Getty Image/Merle Cooper
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.
SZA will co-headline the Grand National Tour across stadium venues in the US alongside Kendrick Lamar and Khalid and Normani teamed to get “Personal” with their lovers on their new collaboration. Victoria Monét announced a new holiday version of Jaguar II just in time in for Christmas while Jessie Reyez wishes everyone a “Merry Nothin” on her new anti-hoiday song. Elsewhere, Tems and Asake “Get It Right” in their new music video.
Here are the new releases you need to have your eye on this week:
Khalid — Sincere (Deluxe)
Four months after releasing his third album Sincere, Khalid back with its deluxe edition. The updated version adds six songs to the original album including collaborations with Normani, Ayra Starr, and Khalid. “My favorite part about the deluxe is showcasing the talented black women that I have as my collaborators that kill the game time and time again,” Khalid said about the Sincere deluxe. “This is me giving them their flowers.”
Highlights: “Make It Up To You” Feat. Ayra Starr, “Passionate” & “MIA” Feat. Chlöe
Queen Naija — “Straight Outta Heaven”
Queen Naija’s new single “Straight Outta Heaven” is a sweet ode to her second son and a moment for her highlight the connection between love, hope, and divinity. “To me this song feels like a sequel to ‘Mama’s Hand,’ which was written for my first born son,” she says about the new song. When I became pregnant with my 2nd born, I worried how I would be able to split my love in half, which is something I know many mothers can identify with. That feeling lead me to creating ‘Straight Outta Heaven.’”
Jacquees — “Just Another Love Song” Feat. DeJ Loaf
Weeks after releasing his Baby Making album, Jacquees is back with new music, this time alongside longtime collaborator DeJ Loaf. The new track, titled “Just Another Love Song,” is the first single off the upcoming sequel to their 2017 project F*ck A Friend Zone. There isn’t a release date for the mixtape at the moment, but “Just Another Love Song” is a great warm up to its impending release.
Roy Woods — Rolling Stone
OVO Sound’s genre-bending star Roy Woods lays off an electric project with his new EP Rolling Stone. With seven songs to its name, the project presents Woods as free and adventurous as we’ve seen him in a while. “The Rolling Stone project is a special one for the catalogue,” Roy said in a press release. “I wanted to make sure I give fans a more grown version of what they know from me, a more complete version, the same Roy they’ve always known in a different light.”
Highlights: “She Don’t Care Bout My Name,” “Rockstar Baby,” & “Outside”
THEY. — “Straight Up”
On Valentine’s Day, R&B duo THEY. — comprised of singer Drew Love and producer Dante Jones — will release their fourth album Love.Jones. Along with the album announcement, the duo also released the project’s second single “Straight Up.” It’s a thumping track that documents the first moments with a new lover and the confidence required to make sure the encounter is worthwhile for everyone involved.
Elmiene — For The Deported
British-Sudanese singer ELmiene checks in with his third project of the year with For The Deported. The EP, which follows this year’s Marking My Time (Again) and Anyway I Can, delivers six songs to fulfill Elmiene’s goal of advocating for struggles in his home country. “Sudan is the reason I’m here right now,” he says in a press release. ” There’s a lot of deporting going on in our world. Whether it is Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, or any other country, it is a real thing. I haven’t made a real comment or notion on it yet, and it just felt like a duty to my blood and role as an artist to make a statement.”
Highlights: “Open Light,” “Avalon,” & “Promise Me A Rose”
Karri — Late Nite Slider Music
San Francisco-bred singer Karri released his debut project Late Nite Slider Music. It’s arrival comes as Karri continues to gain more eyes thanks to the success of his “Oakland Pt. 2” track. That sound that people fell in love with on that song is now available on whole project thanks to Late Nite Slider Music and its six songs.
Highlights: “Late Nite Slider Music,” “Oakland Pt. 2” & “415 To The 6”
Jayla Darden — Momentum
Pleas for a new Jayla Darden project have finally been answered as the Detroit returns with Momentum. The project, which is her first since 2019’s On To Something, delivers seven songs for a body of work that Darden says is about “regaining momentum as an artist and taking purposeful steps to reclaim the driver’s seat of my journey.”
Highlights: “Not Adding Up,” “Too Close” & “Harmless”
Genia — “10 Out Of 10”
Genia is having a lot of fun right now and her recent singles are proof of that. It continues with “10 Out Of 10,” a dance-ready tune that’s inspired by 2000s R&B and pop records. “It’s also a pump up song,” she said in a press release. “It’s for all seasons. When you’re doubting yourself or you did something to make yourself proud, throw this song on and sing it with your whole chest.”
Rhyan Douglas — “Magic Gurl” Feat. Lekan
Rhyan Douglas and Lekan — two rising artists in the R&B world — bring their talents together for their new song “Magic Gurl.” It follows the strong showing that Douglas and Lekan put on their debut projects — Circles and So We Know, respectively. In the end, “Magic Gurl” proves why both singers are worth your attention in the new year.
Gabriel Jacoby — “Brother And Sister”
South Carolina’s Gabriel Jacoby arrives with a new touching single in “Brother And Sister.” Jacoby uses the record to sending a loving message to the people he’s close to in his life and thank them for their continued love and support. “It’s a promise that no matter how far I go chasing my dreams, my love for them is unconditional,” he says in a press release. “Nothing—no obstacle or distance—will keep me from coming back to them.”
Chocc — Journals To Johnny
Cori Broadus, better known as Chocc, steps into the spotlight with the release of her debut EP Journals To Johnny. The singer, who is the daughter of Snoop Dogg, explores her evolution into womanhood the self-discovery that comes with growing as a person and as a person. “I wanted to be more relatable when it came to music because, in the beginning, I didn’t go through anything,” Chocc says about the EP. “I didn’t have the life experiences as I do now. It took growing up to channel those emotions.”
Check out this week’s R&B selections as well as favorites from past weeks through our Best New R&B Songs Of The Week playlist.
