Dennis Lloyd

With his husky voice and innovative mix of R&B, hip-hop, and singer/songwriter fare, Israel’s Dennis Lloyd has perfected a post-genre sound that’s both brutally honest and infectiously laidback. Lloyd, born Nir Tibor in 1993, grew up in Tel Aviv playing the trumpet and guitar as a teen, then launched a music career in his early 20s. Fresh out of his service in the Israeli Navy, Lloyd took off to the humid climes of Bangkok, where he spent a year writing dozens of songs and pursuing a passionate romance. Alas, the relationship didn’t last, but it formed the inspiration for his breakout 2016 single, “Nevermind,” a smouldering proclamation of commitment and desire guided by a finger-snapping beat and mellow guitar strums. A consummate rebel in the vein of iconoclast crooners like The Weeknd, Lloyd anchors his tracks with looping hooks and heady beats, letting his passions and frustrations show through with soulful cries, melancholy chords, and unvarnished lyrics, as heard on his first label-backed EP, 2019’s Exident. He’s an innovative arranger and producer with a gift for exploring texture and atmosphere—and even at his lowest moments, he can lift the mood with a jazzy trumpet solo.