R&B artist Khamari shares 10Trax that mean something to him, from Curtis Mayfield to Marvin Gaye to Tracy Chapman.

LA-based, Khamari grew up in the Dorchester neighbourhood of Boston, and studied at the city’s Berklee College of Music, taking some time to absorb and examine an impressively diffuse array of influences, ranging from the Beatles to Stevie Wonder to Kid Cudi.

 

After putting in the hard work, Khamari made his musical debut in 2019 with his first EP ‘Eldorado’, a selection of tunes that gave listeners an intimate look into his unique vision as an artist. The EP was met with critical acclaim, featured on prestigious playlist spots such as the Fresh Finds section of Spotify, the New Black and Breakthrough R&B section of Amazon Music, and the Rising section of Tidal.

 

His latest single, “Doctor, My Eyes”, delves deeper into the artist’s journey of self-discovery and self-awareness. Khamari has said that “Doctor, My Eyes” is about looking for perspective. “When I wrote it I had moved from Boston to LA and was trying to make sense of my life. A lot of things were shifting too fast to keep up with, but things I hoped would change stayed the same. I got put on to this Jackson Browne record, and the story resonated with me. That’s where I got the title. It’s about him being desperate to make any sense of his life and experiences. Then a friend played me Incubus, the song ‘Mexico’. I knew I wanted to lay out these thoughts over a guitar that intimate. In the outro, my grandfather is the voice that gives me advice because he’s always been an anchor for me.”

 

To celebrate his new drop, we asked Khamari to pick the 10Trax he had on repeat, ranging from The Beatles to Kendrick Lamar to Jay Z. Dive in!

"Mexico" by Incubus

This song sonically was a big part of the inspiration behind “Doctor, My Eyes.” The mix, and the blend between the guitars and the strings is perfect. It’s the perfect setting for the emotion Brandon Boyd is delivering.

"Move on Up" by Curtis Mayfield

"Coming out of the last few years we’ve had, I think this is a message we all need to hear. The arrangement and the trumpets in this are unmatched."

"Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman

"A classic."

"Yesterday" by The Beatles

"I played this about 100 times on my drive from Boston to California."

"Song Cry" by Jay Z

"One of my favorite songs of all time. It also was the first Jay-Z song I ever heard. The sample of Bobby Glenn’s “Sounds like a love song” has the most nostalgic feeling, and the drums are incredible."

"Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst" by Kendrick Lamar

"I read about how different producers produced each section of this song because I always thought the production on this track was hypnotic, and Kendrick’s storytelling here was crazy. When I found out they sampled the drums from “Use Me,” by Bill Withers, my mind was blown."

"Inner City Blues" by Marvin Gaye

"Reminds me of listening to music on the record player downstairs in my grandfather's basement."

"Through the Wire" by Kanye West

"Can’t believe this was Kanye’s debut single."

"Doctor, My Eyes" by Khamari

Khamari’s new single "Doctor, My Eyes" is out now.