Leslie Marie • "Bourbon"

Leslie Marie is a new name within the Chicago music scene, being as how she released her debut song on SoundCloud today and it currently has less than 100 plays. Ten of which are from me. Something tells me that those numbers will steadily grow as the word about the singer/ukulelist spreads. Via Rosa sent the song my way this morning with a heavy co-sign and I've been listening ever since. I find it necessary to spread the word of her sound, as "Bourbon" is one hell of a debut offering, perfect for this thunderstorm Thursday. Empowering and groovy as hell, the song might be best summed up by the line "I'm still gon' rock my fro", which is also Marie's Twitter bio description. It's also worth mentioning the line "Wealth don't equal health, health is your wealth, can't let 'em take you 'til you love yourself." Can we just quote this whole song?

"Bourbon" comes with production from JahRas, who first grabbed my attention last year with the instrumental album Free Food. Having since removed the project from SoundCloud, producer Nhyla has continued to release loose instrumentals and collaborations, working with names like Ric Wilson and Jean Deaux. Along with production, JahRas also plays violin, meshing her instrumentation with soulful yet bass-driven beats.

"Bourbon" is one to throw on repeat for a while as you welcome a new face and name to the Chicago music world.