If there’s one thing that rising star ayoka knows how to do better than most anyone in her scene at the moment, it’s set the mood to a new slow jam inside of ten seconds flat. Oozing from the speakers with a strange sense of insistence and intensity that will swell at the first appearance of her lead vocal, ayoka’s “Elevate” comes into focus with a seductive melody capable of sweeping anyone away with its smoking allure. “Elevate” is a song indebted to traditional R&B, but layered with a dark sensuality more rooted in contemporary concepts than it is anything else.

In her new video, ayoka doesn’t mind being as erotic in her visual interpretation of “Elevate” as the song is without any imagery to accompany its verses, but she stops well short of cheapening the aesthetic with needless sexuality where there needn’t be any. We’re teased with lustiness here, not overwhelmed by its very presence, and if you’ve been following pop music in the last three years, you’re aware of just how uncommon an approach this has become (unfortunately, I might add). This is a good example of restraint producing lush results, and it’s one I’d like to see other rookies try and replicate on their own sometime.

The production quality of both the single and its video are top of the line by all accounts, but they don’t incite a grand reaction from listeners and viewers exclusively on the strength of cosmetic varnish. The substance of this material is the biggest star of the show in “Elevate,” possibly even more than ayoka herself is, and her willingness to turn the spotlight towards the content over the creator is yet another point within her artistry that I’d love to see become a trend (starting with inside of her L.A. scene, preferably).

I doubt I’m alone in seeing big things ahead of ayoka, and though I think she’ll do well to explore her melodic depth a bit more than she already has in this track and its parent album, Venus, there’s no arguing her validity as an important California artist to keep your eye on in the years to come. I’ll be ready to see her hit the stage when the time comes to return to the live music circuit, and with the talent she’s got, I’m certain she won’t disappoint in most any venue she decides to bring this content into.

John McCall