Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B and afrobeats column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists. DVSN announced the release date for their fourth album Working On My Karma while Wizkid put his Starboy persona on display in his charismatic “Bad To Me” video. Kelela continued her comeback with “Happy Ending” while Rihanna detailed plans for Savage X Fenty Vol. 4. Elsewhere, Joyce Wrice held her NPR Tiny Desk concert and SZA is finally releasing “Shirt.”
Sonder — Too Late To Die Young
It’s been nearly six years since Sonder, the R&B group made up of singer Brent Faiyaz and producers Atu and Dpat, released a project. Their last was 2017’s Into, but at long last, the trio is back in action with Too Late To Die Young. It presents five songs with highlights like “Mad Riches” and “Break You Off.”
Babyface — Girls Night Out
Since the beginning of the summer, legendary singer and songwriter Babyface has been releasing singles with the guest acts being female singers. It turns out that this is the whole premise of his new album Girls Night Out. Babyface uses his status to spotlight today’s women in R&B throughout the 13-track project which features Ari Lennox, Kehlani, Ella Mai, Queen Naija, Coco Jones, Tiana Major9, Tink, Baby Tate, Muni Long, Amaarae, Sevyn Streeter, Tkay Maidza, and Doechii.
Jeremih — “Changes”
It’s been well over five years since Jeremih released a solo single. Granted, in the years since then, he’s managed to pop up here and there for guest features and joint albums like he and Ty Dolla Sign’s Mih-Ty. Jeremih makes his return with “Changes,” a song that depicts a relationship in the midst of heartbreak and a longing for love. It’s produced by Hitmaka, samples Avant’s “Read Your Mind,” and arrives as the lead single from his long-awaited fourth album.
PJ Morton — Watch The Sun (Deluxe)
PJ Morton’s Watch The Sun is one of this year’s best R&B albums, so much so that we recognized it on our mid-year list of highlight R&B releases. Morton is currently on the road in support of his latest body of work, but touring isn’t stopping him from dropping new music as he returns with a deluxe version of Watch The Sun. It adds a new version of “The Better Benediction” as well as a new song, “If It Wasn’t For You.”
Eric Bellinger — “Obsession”
Last year, Eric Bellinger released two projects. One was his Grammy-nominated album New Light and the other was 1-800-Hit-Eazy, a collaborative effort with producer Hitmaka. In the coming months, Bellinger will release a sequel to the latter project, titled 1-800-Hit-Eazy: Line 2. To quick things off, he unloads the project’s first single, “Obsession.”
Baby Rose — “Go B/W Fight Club”
Baby Rose‘s last release came at the end of last year with her holiday album To: You (A Holiday Joint). Nearly a year later, she’s back with not one, but two new singles: “Go” and “Fight Club.” Baby Rose says “Go” is “about fighting to hold onto past love by any means necessary while the latter record is one she says is a “flow, guided energetically by the urge to break out of any box I was put in.”
Hennessy — “Can’t Let You Go”
Providence, RI native Hennessy got off to a great start in 2022 with the release of her “All For Nothing” single, the first release from her upcoming project. A few months later, she follows that record with the somber “Can’t Let You Go.” The track watches Hennessy arrive at the difficult decision to let a lover go to save themselves from inflicting any more pain on each other in the future.
Langston Bleu — “The Motions”
The days of you not knowing Langston Bleu’s name are over. The Atlanta native checks in with soothing vocals that periodically veers into the sultry lane which brings a new level of enjoyment to his records (just check out “Love On The Rocks”). For his first release of the year, Bleu returns with “The Motions,” a double single that delivers two songs with the same title, but completely different productions. “The Motions (A-Side)” lives on the dancefloor while “The Motions (B-Side)” shines a light on his passion with a more traditional take.
Ayra Starr — 19 & Dangerous (Deluxe)
In 2020, Ayra Starr signed to legendary Nigeran producer Don Jazzy’s label Mavins Records. The following year she released her debut album 19 & Dangerous. The 11-track release presented features from Foushee and Ckay and highlight records like “Bloody Samaritan” and “Fashion Killer.” Now, more than a year after its release, Starr delivers its deluxe version complete with five new songs and additional features from Kelly Rowland, Zinoleesky, and Lojay.
Allyn — “One Time” Feat. Dom Kennedy
Months after sharing her After Hours, Pt. 1 EP, Bay Area singer Allyn checks back in with “One Time.” The new song features a verse from Dom Kennedy as it could be the first release from her next project, one possibly called After Hours, Pt. 2
Fridayy — Lost In Melody
You’ve certainly seen Fridayy’s name pop up on your streaming service over the past couple of months. He delivered the hook on DJ Khaled’s “God Did” with Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne as well as laying another hook down for Lil Baby’s “Forever.” Taking advantage of his brightest spotlight thus far, Fridayy shares his debut project Lost In Melody. Its seven songs are accompanied by a long feature from Vory.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.