rolling r&b 2020

why not start with last year's surprise breakout star? conveniently, she's just put out a video for her great new single. i sincerely look forward to hearing this on the radio after "playing games" has run its course.

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

do you see good fortunes for the idiom this year? anticipating any particular artists' albums? let's hear it!

Hi Dyl! Her breakout was no surprise to me :)

I like this track a lot (it’s eligible for voting in ILM’s 2019 tracks poll, ahem!) — but man, does LODT’s producer drop bug me... it’s especially grating over the course of the whole album. Sorry to start the year off on a negative! :D)

This track dropped back in December, but the video just premiered a few days ago... I like the atmosphere in this song:

DaniLeigh - Wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTrS40ZwUB4

now that i think about it, i wouldn't mind at all if usher worked his way up to releasing a new album

i'm hoping ravyn lenae will put an album out this year

luke james has released a handful of tracks over the past few months and will be going on tour soon. this most recent track is probably my favorite of the bunch: a bit freeform, a characteristically great vocal + striking arrangement that drifts off into a gentle haze of atmospherics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdDqEf1XdY

I missed this EP (from last November) -- it's really good:

Kaash Paige - Parked Car Convos

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l942wYTtw_-DI-oLk0WCRHP-q58PaS2YI
https://i.scdn.co/image/960be59d6993340b9f0f768e51d1151539ae31bf

https://djbooth.net/features/2019-11-22-kaash-paige-interview-parked-car-convos-discovery

Her older singles are also really good -- check out "Orange Sweater," it rules:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhEnfp3ZOUw

Good to see Luke James love! His 2014 album is one of my quiet faves.

This is end of '19, but I fucking love how sharp Usher and Ella Mai sound here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMitI4VbSuo

a lot of his songs on STAR were very good. “filthy sheets” was a personal fave

between city winery shifting its booking and this new venue big night live opening—i went to its press event, which was bundled in with an erykah badu show—boston is finally getting more r&b shows. elle varner is here next week, raphael saadiq with jamila woods next month, bilal a week after that. took everyone long enough!

Kaash Paige may be about to blow up... among other indicators, her track "Love Songs" is #3 on TikTok (which I understand is meaningful) #2019Impact

I love her vibe so much, I guess it's somewhat similar to Summer Walker's early material.. these gorgeous, spaced-out jams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIIVeGq4Xg

they always blow up shortly after you post about them on ilm :D

that's a very nice song tho

ILM’s #1 Tastemaker for Faded R&B

new jhené aiko p good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy3Y-1KVZeg

seems like a new luke james record came out today, h/t maura

indeed! Been streaming it around Destroyer. I owe deej and maura for elbowing me into listening to the 2014 album.

i am two tracks deep and wow, this is excellent

Hurry up and get to "blow."

glad to see he's back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqpXVAY3fI

posting the new raveena here too because i've been listening to it on loop for a few hours

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2e2nIwN4F8

That Bieber/Walker remix is pretty tight.

"Sometimes," the song that H.E.R. performed at the Grammys, is a high-quality track that pulls out all the stops (strings, choir, gtr solo, long outro, etc.):

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

the summer walker remix of "yummy" is better than i expected it'd be -- primarily due to walker's contributions, naturally -- but the song itself is still so basic. i like how she enters the track via backing vocals.

rolling pls release a new record don toliver 2020

Victoria Monét - Moment

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

more exciting than the album rollout!

New album “HOPELESS ROMANTIC” drops Friday 2/14 🌹🌹 #VDay 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/tCIKi0P2Cz

— TINK (@Official_Tink) February 10, 2020

Not sure how R&B this is (it's maybe more "bedroom pop" or something?), but I like it:

Arlo Parks - Eugene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikwBBNnn2gI

new Kaash Paige video (“Heartbreaker”):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je8UTXGxDAQ

oh wow "eugene"

the chorus is quietly devastating

not sure i would have posted it in this thread specifically but ty for sharing it

no prob - yeah, it came up in an r&b playlist, but I wasn't really sure where to put it (I can post it in rolling pop, too...)

meanwhile - kaash has top-of-Pitchfork placement today :) https://pitchfork.com/levels/kaash-paige-heartbreaker-new-song-listen/

new ro james! https://smarturl.it/TouchyFeely

^^^ that rules

Don Toliver - Euphoria (feat. Travis Scott & Kaash Paige)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAMG_UPf6U

ro james has put out a surprising number of good singles since his first album + "permission"

don toliver so sick. his last album was amazing

Jhene Aiko's just scored her biggest opening week ever with the #2 debut of her new album on Billboard. She's sort of quietly been sneaking to new fan base highs. Of course some of us really appreciated TRIP, naming it one of the best albums of last decade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXSSzzxWcN0

enjoying this. the way it suddenly transmogrifies into a delicate piano ballad at the end is so odd but kinda works?

just listened to Victoria Monet's lush jam posted upthread, six times in a row

...this track tho(!):

Kiana Ledé ft. Ari Lennox – “Chocolate”

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

(awesome video, too)

her album's out too

Yeah, it’s really good!

that's a pretty nice song

don toliver album is so great, stretching out to more rarefied places but still got punchy hooks and that voice

cosign, one of my favourite albums of the year so far.

I don’t follow r&b close enough to know, but is this Young Thug-does-r&b style (reductive I’m sure, but I don’t know how else to describe it) unique to Toliver?

kiana ledé record is really good

i liked tink's new one but it's a little sad to me that she's not rapping at all anymore

I don’t really think of don toliver as r&b any more than I would 03 greedo, shordie Shordie, rod wave, rylo Rodriguez, no cap, or even polo g at times ... tho obviously a very blurry line there

(With maybe rod wave leaning hard r&b and polo g being more obviously rap)

Less than young thug i think of 03 greedo meets Travis Scott in that style

Ah thanx deej, I could have suspected there would be much more in that r&b/rap interzone, but it’s another area where I’m not all that much at home. Will try out some of the artists you mentioned.

Really nice beat here (though I could do without hearing the phrase “morning wood” in a lyric...)

Kelly Rowland - Coffee

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

Victoria Monét - Dive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2r5_J0Y69M

^Beautiful track

Luxurious!

That’s three great singles in a row. “From the forthcoming project JAGUAR” - yes, please!

Yeah - it's a whole mood

now i love her

so much greatness. the songwritting obv and foremost; then the taut strings that crackle as glorious as those little psychedelic breezy effusing perfectely-timed underneath; her caressing phras-ing designing the whole thing to such an extent, that that second part of the song reveals itself

the arrangement takes it to the next level for sure

i think "dive" is pretty solidly her best yet

it's a dope track

"lick the beach/fuck the shore" over the trillville bed squeak takes some serious chops to pull off but she's got it.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/hip-hop-sample-squeaking-bed-exo-karol-g-lil-jon-760286/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exKC1W-Tu_U

certainly not as unique or bold as her material from her commercial prime, but brandy's return is pretty solid imo. backing is fairly repetitive but that moment when the horns and percussion retreat for a few seconds hits the spot. chance's guest verse veers from eyebrow-raising to genuinely amusing

i will take literally whatever Brandy i can get but that's fairly undistinguished

the chloe x halle single seems like an instant classic, the sort of thing that might've led off a "summer jams" thread in precedented times gone by!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9HIaGcBocc

(a victoria monét co-write btw)

that’s lovely

http://youtu.be/zdcdIYkL6go

lol, they got your number maura

(that’s “Too Much” by Ro James ft. Miguel)

and there’s this teddy riley-assisted lloyd slow jam


https://empire.ffm.to/slowwinebassline

future nostalgia

the parisalexa album is really well executed and enjoyable: https://open.spotify.com/album/5SqQ4wQaltxdUwRrlGuwmw

the chloe x halle single seems like an instant classic

yes!

+ Lloyd's slow jam is stunning and giving me a Swing Mob deep cut kick

the album's great too (chloe x halle's, out today)

I will have to listen to it more, but one thing’s for sure, the title track is a beauty.

New single “Forgive Me” is also good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc9Y58TeZk0

New Victoria Monét (w/Khalid) song coming on Friday:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaphkxsUYAADh7n?format=jpg&name=large

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0t8zeEiqEY

finally got around to the 070 Shake album recently and it's very good

~WOW~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXruX1qBAc8

oh my god

not a direction i immediately expected from either of these artists but wow at how effortlessly they pull it off here. surely has to be among the best songs in both of their catalogs? i honestly figured khalid would never make a good dance tune again.

if i do not get to roller skate to this at some time in my life i will have failed

yeah that's great

xp coincidentally, here’s what she says about another song from her forthcoming project:

The title track, ‘Jaguar’ is one of my favourite songs,” she says. “It’s going to make you want to rollerskate around, or do a dance like the electric slide! It’s that vibe. It’s not too on-the-nose disco. It’s not like I’m trying to straight up be Donna Summer, but it definitely feels like retro-future.

banger

lost summer jam for the summer we never had

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWqGG92GsrQ

phonte and vic mensa, produced by zo. i love this so much

that show is dope

I like this from Ayanis, whose 2018 single "Awh Yeh" was huge for me. This one's from back in January - it has 2mm views as of now (that's decent, no?)

Ayanis - Lil Boi (Big Talk) feat. Queen Naija

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvDH2-G77-0

i like that, has some clever lyrics

appreciate the tasteful references to classic music videos too. i def prefer that to the sometimes-gratuitous interpolations that pop up in the songs themselves lately

that's great

This is really nice:

Mahalia - Plastic Plants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBaDGFrdNg0

love mahalia

Loyal, by Ceraadi, was a jam last year... they're still tearing it up:

Ceraadi - Tear It Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gro3S-uWuk

(throwback-style jams are hitting the spot for me right now)

Jaguar coming July 31:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbdB36nU8AAaiAT.jpg

1. Moment
2. Track 2
3. Dive
4. Track 4
5. Track 5
6. Experience ft. Khalid & SG Lewis
7. Ass Like That
8. Track 8
9. Track 9

love that cover

I need it

Summer Walker has a new EP out July 10. Nice BET Awards performance (w/Usher):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVqh9kCltAM

Rollerskating video (for dyl):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJGSU0nXd-w

:D

TIL her first name stands for “Kill All Arrogance Stop Hatred.”

Kaash Paige - Jaded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrTM2jPAdhg

👑 when the Queen is coming, you move!! It’s just what you do lol new Jaguar release date: August 7th 🤎 pic.twitter.com/IrJRpxuTeo

— Victoria Monét (@VictoriaMonet) July 7, 2020

The new Summer Walker EP, Life on Earth, is really good:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ebs74MhWsAAcdzn?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcbuhxFXQAMlm3t?format=jpg&name=large

def need to listen to that soon

here's a song i heard earlier today. i'm a bit taken by how warm, hopeful, gently uplifting it feels. (the video ends on a note that's not quite that)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GR4OJgDvFY

theres so much new R&B these days ... not a TON of it is connecting on a mass scale but a lot of it is doing decently, I'd love to read some really good critics on contemporary R&B

I think this would be a really good time for publications to properly cover r&b, not just because the genre is in particularly good health, but with the wider cultural conversations happening it would be a really good time to commit to covering work produced in a style that's still mostly associated with black voices

I'm aware how patronising and clunky and simplistic that statement reads but at the same time, I feel like we're talking about Black Lives Matter and empowerment and yet the coverage I see of contemporary r&b is so minimal

I agree it would be great (and, yes, “timely”) if a genre in which young Black women thrive were more celebrated!

it's so frustrating

I can't get over this EP - the first three tracks, especially, are just blazing. She's a major artist, you know? I'm so pleased, especially bc I never really connected w/Over It.

Summer Walker - My Affection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMCpQ0FxJIo

i'm late but i am also enjoying summer walker's ep

Voicemails was a masterpiece but I somehow missed a new Tink album even existed. Belated thanks to Maura for the link. Have now picked it up and it's pretty great.

Victoria Monét's Jaguar is out on Friday; Kaash Paige's album Teenage Fever next week... this is gonna be a great month for r&b.

...and while I'm here, another great recent single:

Savannah Cristina - F'd Up (feat. Flo Milli)

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

bonus (nice!) live version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLUvRA3ZbJ8

Victoria Monét's Jaguar is out on Friday

jonesing for this so much rn

in the meantime this is an absolute jam

Teedra Moses, Salaam Remi, D-Nice - Black Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUDXlGuc00

9 songs, 25 min

👍🏼

"Moment" as Track #1 is such a choice

short excellent EPs are the answer

My only quibble (as a fan) is that I sometimes wish her lyrics were a little stronger - she's into corny puns & sex metaphors which are more silly than sexy (to me). There are some good lines, though ("We in your Porsche, but you coulda got it in a rental").

I'm also not sure why the two (great-sounding) "Interludes" weren't fleshed out into full songs(?)

the title track also demands an extended mix!

I wonder if there will be speculation around the identity of the woman in "Touch Me" ("based on a true story," says Victoria). the line about all the tattoos; the Porsche reference... u see where I'm going

i'm fine w/ her lyrics. mind you, i honestly rate Goapele's Milk & Honey lyrics and tone (and song) very highly, so

I'm also not sure why the two (great-sounding) "Interludes" weren't fleshed out into full songs(?)

that is otm. i would gladly have 9+ mins of the glouriously sizzling wmebfil

impressive collection of songs (and consistently striking instrumental work)

the title track also demands an extended mix!

definitely. "experience" too imo

Victoria Monet Jaguar got a good review in Pitchfork yesterday but a 7.1 score.

there's a quite nice video for the title track now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unniQzo65W8

i want to mix it with montell jordan's "get it on tonite" (or any other derivatives of the claudja barry tune it samples)

I don’t know about that video, lol

new neyo and jeremih is low key but nice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdiLrboD3f8

Love an all-male love duet

wasn’t able to really enjoy Jaguar at first because I had been expecting a sprawling album to get lost in, not an EP frontloaded with previously released singles and just three new tracks

tried again today, with just the new stuff and, yes, it is good...

...but it’s over before it begins - I still want that sprawling album to get lost in

guess I’ll have to play it on shuffle and hope the listening *experience* somehow balances out between the new and the familiar

just fleshing out those two interludes would have made such a difference

its replay value is something for the ages, tho

she revealed Jaguar is part 1 of 3 parts

a very good read: https://nypost.com/2020/08/07/victoria-monet-jaguar-interview-album-project/

^why does that entire piece use an accent grave instead of an accent aigu over the “e” in her name?

Usually there's no accent at all so both are disconcerting.

Hypercorrection is the word I was looking for.

Kaash Paige's album is out, and it's hot stuff!

https://respect-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/unnamed-2020-08-13T155350.834-scaled.jpg

she does use the accent aigu (or maybe it’s a family thing), presumably to guide English speakers into pronouncing her name right. She’s basically telling everyone “Aigu Like That (It’s Your Motherfucking Monét)”.

She should have gone with Mony! Moni! Monét! tho.

xp

Yeah, I didn’t realize the accent was in question. It’s “Monét” everywhere.

You guys check out Teenage Fever yet? The opening track alone is a total vibe:

Kaash Paige - London

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RdmAAn_3Bo

“Mrs. Lonely” is the other key track, you nerds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_W0Aa1_2nE

gave the kaash paige a listen yesterday and enjoyed it!

i'm still so obsessed with the chloe x halle album. their live-in-lockdown performances are...insane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLIGjz1SSwA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xrpgC9MXMk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ldt4ezz85o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxf0f27n-m4

^Some of those are great (better than the studio versions).

Btw, my little speculation about Victoria Monét’s “Touch Me” was apparently far off the mark:

It was the driver for me 🏆 https://t.co/vLJUpwscX9

— Victoria Monét (@VictoriaMonet) August 7, 2020

Victoria Monet Jaguar got a good review in Pitchfork yesterday but a 7.1 score.

― curmudgeon, Saturday, August 8, 2020 8:33 AM (one week ago)

Kaash Paige's new album is relegated to a half-dismissive item in Pitchfork's weekly rap column (which "covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, dances, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches our attention in the world of hip-hop").

Glad it "caught their attention," I guess. Maybe her next "weird tweet" will get more notice from them.

feeling the kaash paige - so langurous

loving the monét, only wish it was longer

I didn't realize that Tayla Parx put out a new track back in May ("Dance Alone") - it's nice, very lush ('70s/disco sounds seem to be big right now with her set):

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

Ah, dear old Tayla Parx! One of the last live shows I saw pre-lockdown, just her and her guitar guy and her two cheerleader dancers on that coulourful trayla parq set. Very tight and fun show, and she was super charming.

The new song is okay, I guess.

breastcrawl, i really need to find out what you do/where you live; you're awfully cagey about it but you clearly work industry and i'm guessing in Europe?

How many times must a man say he’s Dutch
Before you will know him as such?
The answer my forks is for everyone to see
And no, I don’t work industry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSG6z_13-Q

(fyi I saw Tayla on 3/3)

*updates xls*
and your maiden name?

fka twigs

suspicions confirmed

really feeling this one right now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUKtgbO5Qpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUAxPG3GYi8

not seen this new Ciara mentioned anywhere round here

with bulgarian choir, yet

Is there a thread to speak of Lianne La Havas and neo-soul / pop-soul in general ?

Do it here, why not!

That new Lianne La Havas is really nice

As a housekeeping matter, I wonder if we should try having a single “rolling pop/r&b” thread next year (...but I defer to dyl on his preference).

I would prefer them separate, there's too much pop music that sounds terrible whereas this thread consistently remains a favourite

I contribute nothing of course but still

this new Brent Faiyaz is dope:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBR01ndtids

"Dead Man Walking"

Yeah he’s good as hell

i think ledisi's current hit is my favorite thing i've heard from her*. the delicate instrumental arrangement (which, yes, bears a passing resemblance to a certain r&b classic) allows the subtle intricacies of her vocal performance to shine through incredibly. the lyric is beautiful too: love as relief and comfort, hope and devotion, an all-consuming power that becomes one's purpose. gorgeous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XauB5LZaOpI

(* might have to check out her new album -- or some of her older ones -- to make sure)

I think this track is really nice, but I do not like the Anderson .Paak feature at all (and unfortunately it's a very long feature):

India Shawn - Movin' On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9IIiPuC2pk

This is really, really nice:

Gwen Bunn - Pressure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMudyVoz0o

(sorry - I should probably strive for better / more descriptive comments than "really nice"...)

This is not a style I am usually drawn to, but the song is absolutely gorgeous:

Tiana Major9 - Same Space?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHA3yc_y_L8

Her voice is somewhat thin, but this is a slinky, silky jam:

Paloma Ford - All for Nothing (ft. Rick Ross)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PntwZ3IsDeU

Sorry to spam the board today. I love the performance & vibe here:

BJRNCK - Real (ft. Boogie)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC8FUcA2vZw

One more (b/c I'm in the mood)... this was released last year, but I didn't discover it until a few months ago, and it was immediately a fave. The lyrics are gloriously raunchy, and right on point; it's just "one of those songs":

Inayah - Suga Daddy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LWGxgajX6E

nice to have a fresh crop of tracks to explore!

Love how Rooted got absolutely no response upon link
I’m going to have to be honest with you that it sucks
Like it actually pissed me off, especially because I love cc
And especially especially because it came out on the heels of black parade so there was just no shot in hell
Sorry c

don't think it sucks but i have a weakness for any bulgarian choir sampling. it's subpar ciara for sure.

Also love BC, but yeah this and level up r not in my Ciara wheelhouse, tho i like the LU verses...
the jabby monotone melodic style is not my steez

Nigerian singer Tems just dropped her debut EP, For Broken Ears. Last year’s “Try Me” was amazing (and check out her first two singles “Mr Rebel” and “Looku Looku” as well). Her voice is mesmerizing – she brings the drama with total control.

“Damages” is the single, it’s more uptempo (and afropoppy) than her usual vibe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOrFWBjiRik

…but it’s the final track you all really need to listen to. It’s incredible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmxjaA8aRxE
Tems • The Key

i just realized that the 'please allow me to show you something' clip that opens "movin' on" is actually a producer tag. the same clip opens h.e.r.'s "could've been" and umi's "remember me" -- all produced by d'mile, who, now that i've looked him up, has actually produced a good number of songs that i like, including sevyn streeter's "nEXt", lucky daye's "roll some mo", and... oh wait, much of victoria monét's jaguar? good to know

apparently the clip, btw, is from the terror (1963)

Huh, that's interesting... nice catch. (I forgot about UMI's "Remember Me," that's a great track.)

Btw - I've elevated Gwen Bunn's "Pressure" (the 2nd track in my above poststorm) to my 2020 Faves playlist; it's a keeper for sure.

Tayla Parx just released a new EP with three covers (Marvin Gaye, Lauren Hill, Kirk Franklin).

*Lauryn

This track is 3:38, but somehow feels longer / more epic:

Ella Mai - Not Another Love Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30WQefSF3Ks

You know what, this sounds really good. I thought at first it might be more the performance and atmosphere, but actually I also really like the beat / sample.

i've been enjoying this recent single from sevyn streeter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F7z7gkuRsg

Nice little jam, and I approve of the message:

Jhené Aiko - Vote (as featured on ABC’s black-ish)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRrE1d7M3tI

this is very nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoM5hxFn5p4

Riley • BGE

I like this -- the sample is arresting (anyone know what it is?):

Raiche - Pick a Side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDQ0FfXmx2M

The production is really accomplished on this track; the fuzzy, repeating gtr line contrasted with the crisp percussion & vocal elements in the foreground:

Journee - Like That

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O3LyLxVhkc

Tayla Parx just released a new EP with three covers (Marvin Gaye, Lauren Hill, Kirk Franklin).

― I Hate the Aedes (morrisp), zaterdag 3 oktober 2020 1:16

loving this. the production is very light, giving these tracks an almost a capella feel, and she's got such a beautiful voice.

this is her doing Kirk Franklin's "I Smile": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyyZL8y8WM

(also love that Tayla, who's from Texas, called this EP A Blue State)

Just learned that Victoria Monét co-wrote "Do It," the Chloe x Halle single (and standout track)... that's awesome.

the chloe x halle single seems like an instant classic, the sort of thing that might've led off a "summer jams" thread in precedented times gone by!

(a victoria monét co-write btw)

― monotony, maandag 18 mei 2020 2:46

whoops! -- apologies to monotony. guess I knew it and forgot! ;)

I dig this recent Mya single:

Mýa - I Deserve It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9A9XZGnv_A

Great new one from DaniLeigh:

DaniLeigh - Monique

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

So this is apparently a love song to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson... (arguable) cheesiness of its provenance aside, I think it's lovely:

Lauren Hashian - Step Into a Love Like This

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkqSAzLgvs0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU7hz2j3Qs4

i've come back to teyana taylor's "concrete" several times now, but i still can't get fully into it. at times it sounds terrific ("i thought you grew up christian / let's talk about forgiveness") and at others the magic dissipates almost entirely :\

Dang, that YouTube thumbnail!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfe2yhu0e0

i know k camp is technically a rapper but this is still the correct thread to post this in. i like the whole song but the extended talk box outro in particular is excellent!

cool vibe on this one by Van and Jess

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8w5TzC8LA

Has anyone listened to the new Omarion album? It's being overshadowed by Ariana, Busta, and Oneohtrix, but I think it's solid so far.

Ayanis also just released a long EP that I’m looking forward to checking out.

haven't heard the omarion album in full but enjoy "involved" and "do you well" from it. the latter will fit perfectly next to chloe x halle "do it" on my 2020 playlist but i think i like the former even more

I missed this slinky jam when it was released (a few months back):

Bellah - Something U Like

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

This Omarion IS very good.

Standout track:

Rose Gold - Soon as You Get Home

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

Cool song from an artist with an interesting background:

Aleesha - No Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGow393o1GU

DaniLeigh has now released an entire new album (Spotify; YT Music)... as far as I can tell over kids screaming in the background, it's good!

does anyone in here remember an R&B song called like ... 'padded room' or 'padded walls' or something along those lines, by an R&B singer from about 10 (give or take three) years ago?

Female R&B singer, very bold voice, never quite crossed over, maybe a songwriter for others but i can't recall

concept of the song was that she and her partner were so loud they needed padded walls etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD8w4TaQmII

thats it!!

more literal than i rememebred

two of my favorite men in r&b right now - they sound great together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6A1IHAQsg
Masego ft. Don Toliver • Mystery Lady

Masego has a new EP, Studying Abroad, out as well - it’s good! (how) can it be that this guy has never even been mentioned on ILM?

his voice reminds me of Raphael Saadiq and he is a bit of a classicist too, but he’s also got plenty of fresh African and Caribbean touches in his sound palette.

I also liked “Veg Out (Wasting Thyme)” from earlier this year and last year’s “Queen Tings” (which has a good remix with Nigerian alté artist Cruel Santino, who was still called Santi then).

lol Nabozo just made the actual first Masego post an hour ago on the Rolling Dancehall thread, he also has a song with Shenseea on his EP.

damn that song is great

masego's "tadow" is a favorite of the youtube algorithm. it's up to 248 million views lol.

it has also been streamed 186 million times on Spotify alone, which suggests it was a massive hit, when in fact it never charted at all afaict.

i am glad to have heard of "mystery lady" and masego now, whatever thread they should be posted in. lots of interesting, sometimes disarmingly frank lyrical turns in there that reward repeated listening.

toliver does sound good on it too. i was definitely late to engage with his music, i guess b/c i initially judged him to be a bit too travis scott-adjacent for my tastes. (not that i dislike travis scott, but, idk, not my main thing.) having caught up a little, his album is definitely impressive and "after party" is easily among the most striking singles i heard on the radio this year. he sings the hook on a pretty big current radio hit too ("lemonade") that's less interesting than much of his own music but also far from the worst thing on the airwaves right now. hoping there will continue to be more, bigger/better things to come for him

don's project from ... 2? years ago is really great. we talked about it on the rolling rap thread that year

donny womack, still prob my favorite project of his, and i liked heaven or hell. it dropped the same week as astroworld, iirc

whatever thread they should be posted in

sorry not sorry for blurring the boundaries between rap and r&b**, again - Don Toliver came up in this thread earlier this year, some discussion ensued. as for Masego, he’s very much an allround music guy from what I’ve heard of him, much more at home on an r&b than a rap thread imo.

**obviously I didn’t start that particular fire, singers rap and sing rappily, rappers sing and rap sing-songily, it’s been going on for a while. what are the criteria? should Ne-Yo’s “Pinky Ring” (to name a song that was around during the previous Toliver tussle) go on the rap thread?

no objections on my end! sorry if i inadvertently implied otherwise. the boundaries are blurry, the categorizations imprecise to begin with, and i don't mind that

"mystery lady" is great, love the syncopation

i thought "mystery lady" was my intro to masego but apparently it was actually this, which has been sitting in one of my playlists for a little while

he’s also featured on Kehlani’s “Hate The Club” (which he co-wrote) off her current album - not as a vocalist tho, he does the saxophone in it.

This was my intro to masego
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhufJDhL9xw

This sounds just like all the other sh!t in this thread that I love (lol)... nice slow jam

Teenear - Special Attention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ovM_5lLOI

Tayla Parx has a new full-length album out, btw... (I haven’t listened to it yet)

I’m pleased that Summer Walker’s Over It won Album of the Year at the Soul Train Awards.

released in October last year, no less.

...but speaking of Summer Walker, can't say I *loved* this year's Life On Earth EP, but I'm still totally smitten with "White Tee" with NO1-NOAH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJhcGl_h7Y

I assume Soul Train has an eligibility period that doesn't sync up w/the calendar year (like the Grammys).

Meanwhile, I *did* love Life on Earth, and wish it were getting more recognition!

good for summer

listened to tayla's album last night... got some interesting tracks but it also shifts gears a lot, which can be dizzying esp given that almost all the tracks are shorter than 3 mins...

idk, might have to give it another go

Yes, I’ve just given it one listen so far... felt very hard-edged and breakup-y

I really liked the Tayla album and its conciseness was a feature not a bug for me

Getting organized for end of year... this is another favorite track that hasn't shown up in this thread:

Mariah the Scientist - Always n Forever (feat. Lil Baby)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ru3FPlRioM

that owns

Juls - ' blessed' feat mira may and donne'o

think some will like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFz9-j2lUOw

baegod and sbvce - ' never you mind'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghG8Ahf6nKA

slept on crew outta cali, baegod and sbvce have been consistantly churning out dreamy, smooth and smart r'n'b. check out their singles back catalogue, solid.

I think this brief, spare track is intriguing (it's the title track of a recent EP):

María Isabel - Stuck in the Sky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5X0ITga-W0

I don't know much about this artist, Alycia Bella (apparently she has surfaced in the past, under other names); but she has three lovely new singles out:

Alycia Bella - Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prBdOv6NeeA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwoWItvMqng
Tkay Maidza feat. Kari Faux - Don't Call Again

A little bit the Doja Cat school

Yeah her album is cool (if not quite my speed)

Just came across this – not really sure how to classify it... it has an “indie” quality, reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on... I think it’s a fascinating single:

Maeta - Teen Scene (feat. Buddy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8butWJabQy4

(I wasn’t familiar with the track’s producer, Kaytranda – he clearly has a rep)

he even has his own thread!

KAYTRANADA - 99.9%

Juls - ' blessed' feat mira may and donne'o

think some will like this
📹

love that Maeta track, thanks (best Kay production this year? maybe!!)

sorry, it’s “Jump*ing* Ship”.

xp

re: Masego. he def belongs in this thread, imo. so does Alex Isley as long as she keeps delivering us tha lush

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

Alex Isley ft. Masego - Good & Plenty (prod. by Jack Dine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTNZR82fVHw

that’s Chloe x Halle’s Tiny Desk (home) concert

Roz made it: The Chloe x Halle thread

i didn't feel much either way about this when it first came out but now that the weather's gotten chilly i find myself in the right headspace for it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAFAfhod9TU

(h.e.r. "damage")

"got u connected like bluetooth"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuJrvXsb8zw

DaniLeigh - Put U On