As Sudanese-American rapper Bas was prepping the release of Melanchronica, his somber joint album with London duo the Hics, one major hiccup stood in the way. The sample on “Four Walls,” a break-up ...

Until 2015, though, it appeared that soul as a mainstream genre was, for the most part, dying out. The few times that I remember hearing such '70s- and '80s-tugging melodies blaring at a public venue ...