Nyah Grace’s Us: Top Ten Summer Songs For You To Love

From Oregon via Manchester, Nyah Grace has a voice akin to dripping honey; rich, soulful and effortlessly beautiful. Her influences include soulful greats such as the iconic Billie Holiday, Alicia Keys and Estelle, each inspiring her via their vocal deliveries and styles. Her new album, Divinely Devoted, arrived on the 20th of June. Here she shares exclusively with .Cent her top ten summer songs. Find out more about her song choices here in Nyah Grace’s Us: Top Ten Summer Songs For You To Love

Nyah Grace emerged in 2019, followed by her first album, Honey-Coloured, in 2020. Described as a sound that blends confessional R&B with a smoky, modern soul edge, she garnered much social attention. She now returns with her second album, Divinely Devoted, a stripped-back yet emotionally rich collection, shaped alongside producer De’Jour Thomas (Chlöe, Fousheé, Monaleo).

Now based in Manchester after growing up in rural Oregon, Nyah draws from both sides of the Atlantic to craft songs that feel intimate and timeless. With comparisons to Mahalia and Lauryn Hill, her music is equal parts smooth, vulnerable, and empowered.

Here she shares with us ten songs that bring summer sunshine into her world, and now ours.

1.⁠ ⁠Sunny, Bobby Hebb

Robert Alvin Von Hebb, July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010, was an American R&B and soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording and performing artist, best known for his 1966 hit “Sunny”

“This song is just the embodiment of sunshine & everything that’s good in this world. Big fan of Boney M as well”.

2.⁠ ⁠Feed the Fire (ft. Lucky Daye) SG Lewis

Feed The Fire is a drum & bass producer from the hustling city of Hamburg in Germany. Originally launched in 2020, Samuel George Lewis is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is mostly known for collaborating with many artists 

Just so good. The melody is so crazy addictive, that I’ve probably listened to this song 300 times.

3.⁠ ⁠It Had To Be You Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. 

‘I heard this song for the first time in summer at a jazz camp I went to when I was 13. It was my introduction to Billie Holiday & listening to it changed the way I wrote, sang and approached music’.

4.⁠ ⁠Street You Live On (Live) Remi Wolf 

Remi Francis Wolf is an American singer and songwriter from Palo Alto, California. As a senior in high school, she appeared as a contestant on American Idol in 2014. After completing her undergraduate music studies in 2018, she made her solo debut with the self-released extended play You’re a Dog! in October 2019.

‘This live version specifically feels like driving late at night on a muggy summer night. It’s just perfect’.

5.⁠ ⁠Super Rich Kids Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt

Frank Ocean is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, known professionally as Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and record producer.

‘On that note, I actually did use to drive around listening to this song with my friends in summer’.

6.⁠ ⁠Love Me Not – Ravyn Lenae 

Ravyn Lenae Washington is an American R&B singer and songwriter from Chicago who is currently signed to Atlantic Records and the Three Twenty Three Music Group. She is also a member of the musical collective Zero Fatigue.

‘My current song of the summer. I will never, ever get sick of it’.

7.⁠ ⁠You Get What You Give, New Radicals 

New Radicals was an American pop-rock band formed in 1997 in Los Angeles. The band was centred on the duo of Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

‘This song just instantly gets me out of a shitty mood. I heard it for the first time in the Scooby Doo 2 movie. I must’ve been 10 or 11, so listening back to it reminds me of my childhood (and how absolutely fantastic that movie is)’

8.⁠ ⁠Montego Bae, Noname, Rayvn Lenae 

Fatimah Nyeema Warner, known professionally as Noname, is an American rapper. She began rapping and performing slam poetry in 2010. Ravyn Lenae Washington is an American R&B singer and songwriter from Chicago who is currently signed to Atlantic Records and the Three Twenty Three Music Group. She is also a member of the musical collective Zero Fatigue

‘This song is one of my absolute favourites, and to me just sounds like summer’.

9.⁠ ⁠Steal Away, Robbie Dupree 

Robert Dupuis, known professionally as Robbie Dupree, is an American singer best known for his hit songs “Steal Away” and “Hot Rod Hearts”

What is summer without yacht rock? 

10.⁠ ⁠Club Can’t Even Handle Me (ft. David Guetta) Flo Rida

Tramar Lacel Dillard, known professionally as Flo Rida, is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single “Low” was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release. Pierre David Guetta is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify

 ‘This song feels like the last night out/event/party/celebration of the summer. Just so good…’

Divinely Devoted, is Nyah’s second album and births a new direction for her. It delivers a bespoke brand of smoky, sassy confessional R&B over 10 tracks, co-written and produced with De’Jour Thomas (Chlöe, Fousheé, Monaleo). Her first album launched her as a vital new name in neo-soul and went on to achieve over 12 million streams while also leading her to work with the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae on the single ‘My Sista Told Me’.

A pulled-back, stripped-down production that accentuates the purity of her sensuous delivery. From the Lauryn Hill-styled opener ‘Back Of The Cab’, through to the slow-burn R&B of ‘I Know’, the album exudes creative synergy and a lush, mature sound.

To find out all you want to know, visit NyahGraceofficial.com here and listen to her music on Spotify here

If you enjoyed reading Nyah Grace’s Us: Top Ten Summer Songs For You To Love, then why not read Jil Sanders’ Beautiful and Conceptual Scent here.

.Cent Magazine London; Luxury Minded

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