Nigerian producer Bashirat Adedoyin Owolabi, known professionally as Baash, has released Honey, a four-track instrumental EP sitting comfortably at the intersection of jazz and R&B. The project carries no vocals, letting guitar, piano, trumpet, saxophone, and strings do all the heavy lifting across its runtime.
The EP opens with "Velvet Muse," a smooth blend of R&B and jazz built around a trumpet melody supported by guitar, piano, and percussion. It carries a romantic, old-school warmth, the kind of sound you put on during a quiet evening at home with someone you care about. "Becoming" follows in a similar spirit, but this time the saxophone steps forward, bringing a more emotional weight to the arrangement while soft piano and percussion hold things together underneath.
"Home" takes a slight turn with an orchestral touch, strings giving the track a warm, almost meditative quality. Picture a rooftop somewhere in Lagos on a calm Friday evening, drink in hand, week finally behind you. That is the mood Baash conjures here. The closing track, "Embracing the Sun," wraps things up with the energy of a live jam session, piano and trumpet trading melodies before the guitar gets its own moment toward the end.
What holds the project together is Baash's restraint. Nothing feels cluttered. Each instrument gets its spotlight without stepping on the others, which is no small feat when you are working with this many voices in a single arrangement.
If old-school R&B and jazz already have a place in your rotation, Honey will feel like familiar ground with a fresh set of hands behind it. "Velvet Muse" and "Home" are the standouts, but "Becoming" deserves a second listen too, especially for the saxophone.
Originally published by NotJustOk.