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. Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran shared a video for “For My Hand” and SiR flaunts his carefree lifestyle on “Life Is Good.” Ciara makes her return with the high-energy “Jump” while John Legend and Muni Long share their sensual video for “Honey.”
Here are some more releases you should check out:
Brent Faiyaz — Wasteland
For the past two years, since the release of his acclaimed F*ck The World EP in 2020, Brent Faiyaz fans have waited patiently to receive the singer’s sophomore album. Finally, the follow-up to 2017’s Sonder Son arrived this past weekend in the form of his Wasteland album. Nineteen tracks are available to listen to and they arrive with features from Drake, Tyler The Creator, Alicia Keys, and more for what is truly another strong output from Brent.
Emotional Oranges — “Bounce”
Last year, Emotional Oranges, the duo comprised of singer Azad Right and Vali, delivered their EP, The Juicebox which collaborations from the likes of They., Kiana Lede, Chiiild, and more. It remains to be seen what the duo has up their sleeve for 2022 but the round towards that continues with the fun and energetic “Bounce,” their second single of the year.
Kyle Dion — “Spoon And Bang”
Kyle Dion’s 2021 album Sassy was undoubtedly one of the best R&B releases of that year. In the near future, Kyle will add to the album’s experience with an upcoming deluxe, one he teases with the release of “Spoon And Bang.” The track speaks about the early moments of love and how it makes one want to spend all day and night with their new partner.
Burna Boy — Love, Damini
Afrobeats continues its very strong year with help from one of its biggest superstars. Burna Boy arrives with his sixth album Love, Damini and it checks in with 19 songs, including the fan-favorite, summer hit “Last Last,” as well as features from a list of acts from all over the world. Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, Popcaan, Blxst, J Hus, Victony, Khalid, and more appear on the project.
August 08 — Towards The Moon
Los Angeles singer August 08 began the year with his Towards The Sun project which was his first release since 2020’s Emotional Cuh. Luckily Towards The Sun is not the only project fans were given by August 08 as he returned with Towards The Moon, a graceful and serne body of work complete with six songs and guest appearances from Joji and Jhene Aiko.
Phabo — “Achy”
With his excellent Soulquarius album now in his rearview mirror, Phabo is onto the next chapter of his career which will officially be his Before I Let Go EP. After sharing the project’s title track, he returns with “Achy” a slow-rolling record focused on the pains of a failed love and the struggles of moving on.
Chris Brown — Breezy (Deluxe)
If you thought Chris Brown was back to releasing “shorter” albums, we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. Just two weeks after releasing his tenth album, Breezy, Chris returns with nine more songs in the form of a deluxe reissue which brings that project’s total amount of songs to 33. The new additions also include features from Anderson .Paak and Davido.
Thuy — “Trust” feat. RINI
Earlier this year, Thuy officially closed the chapter of her I Hope U See This project with a deluxe reissue, and now she’s back to officially launch the next chapter of her career. That starts with “Trust,” her soothing and romantic new single with fellow Asian Pacific singer RINI. The record sees both singers committing to a love that they’ve both deemed as worth it.
Jenevieve — “2NLuv” Feat. Benziboy
While Jenevieve’s 2021 year ended with her Division project, her 2022 year continues with “2NLuv” featuring Benziboy. It’s a dance and house-influenced record that grants space for Jenevieve to show off her rich vocals while building towards a climactic hook that leaves you ready to dance the night away.
Yuna — Y3
Yuna is working toward the release of her five-part album Y5. So far, she’s released her Y1 and Y2 EPs, and now she returns with Y3. The new EP arrives with three songs: “Risk It All” (which she says is about “being secure in moving forward” with a new lover,) “Don’t Wanna Know” (which is aligned with the saying “ignorance is bliss”), and “Summer Love” (which details a brief love that turned into a lifelong romance).
Allyn — “Signal” Feat. Phabo
Fresh off the release of her After Hours, Allyn connects with Phabo to release a video for their collaboration, “Signal.” The visual follows Allyn on a date night while demonstrating the mistrust and acrimony that she feels with her partner.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.