genia that shows her massive amount of talent. Genia is an artist who wears her influences on her sleeve but is still able to make music that sounds fresh. One thing I appreciate about 4 AM In The Ville is that Genia was willing to take some more sonic risks on this one. The one thing that I felt held 4 PM In The Ville back a bit was that it felt like Genia was playing it a bit safe at times; although her vocal talent and songwriting shined on that EP, I did wish some of the instrumentals were a bit more flamboyant. We got that in a big way on 4 AM In The Ville. There are still a couple of songs on here with more of a low-key and conservative sound that are akin to Genia’s debut EP, but there are other moments where she decides to go outside the box a bit more. In those moments, Genia really shines and shows her potential and diversity in her artistry. 4 AM In The Ville is an entertaining R&B project with so much to love, and it makes me excited to see what Genia has cooking up next.

BEST TRACKS – ‘JUST FINE,’ ‘KNOW!,’ ‘DEAR LIFE’

8.4/10