September: 9 urban releases you need to hear this month

Jax Jones feat Mile Dunn & MNEK 'House Work' (Polydor Records)

Jax was behind ‘I Got U’ with Duke Dumont and while his last release ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ was largely slept on, ‘House Work’ is going to be far harder to ignore. Featuring a sultry vocal hook from MNEK, it’s Chicago house producer Mike Dunn who creams all over this hip hop-influenced and bass-heavy club track.

9/10

Marsha Ambrosius 'Have You Ever' (VP Music Group)

Marsha Ambrosius, undoubtedly one of the finest vocalists ever to leave South London, has laid down her powerhouse range for every big rapper in the game including Dr Dre. “This is like sugar,” she sings on her cover of Dennis Brown’s ‘Have You Ever’, and she’s not lying.

9/10

Tom Misch 'I Wish' (Beyond The Groove)

Bringing subtle funk and some nifty riffs, ‘I Wish’ is taken from young South London-based singer-songwriter Tom Misch’s ‘Reverie EP’. With a love of music that covers everything from the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Nirvana to artists such as J Dilla and Erykah Badu, his passion is evident in the soulful guitar here.

9/10

Kiko Bun 'Can’t Hold Back' (Island)

Northwest Londoner Kiko Bun is back with his strain of sun-kissed reggae, hip hop and soul. Having appeared at every festival worth its salt this year, Bun’s flying the homegrown reggae flag high – and this new track from the keen storyteller is what you want to be listening to as the sun’s starting to set.

8/10

They Say Jump 'Twilight' (TSJ Music)

Muted reggae guitars and a broody r’n’b vocal with real depth make this an interesting release from London band They Say Jump. Think of releases by the likes of Kwabs, Zak Abel, Alex Clare and you’re in the right ballpark. Produced by Ed West (Dan Boyle, Kibir La Amlak), ‘Twilight’ is truly a beautiful piece of music for those romantic nights.

8/10

Blood Orange 'Augustine' (Domino Records)

Dev Hynes isn’t one to give you convention: for him, the vision is the key, and it’s usually delivered with the kind of artistry that makes you think of Prince or Michael Jackson. While the music of ‘Augustine’ could easily stand alone as an instrumental, this is more like two tracks in one with a spoken word element coupled with the more typical Blood Orange vocals. Lovely stuff.

7/10

Mabel 'Thinking Of You' (Polydor)

Another artist from the BBC’s regular Sound Of... poll, Mabel is regarded as one of the best r’n’b artists London’s produced for a hot minute. She’s got a vibe, and Aaliyah it ain’t – and while there’s still a bit too much pop in the mix for us, Mabel’s certainly got enough attitude.

7/10

Lil Wayne, Wiz Klhalifa & Imagine Dragons 'Sucker For Pain' (Atlantic/Warner Bros)

Lord knows how they worked out the royalty splits on this track, as Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons are joined by Logic, Ty Dolla $ign and X Ambassadors. Ultimately this sounds exactly like what it is: a song thrown together for a film soundtrack (in this case, the new DC Comics anti-hero blockbuster Suicide Squad). It’s not going to go down in history, but Lil Wayne’s released far worse.

6/10

Frances 'Say It Again' (Capitol Records)

One of the artists tipped to dominate 2016, Frances wowed with the edgy ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘When It Comes To Us’, but ‘Say It Again’ is pretty twee. Suited to the Adele lovers out there (note it’s co-written by Greg Kurstin), here’s a nice pop song that you’ll hear on repeat at weddings – or perhaps when getting dumped.

6/10