The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 3, 2012

And just like that boys and girls, the first month of the "new" year is on its last legs. 2012 is going full steam ahead at this point with the third week of the year having whizzed quickly by without warning BUT thankfully NOT before it blessed us with some pretty AMAZING new and emerging music to carry us through the week. Here are our TOP FIVE BEST New & Emerging Music of the THIRD week of 2012 (16/01/12 - 22/01/12) after the jump, make sure you Listen + Comment + Share...

BJ THE CHICAGO KID + KENDRICK LAMAR - "HIS PAIN"

"His Pain" from Emerging R&B/Soul Singer and Songwriter BJ THE CHICAGO KID and West Coast rap "saviour" Kendrick Lamar is hands down my favorite piece of music to be released anywhere between 16/01/12 and 22/01/12. There's just something about this Sounwave-produced song that tugs and tugs and tugs at your heart strings - from the Jazzy keyboard strings and lingering horn arrangements to the hoarse, cracking and almost lost voice with which Lamar painstakingly render his rap verses to BJ's amazingly soulful, authentic and almost ethereal vocals - and the emotion and pain that's bursting at the seams of this record is rather undeniable. BJ The Chicago Kid's mixtape Pineapple Now-Laters drops on February 14 and if "His Pain" is any indication of what to expect then...

BJ The Chicago Kid + Kendrick Lamar - "His Pain":

JERMAINE RILEY - "NOBODY ELSE"

Ex-Fundamental (FDM) frontman JERMAINE RILEY released his official debut solo effort titled Hello Earth this last week, after a series of audio and visual teasers that have built up over the last half of 2010 up until this point. The 11-track debut album includes features from two of the UK's finest emerging "urban" talents - Lioness and Cherri V - as well as production from the likes of Maleek Berry (Port Mayfair) and veteran producer Dready and is a really great listen. However the track that stands out for us - heads and shoulders above the rest - is the Dready-produced "Nobody Else".

AZAD RIGHT - "BETTER DAYS"

Fresh on our radars is 23-year old rapper, songwriter, musician and producer AZAD RIGHT from Santa Monica, California. Having released his debut EP A Piece Of Mine about twelve months ago and the buzz-worthy mixtape The Time Is Right back in September, 2011, Azad begins 2012 as he means to go on with this Jonathan Marquez-produced opus titled "Better Days". Sampling "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, Azad Right and frequent collaborator Marquez create an absolute gem of a Hip-Hop record that speaks directly and very poignantly to the believer and optimist in all of us.

Azad Right - "Better Days":

CRIS CAB - "PUT IN WORK"

"Put In Work" represents the second offering we get to hear from the forthcoming Billionaire Boys Club-presented mixtape titled Echo Boom from young and fast-rising Miami-based singer, songwriter and musician CRIS CAB. It also represents the second Cris Cab appearance on our Best New & Emerging Music series of 2012 after the Pharrell Williams-produced "One Thing" which was released two weeks ago made it unto our Week One's list. "Put In Work" is produced by the legendary Wyclef Jean and Sedeck and in as much as we didn't wanna feature Cab again so soon after highlighting the amazing "One Thing", this song below simply CANNOT be denied.

MAY D - "ILE IJO"

After disappearing from this series during Week 2, the ever burgeoning sounds of Afrobeats makes a stellar and well-deserved return to the proceedings by way of this absolutel BANGER titled "Ile Ijo" from fast-rising singer/songwriter MAY D. The first signed artist to Square Records - the record label owned by veteran Nigerian Pop/R&B duo P-Square - May D has shone on numerous features with P-Square, Kel and Show Dem Camp among others and is now ready to explode unto the Afrobeats scene as a leading man. "Ile Ijo" is the first official offering of 2012 from May D and by all accounts, it is set to be a staple fixture on radio and in the clubs throughout the year.

So there you have it for this week. Everything from Pop to Soul to Hip-Hop to Afrobeats and the above five are our absolute best PICKS of the just concluded week. We'll be back in about seven days to run through the new and emerging music that will be released in this new week and of course to pick out only the VERY BEST for your listening pleasure! In case you missed the previous weeks in our Best New & Emerging Music series, check them out below...

Week TWO (2012) // Week ONE (2012) // 2011

Until the Next Time...