Tone Stith may still mostly be recognised for his talents as a songwriter—Stith co-wrote “Liquor” and “Make Love” from Chris Brown’s Royalty album—but with his FWM series, the Jersey native is hoping to step out from the shadows. The latest edition in the series, Stith's Still FWM EP, is a lean seven tracks of songwriting in the late-’90s/early-2000s R&B traditionalist mould. The production says as much with nods to Brian McKnight’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (“Do I Ever”) and Carl Thomas’ “I Wish” (“Something in the Water”), but it is Stith’s perspective as a lovelorn everyman on tracks like “I Don’t Wanna”, “Pressure” and the aforementioned “Do I Ever” that show us even aspiring R&B superstars just want to be loved.
- dvsn & Ty Dolla $ign
- Trevor Jackson