R&B 2015

Let's do this!

We'll begin with Jazmine Sullivan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed2nSh7QraY

lol oops rolling R&B thread 2015

gonna just throw my post from the other thread in here before i ask mods to delete that thread:

should hopefully be getting albums this year from Miguel, Jeremih (?), Maxwell (???????), Frank Ocean, Usher, Ne-Yo, Jazmine Sullivan, T-Pain, Tamar Braxton, The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign, TeeFLii, Elle Varner, Brandy, and Alicia Keys.

i heard a really good new Sevyn Streeter single, "Don't Kill The Fun," on the radio today, but it doesn't appear to be online yet (which I didn't think was possible anymore.

― un chill goon (some dude), Monday, January 5, 2015 8:26 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm excited for jazmine's album; "forever don't last" clicked w/ me so much recently

i need to hear that sevyn streeter single!! was chris brown on it? my googling just now seems to indicate that possibility

yeah, CB is on it. i missed the beginning of the song so it's possible he has a verse or something but he didn't seem like he was on it very prominently, like glorified backup vocals basically.

this was from last year, oh well, but i dont think i saw it in the R&B thread?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC2XwUazy1Q

new jazmine stream!

http://uk.complex.com/music/2015/01/jazmine-sullivan-reality-show-album-premiere

"Mascara" is a wonderful song but I'm not quite feeling the rest of the album besides "Stanley."

the run from "forever don't last" to "masterpiece" is all really good to me. the rest other than "dumb" and "mascara" did not really click on one listen... but then again "forever don't last" is prob my favorite of them all and it had to grow on me over the course of ~a month.

pretty psyched to dig into this. Dumb, Forever and Mascara were top tracks for last year.

ha i came in to say i'm really feeling this brooding, dissatisfied album and i haven't even got to the stretch you guys love yet

her voice is a revelation

i'm going to be in a work cave for most of this month and i'm pretty happy that i can just soundtrack it with an endless loop of the rae sremmurd/dawn richard/jazmine sullivan albums. 2015 already better than 2014 tbh

and then i got to "stanley" and omg its outro and that bassline

I spoke too soon. "Stupid Girl," "Hoodlove," "Veins" – I love this. She's never sounded so confident, and the material allows her to perform with a hint of glamorous self-parody.

someone have a link for j sullivan 4 me

http://uk.complex.com/music/2015/01/jazmine-sullivan-reality-show-album-premiere

Matt Bomer, who looks like Josh Brolin restyled as a Reagan administration lawyer, will play Monty Clift in an upcoming biopic.

lol wrong thread

boys have toys too, you know they do
they call us stupid girls, they call us stupid girls
and when you love 'em like i do, you'll be a fool
you'll be a stupid girl, you'll be a stupid girl

dissatisfaction over making money (whether behind-the-curtain music industry stuff or theatre girl roles like "silver lining"), dissatisfaction over love that builds up to the most uptempo trax...who knew jazmine could sound so good so jaded? her last album was so elated

her vocal delivery on "stupid girl" and "if you dare" is unlike anything she's ever done before

"dumb" and "forever don't last" feel like real red herrings!

"Mascara" too – it's like she's attempting some mocking theatrical Shirley Bassey shit that works.

i thought Love Me Back was a fantastic album and a hard act to follow, but so far this one is at least close to the same standard

according to the songwriting credits this is much more spare too: very much an intimate affair.

I officially love this record. The bonus track "If You Dare" is terrific too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fohpiig8N4U

heh, i didn't know jazmine premiered "stupid girls" last year...to a barbershop full of men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkC3ZEb-_7s

new sevyn streeter also existent and it's a great look for her, love those early 90s house horns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcHppmXGGK4

jazmine album is great; excited to hear about the sevyn release... sad to see her continuing to have to piggyback on less interesting male r+b dorks

that youtube is slowed down i think; see http://www.josepvinaixa.com/blog/sevyn-streeter-dont-kill-the-fun-premiere/

but i love it!! so fresh and floaty, makes me wanna move fast then slow :)

xp Wow, Chris Brown sounds like hell there. Maybe he had a cold? Or did they just not tweak his voice in the studio? Like, why even have him on the track if that's his contribution?

oh i didn't listen to the youtube i just d/lded an mp3

sadly chris's mere presence on the track will help it fly up radio playlists

good song but i wish the drums weren't so busy underneath, the whole of the production doesn't really work 100% for me

love the jazmine

I'm curious as to who produced "Stanley".

stanley does feel like the next most likely standout after the already released singles don't it.

I'm curious as to who produced "Stanley".

― Tay-Tay Brooklynpants (Murgatroid),

Da Internz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaRypcAQGps

http://thumbs.gograph.com/gg66440626.jpg

they're gonna ride this formula out huh

i mean, it's obv a bottle of red preserves, kinda cant deny that, but conceptual & at a remove it's kind of a boring maneuver

that be the pectin

i mean yeah objectivity don't really come into it but eh who cares

basically i glean all of this from the tim westwood radio show here because tim continues to curate his dancehall style juggling sections of mustard wave and it is all simply irresistable

like the other week he even had me vibing on this before i had to slap myself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDDVE2l0sPw

lol martorialist has been trying to get me into that for weeks prob bc of westwood

not clicking for me tho

not that anyone should be proud of capitalizing off 'thots' but of COURSE its French Montana who manages to swipe that one

lol yeah there is quite literally no other explanation for a fondness for that tune

tim seems to still have his old hotline to ny going so he plays the shit out of even the most minor french montana appearance, and that plus tim's trick of playing no more than 90 seconds of anything leads to these regrettable jammings

fwiw i checked the recent show i was thinking of and he fired thru all these in series

French Montana - Bad Bitch (feat. Jeremih / Diggy Simmons ft French Montana - Ain't Bout To Do / French Montana ft Jeremih & Chris Brown - Don't Panic / Wash - Can't Trust Thots ft. French Montana

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6436328/tomorrows-hits-natalie-la-rose-wash-josh-dorr

damn both of these were profiled here now i look l8

otoh how can i compete with the article's author mr g thot here https://twitter.com/gthot20

lol

they're just using shazam prob

i passed on covering natalie la rose for the french montana/jeremih record for my column but i feel like the latter just has a nice menacing darkness to it which is refreshing in the ratchet milieu

la rose's mannishly dorky "in the cluuhhh like wuuhhh goin duhhh like wuhhh" bit is a relatively unexpected treat, for a leona lewis lookalike at least

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of0mjP09Idg

;_;

that la rose song is great, we touched on it in the pop thread. lol-obv whitney interpolation but it works a lot better than "don't tell em" imo

the jazmine album is so, so well sequenced, albeit it feels like its narrative starts at "mascara" and ends at "masterpiece" (with "if you dare" feeling like a victory lap bonus track)

pshhhhhhh pop thread. no conviction sops to the moribund

http://saintheron.com/featured/devonte-hynes-reviews-jazmine-sullivans-reality-show-album/

Dev Hynes reviews the album

I did too: http://www.spin.com/reviews/jazmine-sullivan-reality-show/

new ciara single out of nowhere ... prod by harmony samuels, co-written w/ some fool from rock city who's really taking the success of "i don't mind" as license to do his fake migos ad libs all over the place

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6436671/ciara-i-bet-exclusive-song-premiere

i'm.... willing to give this the benefit of the doubt. i guess i have a soft spot for songs that sound like fake ne-yo songs written by stargate

imagine they're gonna need a new single to really get an album in motion but this is decent gossip fodder at least

These faux-Future ad-libs are hilarious.

Song would be good without those adlibs

album's gonna be called jackie apparently, no release date given

song's aight, might grow on me

Rock City must be stopped

well this is embarrassing

this new ne-yo single is kinda nice but the chorus is pretty underwritten https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lao5NnhhEVE

Timothy Bloom's new song is '60s soulman meets Prince plus 808s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOaph8MAlI#t=61

that Ne-Yo single is much better than Jessie J.

*er, the Juicy J collab

lol i was gonna say, not a very high bar to clear

http://highlineballroom.com/show/2015/02/25/luke-james-bj-the-chicago-kid/

http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/5rQ0tsWmY41jKw4bNmllLN

ty

np. let's see if I can keep this up!

The new Ne-Yo album is really great, glad he's mostly jettisoned EDM (and in the moments that it's used, it makes sense within the context of the songs)

well that's an exciting report

21 tracks huh

Mine has 19, but yeah, it's kinda long so it fizzles out a bit near the end and "She Knows" is reallyyyy jarring within the context of this album, like they should have made it a bonus track or left it off entirely

"coming with you" is very "down on my luck"!

LOL @ the moment "she knows" comes in, i think murgatroid's warning made it less jarring than it probably is.

yeah, i'm enjoying this so far. "integrity" was quite striking

"story time" is striking in a bad way o_0

ne-yo protesting too much in it

new jodeci!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iTkHE7Zyes

I want to believe Ne-Yo will be good again but YOTG sounds like his last will and testament.

This Jodeci!

speaking of nineties comebacks: the new Johnny Gill track has him doing a credible Pharrell imitation.

I literally turned off everything in my room to play that Jodeci

I'm sitting here in darkness and my computer is off and I have no idea how I'm posting or listening to Jodeci rn but I am

"Story Time," wft?

so wtf i can't even type wtf correctly

enjoying this track by (i guess) a relatively new singer named alexandria: https://soundcloud.com/supernaturaltracks/a-l-e-x-a-n-d-r-i-a-treat-me-bad-bad-ep-2015

i like that

is jazmine sullivan really going to not push "stupid girl" and "stanley" as singles

honestly, making songs as good as those then just sitting on them

Stupid Girl should be huge. The problem is that they seem kinda intent on hiding her from view since she's gained weight, cf. the album cover.

comparing how jazmine and adele's careers have been managed is infuriating

"stupid girl" is a great song but i do think it's probably hamstrung by the winehouse-lite production

Well I kinda agree but tbh I think the song and her performance are cathartic enough to break through the barrier. The if you're like me - you'll be a stupid girl trope is goose bump inducing.

I created a playlist in which a Sullivan and Dawn Richard song alternate.

i love both those records but that sounds like a terrible way to listen to them

WIGGING OUT over the Jazmine Sullivan album omg, I snagged this on a whim and it is really exciting me.

this teefli song w/ snoop & quik is pretty nice http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/teeflii-addicted-snoop-dogg-dj-quik

quik's verse is kind of a masterpiece

i wanna have a straight menage a trois
both them pussies fat like some foie gras

that verse is A+ vintage quik

lol that quik verse

Quik's verses are tastier than foie gras ime

Is there a specific late '90s album that the Jazmine Sullivan album cover is reminding me of? Or does it just have sort of a throwback look?

hahaha that quick verse

saw this song on jezebel this morning & it's amazing http://themuse.jezebel.com/nyc-singer-rahel-will-not-serve-you-lobster-on-a-beach-1683213655

production is like balearic R&B but with a dancehall tempo. hook is nice too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odht9-G7im0

oh damn

i've heard the full album, i think it's very good especially for a debut

so nice to hear an r&b vocalist over a track like this and not have the singer's identity basically scrubbed out of the track and visual like is so often the case in trendy deep house/nu disco cuts lately (esp remixes of old songs). not saying this is a dance track or anything but yeah.

Wow nice find Jordan

I'm sure these boards have touched on this but "arty" R&B has become so codified over the last few years that very little of it surprises anymore, so it's rare find something that truly breaks form a bit

the album (it's out next tuesday) might turn some people off (lex) -- it's being put out on le1f's label and reminds me some of the inc. album only i loved (at least as far as ilm goes)

but the production is incredibly rich throughout -- it's very airy and open and almost balearic (though not as much as "serve"), but not floaty. the basslines are juicy and prominent, and there's plenty of texture. it's not a songwriter's album, which again will turn some people off, but the vocals are very strong. you have to be open to vibe-y hipster R&B but i really think this is the sort of album that justifies the entire enterprise. it's a skillfully played and arranged record, and it's luxurious as hell.

sold. completely obsessed with 'serve'

Love this. A lot of what I was irrationally hoping for when I first heard Nguzunguzu's perfect Lullaby.

Reminds me a little of the better moments on that SZA album

this Ne-yo album IS his best since 2008 (even the T.I. collab) but I don't know if I care enough to rate this higher than a recovery.

guhhhh Jazmine Sullivan's playing at a cool venue but tickets are $28 and after fees they're over $40. What the fuck.

tbh though it's not even that great of a venue

imo the Ne-Yo album cements my theory that all of his albums have different strengths and weaknesses but are ultimately all pretty much equally good. never thought Year of the Gentleman was any better than the others.

Rahel is on a bunch of stuff from the past several years -- Herbert's remix of Koze's "Magical Boy," Eric Lau's New Territories, etc.

"Serve" seems far more suited for 4AD than any Inc. song.

"Serve" is cool but not amazing. Inc were hot flammable garbage.

they weren't, actually. that was the problem

very funny

andy- that's a different Rahel.

Am I missing something about "Serve" it feels like ... approximated R&B

the songwriting and vocals are pretty clearly R&B .... the production is different though. i like that it sounds like an edit of another song that doesn't exist.

"Serve" is cool but not amazing. Inc were hot flammable garbage.

― aybaybayfan (The Reverend), Thursday, February 5, 2015 8:16 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

agree with this

the production is interesting but the song doesn't do much

reminds me of a lesser version of that new sevyn streeter single more than anything

andy- that's a different Rahel.

Huh! Thanks for the correction.

had a friend suggest this to me; i don't know much about her but i'm into it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8RguidJ3hM

this new sevyn streeter single, gawd.

incredible.

agreed with deej's assertion that it accurately self-reviews/scolds itself

who produced the new Jodeci track?

this bobby brackins/tinashe/jeremih track sounds exactly like you think it will & i love it https://soundcloud.com/bobbybrackins/my-jam-feat-zendaya-jeremih-prod-by-dem-jointz/s-JZULO

sorry ZENDAYA not tinashe lol

not that it particularly matters in this case

love love love that bobby brackins

kinda unbelievable that we never really mentioned "hot box" from last year

more rnbass, basically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ymnNSqRKI

i've never heard an argument about that album where i'm like "yeah ok

love love love that bobby brackins

kinda unbelievable that we never really mentioned "hot box" from last year

more rnbass, basically

yeah "hot box" really had legs for me

did anyone hear the teeflii album? i wasn't impressed, as ever with his stuff, but not so unimpressed that i wouldn't give it another go if someone was to really rep for it

hes always been unimpressive except as a mannequin for dope Mustard beats

Damn, that Nieah track ruins some gorgeous production with some miserable vocals.

did anyone hear the teeflii album? i wasn't impressed, as ever with his stuff, but not so unimpressed that i wouldn't give it another go if someone was to really rep for it

― lex pretend, Saturday, February 14, 2015 3:53 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

it sounded okay to me ... i was surprised/disappointed that they didn't really hone in on a sound. it felt like he was fishing around too much. the song with quik & snoop is great though.

that nieah track!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3ToUSfvXXE

Oh, I guess I should warn people she's still continuing her aversion to wardrobery but fuuuuuck.

Maybe it gets a bit CB4 but still amazing.

i was just wondering what happened to her

lol aversion to wardrobery

that's a really great song, too

Damn, that Nieah track ruins some gorgeous production with some miserable vocals.

― That shit right there is precedented. (cryptosicko)

I don't think so at all although she comes from a collective of female rnb producer/performers so knob twiddling might be her main forte.

tantalising v. bozeman news, notwithstanding timbaland's presence:

On the music front, Bozeman finished two albums last summer and will be releasing them both this year. Before her solo debut Music is My Boyfriend drops this summer, her collaborative album with Timbaland, Opera Noire, will arrive late February/ early March and is, what she describes, “so powerful it’ll hit the [music] industry in a way it’s never been hit before.”

"race jones" isn't on itunes though :(

new luke james is rather beautiful, i hope he continues in this gothy cosmic vein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaDpVF0D21Y

also quite enamoured of "ice cream" by someone called audrey rose featuring remy ma and fetty wap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1XnH--XaLU

wow that v bozeman song is really something. jaw-dropping, how on earth has it been on the internet for months without blowing up already

such a wonderful surprise to see her do something so terrific too, i loved her on "'til the end of time"

i rep v hard for this v. bozeman single from a couple of years ago, "poison"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvznv1hDJVc

seems like she's on this empire tv show and her career's getting a commensurate boost?

"race jones" apparently co-written by cee-lo!

rnbass plus salt n pepa? love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0qMR3jINk

:D

oh my god LOVE IT

second pro-female song from mustard in a row after the jordin sparks one. is he ATONING??

touch of old rasheeda in the way she snaps down on "earthquake"

this song is my platonic ideal of pop

So much gold in this thread lately.

"Figure 8" makes me really want Mustard to produce a Rye Rye comeback album.

err, I guess comeback isn't the right word but you know what I mean, an album ppl care about

New Raheem DeVaughn album is out.

I like the song "Pretty Lady" (with Trombone Shorty). But that's to be expected with my interest in N'awlins brass

got put onto this other malibu n helene song "starin at it" that i think is better than "figure 8" cc: lex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr46FKbT2Ig

yh i found that on itunes with "figure 8", i think it's excellent but not better

prefer figure 8 but both are great. both on spotify btw and they have a cover of chris brown's loyal on youtube. really like both of their voices and after listening to the maliibu ep it's clear that they're a good combo/sound better with each other than alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9pnBZv_TWs#t=183

very nice!

the year's first SPRING JAM

loving the groove

Produced by Pop & Oak. But Tamia really owns this one; could imagine a version of it that just sounded like a Miguel retread

tamia's voice is so lovely

High-octane Sevyn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-GlW8n3r_E

that tamia is really nice

not very forward thinking but it's a fun song

that new sevyn is a banger

people who like pretty vibesy r&b with no real songs might enjoy this https://keiya.bandcamp.com/releases

on the subject of which, that rahel album only seems to have been "released" as a soundcloud stream, what is the point of that

(it's the kind of album where the hitherto uncatchy single really pops out, the sun is streaming into the kitchen right now and i'm enjoying this sound washing over me but i can barely remember what's happening as it's actually happening)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g2lDLZ0urw

sorry d'angelo this that real sophomore heat the game's been missing

not very forward thinking but it's a fun song

― the plight of y0landa (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, February 25, 2015 12:14 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol who talks like this

loving the inc song. trying to place what the solo's channeling

"forward thinking" is the worst most meaningless phrase, i'm sure i was guilty of it in my early writing days

inc are still the worst get it out of here

i tweeted this to jordan recently but it bears repeating: only Inc that we acknowledge is Murder

i've been listening to the inc album a lot recently, this track sounds pretty good

oh, and we touched on this in her thread, but the new estelle album is excellent. she does classy x insouciant so well.

tamia album will also feature collaborations w/ the-dream and tricky stewart apparently

lol the inc

https://soundcloud.com/bemyfiasco/mondaymorningblues

hating inc is basic. find me other R&B that does what they do better (or other R&B that does what they do at all) and i'll reconsider

:|

that might mean they're making unique indispensible R&B or maybe just maybe it means they're not making R&B at all

lol who talks like this
― raccoon tanuki dye dashiki nefertiti edges kinky (some dude), Wednesday, February 25, 2015

"forward thinking" is the worst most meaningless phrase, i'm sure i was guilty of it in my early writing days
inc are still the worst get it out of here
― lex pretend, Wednesday, February 25, 2015

@raccoon and yet their music is clearly r&b, primarily?

lol clearly it is time for me to drop that display name

hahaha ouch

wow that bemyfiasco track is awesome. it does not go where i expected it to after the intro!

http://www.bet.com/news/music/2015/02/26/luke-james-hits-the-stage-at-the-highline-ballroom.html
This was a good show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsiN0W15w0U

love this song

the relative paucity of r&b shows in boston is one of the few things that makes me entertain moving back to nyc

RIP Charmayne "Maxee" Maxwell of Brownstone

http://www.bet.com/news/music/2015/03/01/report-charmayne-maxee-maxwell-of-brownstone-dies-from-fall.html

terrible news, RIP

yikes.

RIP :(

this Macy Gray/Bobby Brown joint is really sweet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8cltY-Xv2c

the new tink single is the first song i've really loved by her - fits into my general preference of rap tink to r&b tink but it's the first time i've really got her persona and what she has to say and why she's worth getting excited about

The second 2NYO single was a terrible disappointment.

it really was :/

I thought it was a foregone conclusion that 2nyo record was a one off

Anyway agreed with lex about tink, have always felt Her solo work was just ok and she needed a real collaborator to color in the lines she's drawn for it to work

kinda digging gabriel garzon-montano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2WH42MLgUE

seeing Jazmine at Irving Plaza tonight, psyched

jeremih's "planes" is so good but wtf who allowed that j cole verse on there

Sullivan live is a thing to behold; getting a room full of 1k people who can sing every word to Mascara was a joy

jeremih's "planes" is so good but wtf who allowed that j cole verse on there

― dyl, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 3:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

IDK feels like he'st rying to reclal the minimalims of his debut but it's kind of a nothing song

idk feels like he's trying to recall the buoyant openness of his debut but he's kind of a nothing person

He hasn't really done anything good in a while has he :(

do seem to remember someone saying that yeah

Sullivan live is a thing to behold; getting a room full of 1k people who can sing every word to Mascara was a joy

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope

nice

how do we feel about the empire soundtrack

i haven't heard anything other than "conqueror" which sounds kinda like a ryan tedder hackjob :\

Jennifer Hudson sounds great on "Remember the Music."

"you're so beautiful" is okay
everything i've heard so far seems well past the sell-by-date but what do i care

i haven't heard anything other than "conqueror" which sounds kinda like a ryan tedder hackjob :\

― dyl, Thursday, March 12, 2015 5:22 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the estelle song? urgh it's so bad and a horrible outlier on her album too

yeah the estelle song, they redid it as a duet for the show

i am all for this soundtrack succeeding tho

jeremih's "planes" is so good but wtf who allowed that j cole verse on there

― dyl, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 3:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

IDK feels like he'st rying to reclal the minimalims of his debut but it's kind of a nothing song

― 龜, Thursday, 12 March 2015 12:47 (6 hours ago) Permalink

Song is great except for j cole, Rtc otm that it's more a personal shortcoming

estelle finally has another hit at least!

oooof that j cole verse on "planes" is so so bad

not much of anything to ruin though, agree that the song is pretty blah

the live debut of "Planes" with Chance The Rapper and his band sounded awesome but it turned out that a lot of that was from the horns and stuff that the band added to the song and the studio track sounds nothing like that.

NEW AMERI(I)E/RICH HARRISON ALERT NEW AMERI(I)E/RICH HARRISON ALERT https://soundcloud.com/officialameriie/outloud

ok, 'planes' is better than anything on 'late nights w/ jeremih' as far as songwriting

voice contestant ashley dubose's new album isn't half bad
https://ashleydubose.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZTewXngMzA

it's crazy that she still doesn't have her own thread to bump at times like these but the jazmine sullivan is, once again, absolutely killing me today

every word and ad lib and intonation absolutely nailed for maximum impact

"when you love your man you'll do anything they need goddamn"

entire album is roleplay and theatre but she's so present and inside the roles at every moment

I'm at the student radio station now and the kid who does the "alternative R&B" show on Saturdays is blasting Dawn Richard and wondering if he can play the Jazmine in a couple days. "No one else down here is," I told him.

Yeah, it's one of the best written-through albums of any genre I've heard in months.

"Don't I Deserve to be Privileged?" - A Thread for Jazmine Sullivan

saw ledisi, raheem devaughn, and leela james in boston the other night. it was a great show — ledisi has had bronchitis for a bunch of this tour but she sounded incredible, especially on the tracks from last year's album (she released an 'unplugged'-style EP earlier this year). raheem devaughn was very playful and sexy; i guess i missed that he had a new record out last month. i'm giving it a first spin now.

i wish there were more r&b concerts in boston. ledisi at one point told the audience they needed to buy more records in order to make that happen, and i was like PLEASE YES

DC gets plenty of shows, but they can be pricey

NEW AMERI(I)E/RICH HARRISON ALERT NEW AMERI(I)E/RICH HARRISON ALERT https://soundcloud.com/officialameriie/outloud

― raih dednelb (The Reverend), Tuesday, March 17, 2015 8:16 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the best thing she's done in an age. time to drop the extraneous "i" now you've come back to us amerie!

smh it is terrible

it's the yea-eh-eh-eh post-hook that really made it click for me

i consider this track a valuable art installation interrogating alzheimers in formerly inspired artists and concomitant fanbase reluctance to ever let go of anything no matter how low the ink gets in the photocopier

the beat sounds like the binmen disturbing my sleep on a saturday morning

it sounds like "love's off the chain"!

i've called the terrorist hotline, you won't get away with this

i had no idea she was now "ameriie" and checked to see what she's been up to, "Mustang" is kinda horrible.

yeah she's been Ameriie for five (very uneventful) years now

yeah this one seemed like a clunker to me

this interview with her is pretty great (and sheds light on what else she's been up to):
http://www.factmag.com/2015/03/20/and-another-thing-ameriie-interview/

this is the third classic half-sung half-rapped rnbass with a perfectly brief 90s nod of 2015 by my count

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVfqNmY0JRk

i miscounted

maliibu & helene - figure 8
natalie la rose ft. jeremih - somebody
jidenna ft. roman gianarthur - classic man
honey cocaine - sundae
bobby brackins ft. zendaya & jeremih - my jam

that's such a good bunch of singles

(and none for "planes" whatsoever)

i like planes too except for j cole obv

That honey cocaine is nice xp

What do we think of the new T-Pain/The-Dream

I think it's kinda eh

you mean, "that's my shit"? I like it.

Nah man Let your hair down

ah whoops, i got T.I. and T-Pain confused; too many T guys with punctuation
playing now and avoiding the MAGIC! song by the same name

i am also into "that's my shit", his voice works very well for it

Can I get a late pass https://soundcloud.com/marc_e_bassy/lock-it-up-ft-kehlani-produced-by-jahaan-sweet

I like the t-pain & terius.

This is a quick, quarterly reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a few album selections) are being posted as updated to a thread-specific Spotify playlist that I'm maintaining. I just did a quick sweep prior to posting this message and updated as of today with everything that's been added on Spotify since it was first mentioned.... serious omissions include "Let Your Hair Down", "Sundae", "Bad News", "Race Jones" and "Serve".

That playlist is currently a bit more than three hours of music and is clickable below. Give it a spin and subscribe if you want to listen along through the year.

Rolling R&B 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Can I get a late pass https://soundcloud.com/marc_e_bassy/lock-it-up-ft-kehlani-produced-by-jahaan-sweet

― 龜, Thursday, March 26, 2015 7:58 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Bandwagon def tipping over this week lol

i am also into "that's my shit", his voice works very well for it

― dyl, Wednesday, March 25, 2015 6:26 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's his best record in years we discussed in the-dream thread although there was some stupid push back

It's his best record in years

literally no one would disagree with this, the pushback was over whether that low bar is something to get excited about

thank you for new display name

literally no one would disagree with this, the pushback was over whether that low bar is something to get excited about

― lex pretend, Friday, April 3, 2015 1:28 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

p sure people did disagree with that, in that thread.

surprised by all the Ne-Yo on that list (I'd have subbed "Congratulations" for "Integrity") but, yeah, that album's his best since 2008.

pia mia ft g eazy - "fuck with u" is my fav ratchet r&b single of the year i think. right up there with "my jam"

prod by nic nac who appears to be her boyfriend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WRhbnN2ckY

i haven't heard anything about the chris brown & tyga album... was it bad? there has to be some secret jams on there right?

not rly iirc

'ayo', 'bitches n marijuana', bunch of awkward filler, upsetting song or two where they fancy themselves bone thugs doubletimers

there's an 80sish one at the end called 'it's yo shit' that isn't great but is probably better than anything on the ne-yo album i didnt listen to

may as well shout out kid ink & kells 'dolo' too to complete the nic nac vague acceptance (tho i still prefer 'body language' and the dej loaf one of course)

yeah "dolo" is great

the dej one is a single now but i like "dolo" better

dolo -> hotel -> body language -> be real

one of the better stretches on a rap album this year

ah there's a fake tyga rip off song in between there but you get the point

be real is v cool imo, goatlike nagging chorus into jump up verse is a wavy vibe of sorts

nic nac is really dating pia mia?

i'm pro nic nac since i discovered him producing pop songs for bay area street rappers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqq4aDz-AxI

^^^he's in the video lol

at the risk of spamming the board, here's the lineup of pertinent shows at NYC's SummerStage for the upcoming season:

FREE SHOWS featuring (in alphabetical order) CHARLES BRADLEY, THE CHI-LITES, GABRIEL GARZÓN-MONTANO, GEORGE CLINTON and PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC, HORACE BROWN, JAZMINE SULLIVAN, JELLYBEAN BENITEZ, JORDAN BRATTON, JUNGLE, MARTHA REDBONE, MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO, ROY AYERS, TAANA GARDNER, WHODINI, and many more

• Saturday June 6 - Central Park - 3pm - Blue Note Jazz Festival with Meshell Ndegeocello + Roy Hargrove + Gabriel Garzón-Montano
• Sunday June 7 - Flushing Meadows / Corona Park, QNS - 4pm - Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires + Hollis Brown + Damien Escobar
• Friday June 12 - Betsy Head Park, BK - 7pm - Horace Brown + Jeff Redd + DJ Chuck Chillout + DJ Mell Starr
• Sunday June 14 - Betsy Head Park, BK - 4pm - Brooklyn Family Day with Martha Redbone + Ebony Hillbillies
• Thursday June 18 - Herbert Von King Park, BK - 7pm - Taana Gardner + Johnny Kemp + DJ Yoda + TC Izlam
• Saturday June 20 - Central Park -7pm - Jungle + Ibeyi
• Sunday June 21 - Herbert Von King Park, BK - 7pm - DJ Spinna + The Bullitts + Film Screening: They Die By Dawn (2013)
• Tuesday July 14 - Queensbridge Park, QNS - 7pm - The Chi-Lites
• Wednesday July 15 - Queensbridge Park, QNS - 7pm - George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
• Sunday July 26 - Central Park - 3pm - The Rock Steady 38th Anniversary Concert with Whodini and Big Daddy Kane
• Wednesday July 29 - Clove Lakes Park, SI - 7pm - Jellybean Benitez + DJ Street Tech + D-Train
• Sunday August 9 - East River Park, MN - 4pm - Manhattan Family Day with Invincible: A Tribute to Michael Jackson + Marika Hughes and Bottom Heavy
• Wednesday August 12 - Marcus Garvey Park, BX - 7pm - Mobile Mondays! Live: Everybody Loves Roy Ayers
• Sunday August 23 - Central Park – 7pm - Jazmine Sullivan + Jordan Bratton

• Wednesday July 29 - Clove Lakes Park, SI - 7pm - Jellybean Benitez + DJ Street Tech + D-Train

dope i am going to staten island

RIP Brad can I have yr stereo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGVTAhjmUqA

there's a new pretty ricky single, lol

I'm pretty sure Kid Ink is my current least favorite rapper.

Rabit & Myth - Lonely Backseat Love, this is Rinse FM's track of the week, that should be popular on this thread:

a looping groove, flowing sound that is so hypnotic

Myth / Ciara - Lonely Backseat Love (Rabit Mix)
https://soundcloud.com/mythproductions/mythciara-lonely-backseat-love-rabit-mix

riyl: tinashe remixes and
the overlooked brilliant, chay$e https://soundcloud.com/chaysemusic

Rabit & Myth - Lonely Backseat Love (Blacklink Sound) - Official Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryAguA7oKiw

there's a whole ratchet R&B honey cocaine EP on spotify

"sundae" is prob the best song but it's a pretty strong listen

this one is good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gWVq9HNTYg

I like the new Trey Songz EP a lot

https://soundcloud.com/treysongz/sets/intermission

is that honey cocaine ep entirely produced by dj carisma? i love it

i feel like his drops are on all the songs?

her drops

i looked it up and it appears it's all her, yeah

someone have a dL link for that shit

xp i think shes just hosting the EP rather than producing it?

turns out that cici single could actually be enlivened by a judicious remix!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBRz5vsgqRU

someone have a dL link for that shit

on itunes or https://soundcloud.com/queenhoneyc/sets/thegiftrap-ep

ATL Bass remixes always improve the originals.

truth

new zaytoven-produced shanell is alright, primarily reminds me of what i love about some of her vocal tics, like the way she ends a lot of her lines with this sort of aggressive gasp rather than drifting off sensually as you might expect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suxVCFRqhhQ

that first shanell mixtape came on afterwards and my goodness it is still straight fire tho

Kehlani release gonna be so good
https://soundcloud.com/kehlanimusic/kehlani-alive-feat-coucheron

that's really great, pretty hyped for her now

Alive is nice but DAAAAAAAMN "Jealous", as nice a nu-aaliyah sound as i've heard lately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yp7TeNr7p8

"alive" is really good, the songwriting is very in a dr. luke style but the production doesn't quite go there (thankfully)

she sounds acoustic arrangements really well

*suits

I'm still totally charmed by this Tamia single, which has a video now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwWQ_RayAOw#t=125

yes same here, wish the radio stations in my area would play it :(

I've got to the head-over-heels stage with Honey Cocaine

The Honey Cocaine EP is great.

My favourite is probably 'Done Done', mainly because it features the great diss 'what type of man has a heart as small as his dick'.

damn that tamia track is really great

it's one of my faves from this yr

this is lovely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqb5gvWB60

i welcomed her

Getting a lot of John Legend vibes from that

https://soundcloud.com/kehlanimusic/sets/you-should-be-here

listening to that new kehlani right now, really enjoying it so far

listened through twice so far and I think most of my favorite tracks have already been released but it's a good tape overall. I think I preferred how succinct her previous one was because songs like Bright and The Letter kind of stunt the mood (especially since they're the longest tracks here aside from The Way).

looking forward to the kehlani, didn't realise it was coming so soon!

new sevyn streeter is a lovely low-key thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQVp6GHchg

oh yeah and i have upgraded the honey cocaine ep from "pretty great" to "near-flawless", i love her

also i know that this thread is, in general, determined to let estelle pass it by but this deep cut from her new album is just a brilliantly performed and written song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKf7XZzYN1U

this kehlani album is pretty brilliant imo. a lot more plain-spoken than i expected. she really lays it all out there.

Like that Seven track. Hope she gets a full-length soon

That Sevyn Streeter song is lovely.

that estelle lex posted is pretty flimsy, though much of the album is enjoyable.
the kehlani is lovely, wanna try more.
as the artist specific thread has been tanooki'd, what does an R&B thread think about the new Janelle Monae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkB6p_FZAw

fwiw, i think the song is pretty awful but likely just a dispensable cut/populist outlier for whatever the new album is; she does that

yeah dreadful song

Good song. Going to be huge.

bad song, not going to be huge

i'm feeling this sevyn streeter song tho

"Unconditional" off the new Kehlani is fire

i feel like i know what "4th Street" is interpolating... anybody wanna help? sounds like late 80's stevie wonder.
it's a nice song.

trilogy of: Trendy Norway - Mainstream America - Remixed in London

Cashmere Cat - Adore Feat Ariana Grande (MssingNo Remix)
https://soundcloud.com/mssingno/cashmere-cat-adore-feat-ariana-grande-mssingno-remix

does this track get the lex approval?

I actively dislike Janelle Monae's music (she's a great performer) aside from a few songs but that song is definitely among her worst.
Don't see a reason to listen to that when i can hear that Jidenna song too.

Also, Yoga is appearing on the Eephus EP (5 songs), not Monae's own album afaik. Should be out relatively soon.
I initially thought Eephus was gonna be Jidenna's own thing but it's actually showcasing Wondaland Records as a whole.

omg @ baby kehlani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BLNpZWVbQ

"Unconditional" off the new Kehlani is fire

― deej loaf (D-40), Wednesday, April 29, 2015 5:28 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this has been in my head all day

yeah that's one of my favourites, i like how she gives the ~flaws and all trope a slightly novel and distinctive-to-her twist, presenting it as an ultimatum like that

very into "you should be here", "jealous" and "yet" as well

though it's really a very impressive body of work overall, it might not have a summer jam like "fwu" but her songwriting voice comes through so strongly

"Yet" is my other favorite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF4WtpA7L6Q

year of the girl crush; that one is sonny digital production

awful song

don't necessarily disagree but wouldn't be surprised if it didn't catch

"did catch"

I would be surprised if it did. So dull.

Kehlani needs a thread. this album is so good.

"coffee" extensively discussed in the artist thread but deserves mention here in case anyone isn't checking in there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJAelCB8hdY
wale version is abhorrent.

Marissa has a new single out. It's not "Rules" but it's still pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZh8Hu6dp5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXq3qPc3f1s

new Melanie Fiona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AZ-9R7omGE

anyone fuck w/ jean deaux? I guess Soular System Vol 1 came out end of last year but @ times in the summer this is kindof exactly what I want to be listening to

https://soundcloud.com/thatsjeandeaux

we just confirmed sunni colón for a show and I've enjoyed the soundcloud tracks thus far. RIYL Frank Ocean, Miguel and... well, Frank Ocean really.
https://soundcloud.com/sunnicolon

the Rico Love album is waaaaay better than it has any right to be

The Rico Love is PHENOMENAL.

huh really? the ep from 1 or 2 yrs ago was ok but kinda forgettable, gave me the impression he didn't have much of an identity as a performer. i've long been into him as a writer tho so i guess i'll give the album a shot.

yeah it's a big step up in quality from the EP, although obviously the same basic deal

specific track recommendations?

Just play it from the start. It's v much an album.

going in

kehlani album getting a lot of play. 'yet' is fire

the natasha mosley album seems v much in the vein of the kehlani album - intimate, singer-songwritery. not quite as distinctive (so far) but worth hearing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8XwTRrJr0w

Best Tinashe impersonation award of 2015

..goes to Wolfie from London

Wolfie - I Be Ghost (Prod. Levi Lennox)
https://soundcloud.com/itswolfiemusic/i-be-ghost-prod-levi-lennox

i listened to the rico love album the other night and was pretty impressed, definitely didn't expect it to be that good. he hasn't exactly shaken off some of my former reservations about him but it definitely makes for a nice listen. i had next to no idea he even had an album coming out tho. i guess there might have been a radio single but it didn't go anywhere? (that's what that one hot 97 video would suggest i guess.)

Kehlani upon first listen was good but her voice didn't get me yet

posted this in the relevant thread but NYC Afropunk announced the lineup for the festival on 8/22 and 8/23
Lineup for the 22nd is Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Kelis, Danny Brown, Suicidal Tendencies, Lion Babe, Adia Victoria. $40!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCpP2_C2cNI

Have we discussed this Elijah Blake single? Feels like the first thing he's done that other people might care about

deej showed that to me the other day, pretty good

It's sounding more and more like a hit to me.

Also maybe some of the best attainable dance moves I've seen in a video since Ne-Yo's "One In a Million" convinced me to take hip-hop dance classes (I didn't last long)

they just sent me a stream (ugh) of that album, should i check it out? I don't know much elijah blake

I've been posting his tracks in these threads over the last few years, but they understandably never garner much excitement. He's one of those consistently good, rarely great mid-tier R&B singers, but guys like that can put out good albums with the right team behind them, so I'd check the album out

He also co-wrote "Climax"

song's a pleasant morsel tho i v much feel it's really more about dej (<3) than dude

i like the tamia record a lot!

same!

oh cool that's out now! i still love "sandwich and a soda" even if it is a lil corny

so uh we all heard that kehlani got her laptop stolen and that the thieves made songs?

https://soundcloud.com/tbmlilbear/tsunami-boyz-ft-kehlani-laptop
https://soundcloud.com/tbmlilbear/tsunami-boyz-ft-kehlani-i-know-you-want-your-laptop-back

fucking hell

Hah Jesus I heard about the stolen laptop but :...

First track is flames

Actually convinced me to listen to the album which is great so far.

By the album I mean her album

Loving the K-Major album/tape.

Kehlani is awesome, one of my favorite records this year

i don't have much time to listen to music atm but i listened to half of it on shuffle while waling to work and i loved the song with chance

the kehlani album is excellent

nice track on the tamia album prod by polow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXq3qPc3f1s

the reversion to the original key on "nowhere" on the tamia album is really clumsily done. would've been a total banger otherwise

tamia album is really enjoyable, lighter and more carefree than i expected

here's another new polow da don production, which is basically him doing a dj assault song. i love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_RfFrkkD6U

I love that, but it feels utterly indefensible.

whoa that is Lexcore to the extreme

Oh it's a reworked Shanell cut.

prob not perfect for this thread exactly but strangely enough Bilal doesn't have his own thread so here's his new single, "Satellites"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJDC4BEEMwo

i'm not sure i'm totally into the tamia album as a front-to-back listen but it does have some really gorgeous cuts on it (beyond the two singles obv)

Bilal has a thread we've been using
Bilal - Airtight's Revenge

Bilal's voice floors me on that song. End of the video is devastating, too.

This is very striking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Kjmd5L4jM

thanks spottie, didn't come up on search for some reason

new janet and ginuwine on the same day wow

what's the date?

i think he means they both dropped new singles today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbeWygq_hEk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_2_VgUdeq4

oh shit

no sleeep is smoooth

they're both quite good!

i could listen to this janet for hours p sure

new trey songz & ty that interpolates the rent song is hilarious & dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWz_el_X48I

i got

five hundred twenty five thousand

six hundred women

oh my god

hahahahahahaha

lmao

this abra album is superb despite the ~aesthetic

https://darkwaveduchess.bandcamp.com/album/rose

the natasha mosley album i mentioned upthread is really growing on me, works really well as a more vulnerable counterpart to the kehlani album in terms of singer-songwriterly r&b

listening to the justine skye album - opening track is pretty great, obvious rihjects less so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCsNYUfH9Uw

omg at the rent ref

robin thicke is good again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=73&v=b-7gr8QvRbc

nice

need to reiterate that the abra album is in fact amazing and i can't stop listening

everyone's talkin bout their fallback game, game, game
but i ain't got no fuckin chill cuz love is like a drug to me

Lex OTM. The ABRA album is really great.

This is a quick, mid-year reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a handful of album selections from each listed) are being posted as updated to the thread-specific Spotify playlist. I just did a top-to-bottom sweep prior to posting this message and have updated as of today with everything that's been added on Spotify since it was first mentioned.

98 tracks and 6+ hours with especially heavy representation from Jazmine Sullivan, Dawn Richard, Ne-Yo, Kid Ink, Honey Cocaine and Kehlani.

ILX's Rolling R&B 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

damn just caught this on mtv jams, fire

http://www.youtube.com/embed/HdjaiXGUam8

(mila j - smoke, drink, breakup)

& they followed it w/ miguel coffee omg yes

that song was semi-big last year, but i was just lamenting recently that Mila J kinda disappeared after her EP was released, and then she released a new single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCCB6wKa6d4

jhene aiko's sis iirc

New The Internet album "Ego Death" (if you can decipher that) is excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmY8mG4_3j4

Stacy Barthe, BEcoming: spare, never inexpressive vocals, though lyrics don't always keep my attention (so far). But they may well yet, because the overall effect just keeps on ticking, and she won't give up--eyes on the skies though they're frequently shades of gray---shades of post-Sade too, a wised-up but still cautiously hopeful seeker (because she has to be: whole thing is vs. depression, prob diagnosed; she mentions shrink early on, but haven't spotted any psychbabble yet). Good on headphones, will be good on radio, out of context (not only the ones w Common, John Legend, herself multi-tracked):
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/01/416860000/first-listen-stacy-barthe-becoming

anyone fuckin with the pia mia hit? tyga's verse is unconscionable and her singing is a bit..... round? but it's a jam i think. nice lil nic nac beat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsTq5rc41s4

it sorta sounds like sia doing a post-"loyal" song? i fuck with it tho

timely lyrics tbf

Sevyn Streeter album is out and 4th street isn't on it?

I think it's just an EP.

in today's industry lingo ep has an additional alternate meaning that's something like 'full-length, low-priced release w/ no hit singles on it'

a lot of the tracks are interludes, it's basically EP-length.

still pretty annoying that she's doing another EP considering the SHOULD'VE gotten an album out the last time she had an EP about 18 months ago. but i'm glad she's releasing music.

i never even heard "4th Street," wow, this is great.

it may end up being one of my fave tracks of the year; feels kinda timeless

i guess it wasn't a radio single like "Don't Kill The Fun" (which i also loved) but it's crazy how it totally escaped my attention, i even follow Sevyn on twitter.

ooh i didn't realize, i haven't listened to it yet but i will v soon :O)

"4th street" is indeed lovely -- i guess it's still slated for the album, whenever that may be coming?

is that a lumineers sample? o____O

if it is i don't feel like it's too overt or annoying. same song has a little of Timberlake's "Not A Bad Thing" in it too.

i thought it might be a stevie wonder interpolation.
Rev, what song are you thinking of?

"Just Being Honest"

...?

love this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O4XTZLnVsk

def the best alt rnb cover of 'genie in a bottle' in a while

lol

I am really impressed with the Elijah Blake album, a lot of jams and personality for someone I had always thought of as slightly workmanlike. I wish the Dej Loaf version of the single was on it though.

The new Sevyn is fantastic, she has such a way with melody and delivery.

i really like the wale/usher song im just now hearing

i liked the new bj chicago kid/og maco song when i thought it was by ray j

love this random kehlani offcut. lil b rapping properly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9-HHLvfG9Q

ugh "The Matrimony" is prob the worst Wale R&B single to date

anyone fuckin with the pia mia hit? tyga's verse is unconscionable and her singing is a bit..... round? but it's a jam i think. nice lil nic nac beat

― J0rdan S., Thursday, July 9, 2015 10:18 AM (4 weeks ago)

it's a "cover" of a 5(?) year old Jah-waiian song by J Boog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fgVVlPl08

ah no shit. i had been thinking that it would sound even better stripped down.

Ooh, love that J-Boog song, it was all over Hawaii four or five summers ago. Gotta hear this remake I guess

wow even by the standards of ilm deadness these days, really no one thought to even mention the release of a new teedra moses album in passing?

i forgot it dropped on friday, need to check it out this week

i mean it's not like she has a marketing budget, forgive people for being slow on the uptake

I haven't seen press about it anywhere. Lex's tweet was the first I'd heard of it

a shame this is in support of a liquor ad but
https://soundcloud.com/generationsofsoul/bj-the-chiacgo-kid-charlie-ray-raphael-saadiq-cover

thus has it ever been i suppose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKZHWF0KtGs

debut single by Tayá

remarkable talent and only 17 years old, has Britain's answer to Tinashe arrived? yes

Tayá - Got Me Wondering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT2Q4hQcDfw

soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/taya/got-me-wondering

via Notion Magazine: INTRODUCING: TAYÁ – GOT ME WONDERING
http://notionmagazine.com/introducing-taya-got-me-wondering/

there is another track on spotify & soundcloud

Tayá - More (Goldsmyth edition)
https://soundcloud.com/taya/taya-more-goldsmyth-edition

spotify artist link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0QHXPsTQVqvNPfK6edjInM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSMOzOi1b4A

new kalenna single is gorgeous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLm1xhDU5Ck

this Van Hunt ballad is really beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB6GzfL_z7c

his album is crazy good

its special, a pretty unique trip. love all of the studio effects. the back half is perfection.

Semma from London with her debut single, 2 tracks produced by Star Slinger

Semma - Cut the Rope
https://soundcloud.com/semma/cut-the-rope

Semma - Fantasy
https://soundcloud.com/semma/fantasy
this was on this week's Spotify Fresh Finds playlist

i agree with this blogger: http://www.hillydilly.com/2015/08/semma-fantasy/

Fantasy is the stronger track, powerful vocals - that they compare to Janet Jackson.

really loving "consistent" off the sevyn streeter ep (obv the whole thing is quality), it's so sinuous and tactile

That Sevyn EP is incredible. I had considered starting a thread about her, everything she does is so good and excitingly full of promise.

Also the new Teedra Moses is being very neglected in proportion to how good it is.

fuqqqq i need to hear the van hunt and teedra moses records

i like jordin sparks record a lot

http://www.npr.org/2015/08/12/431650873/first-listen-the-foreign-exchange-tales-from-the-land-of-milk-and-honey

brad have u heard this yet tho

oh holy shit

heh don't dally u will love it imo

o soz i thought a stream was still on that link (lest it seemed i was rating that review... "R&B album for grown-ups" yechh)

TĀLĀ is back with a dark twisted R&B track with a dense bass production

TĀLĀ & Sylas - Praise
https://soundcloud.com/talaofficial/praise-featuring-sylas

spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0iJADInidhOCGDNE2fxt6A

That Sevyn EP is incredible. I had considered starting a thread about her, everything she does is so good and excitingly full of promise.

― boxedjoy, Friday, August 28, 2015 10:44 AM (4 days ago)

this!! every single song on it is so good. i thought her first ep was impressive but really she has just gotten even better since then. (see also "4th street" obv)

"just being honest" is so cathartic i can't even handle it ugh

i'm gonna need the commercial stars to align for her asap so she can drop a full-length

K.Michelle has also uploaded photos of Sevyn and herself in the studio which is all kinds of exciting.

sevyn ep really is front to back jams. personal fav is 'boomerang'

https://soundcloud.com/generationsofsoul/bj-the-chicago-kid-when-a-womans-fed-up-rkelly-cover

That instrumental might be better than the og version

Bonzai - KBG
https://soundcloud.com/anchorpointrecords/bonzai-kbg

the coolest track of the year KBG (Knickerbocker Glory)

um the van hunt record is fuckin wild

yep

has anyone heard the new tamar braxton? just caught up on the first single and i feel kinda *shrug* about it, i dunno

No. Am curious though. Listening to the uneven but interesting new Lizz Wright one. Its polished adult slow jam stuff albeit with producer Larry Klein who worked with Joni Mitchell, and a bit of a hippieish Toshi Reagon feel (and even a Sweet Honey in the Rock aspect). Toshi even helped with it. There's a Gregory Porter duet too. Plus Bee Gees and Nick Drake covers...

one album that got minor praise when it came out but which i now feel should be hailed as a masterpiece is the kehlani one. i listen to it so often, she's so sharp and empathetic and wise and just a great presence to have in my life. her songwriting and the way it's foregrounded, the production initially unshowy but actually packed with all the right details to enhance her words, reminds me of a young teedra (like, younger than complex simplicity, before she tasted champagne). i fucking love it so much

"bright" is just...so committed to empathy, i need this to be an x factor standard forever

SO BE BRAVE
BE KIND
DON'T LET THEM DIM YOUR LIGHT

also "i'm not dumb, no i'm not dumb, i know exactly went wrong in my past"

it's a really great album

teedra moses "skin diver" is so good

the foreign exchange record rtc recommended upthread is super weird but i like it a lot. it is definitely not an "r&b album for grownups" but it is like fifteen things at once

also "champion" that wasn't on kehlani's album is a banger (and lil b! rapping properly!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9-HHLvfG9Q

xps yeah "skin diver" is a standout, "only u" too and the moment where she starts rapping along with rawse

has anyone heard the new tamar braxton? just caught up on the first single and i feel kinda *shrug* about it, i dunno

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, September 9, 2015 3:27 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

album got pushed back once again, now to October, but they released another single called errrr "Catfish" that is surprisingly good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2DJCY6e1f0

also "champion" that wasn't on kehlani's album is a banger (and lil b! rapping properly!)

this is a song dedicated to the Warriors championship team fyi. kinda good in a novelty way i guess.

kehlani album is real nice tho.

'You Should Be Here' and 'How That Taste' are my current favs on there.

another find via spotify fresh finds, Toronto singer Jayd Ink

Jayd Ink - At.lanta
https://open.spotify.com/track/2aRb0148ajNXASm3AnI25c

Jayd Ink - This!
https://open.spotify.com/track/2EULFGZ7eRVA2HTe9WgIco

more info, and soundcloud links

Listen: Jayd Ink Premieres New EP ‘Invitation Only’
http://www.thisisrnb.com/2015/09/premiere-jayd-ink-invitation-only/

"space and time" really hitting me

Did anyone post about Lion Babe's Impossible ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuRYVOSIN5A

This is a quick, third-quarter reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a handful of album selections from each listed) are being updated to the thread-specific Spotify playlist as posted. I just did another top-to-bottom sweep prior to posting this message and have revised as of today with everything that's been added since first mentioned. Subscribe if you're into it!

It's 128 tracks, over 8 hours.

Rolling R&B 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

i wrote about D.K. The Punisher, a Baltimore dude who produced Jill Scott's lead single and some of the SiR album:
http://www.citypaper.com/music/music-features/bcp-092315-music-dk-the-punisher-20150922-story.html

Discussed in the Janet thread but holy shit, BURNITUP! with Missy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QvdrmRphjc

I finally got to the Sevyn Streeter EP and holy shit.

Listening to this now, but I gotta say I'm a tad miffed that she didn't include "4th Street," which is easily among my top 3 or 4 fave songs of the year.

yeah it's so annoying that people now leave great songs off of their major label albums AND off of their little stopgap mixtapes and EPs as well

warner made a video and everything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8DdSFHNNZs

basically every song so far on the finally-released tamar braxton album except for the single they put out in may ("if i don't have you") is pretty good/interesting

(tbf i'm only 4 tracks in and this is 16 gahdamned songs for some reason, which might not go over smashingly)

Yeah I pieced out on the Tamar by track 12, but what I heard of it was really good.

using this sample in this way could have turned out really hackish but i think it really works -- plus that it's pop & oak makes me feel better about the intentions

also tory lanez had that great song on the YG album so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUq1rZ7mmns

his rappity rap follow up is kind of a regrettable direction imo but he can flow at least

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K239Z8YzWI

this guy's vibe is weird he did a hipster dance producer EP and is playing at Cool Brooklyn Venue baby's all right in a few weeks but then he has this traditional R&B song done by very tradition-driven producers

since he's on interscope i assume the latter will win out but i guess i could see him as a sort of test case for a brave new future where major labels try and break artists to "tastemaker" scenes first

yeah i've been enjoying hearing "say it" on the radio. i didn't know pop & oak were involved, that's cool

"feat Chris Brown" is some kiss of death shit just lately but i am willing to make an exception for tinashe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDKMKBmpwrg

There's a Brown-free version out there as well. Posted on the Tinashe thread, I think.

oh hey, you CAN get it without, thanks for the heads up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-htwnPdp18

Anyone disappointed with the Tamar Braxton? Starts strong, drags in the middle. Sometimes she wails like Keyshia Cole.

it's not great but not nearly as many missteps as her last album

lol, keyshia sprung to mind a few times as well for me, it was very wearying to slog through. i don't think it has the highs of the last album either

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoIcRQEvijw

great

alive got a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqpQgp8_ajo
now i want summer back :(

i f/w this, clever

https://soundcloud.com/dj-victoriouz/the-hoodgeekz-x-jeremih-bone/

what do you guys think of SHADOWY TORONTO R&B artists dvsn

https://soundcloud.com/dvsndvsn/the-line

i want to hate on it so hard but its good

eff canada

http://sobs.com/2015/6040/sevyn-streeter-2
Sevyn Streeter at SOBs in NYC - November 5 at 9:30pm (more likely 10.30 i'd guess)

Streeter's Northeast US tour also includes

Mon, Nov 2

The Foundry Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, US
Wed, Nov 4
Baltimore Soundstage, Baltimore, MD, US

Sun, Nov 8
Howard Theatre, Washington, DC, US

btw i saw that angie stone video on vh1 soul recently and wow that song rules

apparently teyena taylor put out a throwbackish EP a few months back & i like this bass track that interpolates "swing my way" (with good rapping by iman shumpert!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fszSp8WZlOY

i think i'm the only person who's checked for the natasha mosley album but it's really proving to be an excellent slow burn as the winter draws in. these two mid-album tracks work so well back to back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pssVutHtQmA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44W6Ni5u_0Y

new Tiffany Evans EP is good, albeit not as good as the one she put out in 2013

i was sort of disappointed by it, will give it another shot though

the natasha mosley album seems barely to exist - i can't find production credits anywhere (was wondering which the zaytoven ones were, and there are some amazing sparse, subtle late-night sounds on it). it's not on allmusic or even wikipedia!

https://soundcloud.com/strangetown-records/sets/baby-queens-1/s-lp1Ko

new baby queens tracks

couple of interesting things out this week, the mila j mixtape makes pretty good use of her sour sneer and boots has released something called aquaria which...is pretty gnarly and weird on one listen, awkward rhythms and dense production and distorted voices and a hell of a lot going on

the boots thing is interesting, sounds like Beck in midnight vultures mode to me

there's something very 90s about it

from last yr but im not reviving r&b 2014 sry, this chick opened for weeknd i dig this track, huh 9 mil views

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twix375Me4Q

lol every post ive made in this thread this yr has been abt some last yr shit

surprised anyone thinks of that song as r&b! it was big on alt-rock radio.

lol alt-rock hm i guess is could be idk

i mean she doesnt have a band rite

half the stuff on the alt-rock charts now has synths and drum machines

not sure this "counts" as r&b but I love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLR3ip6v31E

Danish singer, just 16 years old - it's a break-up song, title translates to something like "you and I are in the past tense now" ("we 2 past tense now")

Comments on youtube filled with young boys complaining that she must care a lot about the boy she's thrashing in the song since she wrote an entire song about him, such provocation

WHY HAVE I BEEN SLEEPING ON MR RICO LOVE'S 'BAD ATTITUDE'?????????

whole album is slept on, love that song

i def consider banks rnb

http://hiphop-n-more.com/2015/11/new-music-erykah-badu-hello-feat-andre-3000/

also
http://blaecny.com/music/mixtapes-albums/mila-j-black-friday-ep/

seems like this might be some appreciated corp-R&B for the cru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD7tEguFu1A

also this is old but i recently was shared a twerk vid to this rmx & found it very compelling. i'm pretty sure it was the song, anyway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocv-Fyd0uAY

As we move into December, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite as-yet-unmentioned RnB tracks from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

the Baltimore rap station has a habit of putting non-official versions of big songs into their rotation, for instance they only ever play the shorter EP version of "Adorn." and the only way they ever play "Swimming Pools" is in a weird mix that affixes a minute of that Lloyd mixtape version to the Kendrick original. so it's not bad but i kind of hate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn-EU_ahEj8

KING is proud to announce their long awaited debut full length album We Are KING will be released on February 5 through the band's independent label KING Creative. The first sampling from the album is "Hey (Extended Mix)". In a review on Pitchfork naming the song 'Best New Track' writer Marcus Moore wrote, "'Hey' is perhaps the best song in KING's discography so far. It's remarkably blissful, recalling tender milestones no matter how modest or grand."

oh. my. GOD

18 months of spoiled mash potato dinners. finally their ufo has returned

Haha

:D :D :D :D

@__@

goddamn celestial visitation music of the spheres every time

think ima book the whole week off for when the album drops and then idk walk directly into a stripclub for valentines or something

I'm wrapping this playlist for the year. It has been updated with a few new adds (Jill Scott, Van Hunt, V. Bozeman) and includes every track mentioned on thread that is available via Spotify's US catalogue as of EOY 2015. If I missed something or if a track comes available sometime in the future, bump here to let me know and I'll add.

Rolling R&B 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

One last one on the way out:
https://soundcloud.com/seramic/people-say