Indie MCs represent and Kelly and Avant come through with the Valentine’s Day tunes on this week’s Sonic Boom.

Kelly Rowland – “Kissed Down Low”

Kelly ditched the David Guetta-inspired stuff for a slower, more sensual ode to going downtown… the euphemism. There’s not much explaining needed after that, right? This is like chopped and screwed meets 1990s R&B meets the new millennium, a.k.a. electric sex. And that’s all you need to know.

“Kissed Down Low” is available wherever music is sold, but you can listen to it here.

Malik 16 – “I Go”  

Malik 16 is what an MC should be—versatile and witty. That’s why when you listen to “I Go,” your first thought might be to scrunch up your face and say, “Why does he sound like he’s Southern if he’s not?” And then Malik kicks this lyric: “Harlem baby all night long/Might sound like a Southern song but y’all relate ’cause I’m so raw.”

“I Go” is a fast-paced, bouncy, anthemic tune about, well, going hard (no pun intended). The single is from an 8-song EP, Signed, tentatively slated for a spring release. “I Go” is fresh off the digital presses today on S.F.E., an imprint distributed by Fontana/Universal. Malik 16 is also releasing a March mixtape called The Best Rapper Never Heard.

In the meantime, listen to and purchase “I Go” here, and find out more about the artist at his website, 16’s Candles.

Timid “It’s That Time” ft. Lin Que and Rachel Walker

When is it not that time to go get yours? Exactly. If you’re not working toward your goals, then you should be. That’s all Timid, Lin Que (of the legendary X-Clan), and Rachel Walker are trying to say. They just added dope lyrics and a horn driven hook (produced by Domingo) as the motivating factor. Timid MC is a NYC-based artist finally coming into himself as a rapper, hence the name Timid MC. When he’s not putting out his own music, he can be found running congressional campaigns for rappers turned politicians, and generally being a productive member of the hip-hop community.

Listen here.

Avant – Face the Music

Avant is back with his seventh studio album, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The album is loaded with ballads, seduction, Avant’s deft songwriting skills and that voice. Face the Music is a mixture of mid-tempo and slow songs, and the highlight is “You and I”—a duet with Keke Wyatt, with whom Avant makes musical magic.

Face the Music just dropped today, and it’s available wherever music is sold.