Pure

Pure (first name Pierre) is a contemporary R&B artist whose Newark, New Jersey origin tends to be evident in the club foundation that informs some of his independently released recordings. The singer and songwriter emerged during the 2010s with singles such as "Body Talk" (2010) and "The Stars" (2012), the latter of which cracked Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and resembled the classic-meets-contemporary approach of Raheem DeVaughn. Aligned with production team and label Venture Brotherz, Pure continued to make strides with the mixtape Let Your Body Talk (2013), as well as "Pretty Girls on the Highway," "Dance with the Devil," and "Stretch" (all 2015), which were firmly rooted in then-current commercial R&B radio sounds. ~ Andy Kellman