Blake is currently signed to No I.D.‘s ARTium imprint, and No I.D. himself actually executive produced the EP. Blake spoke of No I.D.’s involvement in a  recent interview on RapUp: “You can expect No I.D. at his finest. He’s pushing it. I think everybody’s heard him do stuff for Common and Kanye, like the edgy hip-hop stuff, but this time they’ll really get a glimpse of No I.D. doing some cool, progressive R&B, soulful production.”

Cool and soulful are the perfect modifiers to describe this EP. The tracks are smooth and deep, booming beats intermixed with jungle drums and longing cries from Blake. J. Cole lended his talents on “Vendetta,” the only collaborative track on the release. Cole’s calm, confident verses fit in perfect with Blake’s wistful and powerful falsetto. There’s something undeniably sexy about Blake, sort of like if Chris Brown and The Weeknd made a sound baby. But what’s most interesting is that no two songs on this release sound the same. Cut to “Imagination,” which has a real country feel to it.

You can stream the full EP here, and also check out Blake’s lusty video for “Strange Fruit.”

The post New Music: Elijah Blake – “Drift” EP appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.