Eli "Paperboy" Reed

A soul-blues revivalist who isn't strictly a traditionalist, Eli "Paperboy" Reed synthesized several strands of 1960s soul, marrying gritty Southern funk with gutsy Chicago blues. Although his 2008 breakthrough Roll with You was thoroughly steeped in retro sounds, a pair of major-label records -- 2010's Come and Get It! and 2014's Nights Like This -- proved that he could thread in such relatively modern elements as drum loops, and on 2019's 99 Cent Dreams, he invited rapper Big Daddy Kane in for a verse. Such stylistic hybrids were a common theme in Reed's catalog, also appearing on Down Every Road, his soulful tribute to country legend Merle Haggard.