For Omar Wilson, Don’t Pull Away, his collaboration with singer, songwriter, producer, and actress BETH, arrives during GRAMMY season carrying something deeper than the momentum surrounding a new record. The single feels connected to a journey The Hype Magazine has watched unfold for years, from Wilson’s interpretations of soul standards and early chart victories to collaborations with established voices and, most recently, a memorable conversation with Eddie Levert Sr. about legacy, vulnerability, and the responsibility of carrying soul music forward.

Released July 3, Don’t Pull Away brings Wilson and BETH together for an emotionally grounded R&B duet about resisting the instinct to retreat when a relationship demands vulnerability.

“This song is about choosing connection over fear,” Wilson said. “We’ve all had moments when pulling away feels easier than staying. ‘Don’t Pull Away’ encourages us to lean in instead.”

It is a simple message delivered by two singers who understand that soul music rarely needs complication when the emotion is real.

From Eddie Levert’s Co-Sign to GRAMMY Season

The timing makes Wilson’s latest chapter particularly meaningful.

In November 2025, I had the privilege of sitting down with Wilson alongside Eddie Levert Sr., one of the definitive voices in American soul music, for a conversation about timeless R&B, legacy, and what it takes for music to survive beyond the moment in which it is created.

For me, there was an unmistakable sense of a passing of the torch taking place during that conversation.

Wilson had recorded his interpretation of Gerald Levert’s “Baby I’m Ready,” and Eddie Levert’s response carried the weight that can only come from someone intimately connected to the song, the artist, and the tradition surrounding both.

Wilson understood the significance immediately.

“This is my Grammy, my Magna Cum Laude moment,” he said during our conversation.

That statement lands differently now.

Less than a year later, Wilson enters another GRAMMY season with an original collaboration that reflects many of the principles discussed during that exchange: emotional honesty, vulnerability, respect for the soul tradition, and the importance of making songs listeners can recognize themselves inside.

For readers who missed that extraordinary conversation, The Hype Magazine’s feature, Eddie Levert Sr. and Omar Wilson: Defining Timeless R&B Legacy, offers a deeper look at a moment I remain proud to have helped document.

‘Don’t Pull Away’ Turns Vulnerability Into Strength

The song explores the delicate territory between wanting connection and fearing what it requires.

Wilson and BETH approach that tension as a conversation rather than a vocal competition. Their individual strengths remain evident, but the record works because neither performer overwhelms the story.

Instead, their voices meet inside it.

BETH describes the song‘s message in similarly universal terms.

“The message is universal. Relationships require vulnerability, and this song reminds us of the beauty that can happen when we allow ourselves to be seen and loved.”

That idea connects directly to something Wilson told The Hype during his conversation with Eddie Levert.

“It’s about showing emotion and being real.”

Don’t Pull Away puts that philosophy into practice.

The song recognizes that intimacy is rarely built exclusively from the grand moments people celebrate publicly. Sometimes it is created in the quieter decision to remain present when withdrawing would be easier.

Wilson and BETH make that emotional choice the center of the record.

The Hype Has Watched Wilson’s Soul Journey Unfold

Wilson’s connection to the traditions of soul music did not begin with this release.

The Hype Magazine’s coverage of his career stretches back years, documenting an artist steadily building his identity around both reverence for the genre and a determination to contribute something of his own.

A three-time Apollo Theater winner, Wilson first attracted significant attention through performances that showcased his ability to approach established soul material without treating it as museum music.

His interpretation of James Brown‘s “It’s A Man’s World” helped introduce audiences to the depth and authority of his voice. His journey also included a rendition of Sam Cooke‘s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” another recording requiring far more than technical ability from anyone daring enough to approach it.

Those choices mattered.

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Before asking audiences to accept him as someone capable of advancing the tradition, Wilson demonstrated that he understood its language.

Over time, that respect for the foundation translated into increasingly significant creative relationships.

Wilson worked with the late Angie Stone, including on Get to Know You, and previously joined Sisqó, Raheem DeVaughn, and Shawn Stockman for a contemporary interpretation of Quincy Jones’ classic The Secret Garden.

Each moment placed Wilson within conversations that extended beyond any individual single.

They represented contact points with the larger history of R&B and soul.

Moving From Interpretation to Contribution

That distinction provides an important way to understand where Wilson stands today.

Earlier chapters of his career showed audiences how convincingly he could interpret songs connected to some of soul music’s most important figures.

The next chapter is about what he adds to the tradition himself.

Don’t Pull Away helps answer that question.

Rather than leaning on nostalgia, Wilson and BETH deliver an original record with an unmistakably classic emotional foundation. The subject is contemporary, but the mechanism is timeless: two expressive singers, a meaningful lyric, and enough space for listeners to find their own experiences within the performance.

That is where the connection to Eddie Levert’s perspective becomes especially compelling.

Our 2025 conversation was not simply about preserving old records. It was about understanding why certain records endure.

The greatest soul songs survive because people continue recognizing themselves in them.

Fear of losing someone.

The hesitation before saying what needs to be said.

The difficulty of letting another person see you completely.

The decision to stay.

Don’t Pull Away operates inside that emotional vocabulary.

BETH Brings Her Own Legacy to the Collaboration

Wilson is not carrying this record alone.

BETH brings a substantial musical history of her own to the partnership.

The Detroit native is the daughter of Johnny Griffith, a member of Motown’s legendary Funk Brothers, giving her a direct familial connection to one of the most important musical movements in American history.

Yet BETH’s career has never depended solely on lineage.

As a singer, songwriter, producer, and actress, she has toured internationally with artists including Anita Baker, KEM, and The O’Jays, while a wider television audience encountered her through NBC’s The Voice.

Her work as an independent artist has further established a vocal and storytelling identity rooted in experience rather than imitation.

That makes her a particularly fitting counterpart for Wilson.

Both artists understand musical heritage. More importantly, both understand that respecting heritage does not mean remaining trapped inside it.

On Don’t Pull Away, their chemistry comes from that shared understanding.

Soul Music Still Requires the Truth

There is a reason vulnerability remains such a durable subject in R&B.

Production evolves. Radio formats change. Streaming alters how audiences discover music. Artists find new ways to blend genres and speak to different generations.

Human emotion does not move nearly as quickly.

People still want to be loved.

They still fear rejection.

They still protect themselves.

They still sometimes withdraw at precisely the moment connection requires them to stay.

That is the space Wilson and BETH occupy on Don’t Pull Away.

And perhaps that is why the record feels especially appropriate as it moves through GRAMMY season. Its strength is not built around chasing a moment. It comes from working within a tradition that has always understood emotional truth as one of music’s most powerful currencies.

Another Chapter in a Story The Hype Knows Well

There is something rewarding about watching an artist’s story develop over time.

Years ago, The Hype Magazine documented Omar Wilson interpreting the soul masters.

We watched his catalog grow.

We watched important collaborations arrive.

We watched him receive recognition from artists whose work helped define the genre he loves.

Then came that conversation with Eddie Levert, a moment that felt to me like one generation acknowledging another artist willing to accept the responsibility that accompanies the music.

Wilson called that endorsement “my Grammy.”

Today, the symbolism is difficult to miss.

As Don’t Pull Away moves through GRAMMY season, Wilson is no longer simply demonstrating that he can honor the soul tradition.

Alongside BETH, he is adding another chapter to it.

And this time, the story is entirely their own.

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