Kunde x Helena Casella - Shades of Navy (Official Video)

If you’re looking for a moment of calm in the chaos, Kunde’s new single “Shades of Navy” is a welcome escape. The Belgian rapper, producer and composer has a gift for weaving genres together, and here he slips between psychedelic rock, jazz and Dilla-esque hip hop with his usual ease. The result is a warm, immersive sound that feels both analogue and modern.

The track is the second glimpse of Late Bloomer, due 6 March via W.E.R.F., and follows the soulful “Bittersweet” with Fred Gata. Written and composed by Kunde and recorded with his live band, “Shades of Navy” captures the earthy, organic feel that runs through his work. A standout element is the collaboration with Helena Casella, whose airy, luminous vocals bring a sense of clarity to Kunde’s introspective mood.

More than a standard single, “Shades of Navy” feels like a small, blue tinted universe, an atmosphere rather than a moment, inviting listeners to sink inward and breathe.

Kunde, the Belgian Cameroonian multi-instrumentalist, has long moved fluidly between jazz, R&B, hip hop and afrobeat, blending poetic storytelling with thoughtful social commentary. Late Bloomer delves into the personal and the universal: childhood memories, friendship, loss, identity and the complicated space between his African and European roots. Drawing inspiration from Coltrane to D’Angelo, J Dilla to Verocai, the album follows 2024’s Dandelion, which helped expand his international reach.

Raised on his father’s polyrhythms and ’90s hip hop, Kunde taught himself beatmaking before branching out into piano, vocals, bass and composition. That DIY path has shaped a sound that feels global, contemporary and distinctly his own, sitting comfortably alongside the likes of Anderson .Paak, André 3000 and Butcher Brown.