Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.
Jessie Reyez announced her new album Paid In Memories with her “Psilocybin & Daisies” single and Sabrina Claudio made her return with “Need U To Need Me.” Miguel joined J-Hope for “Sweet Dreams” while Wizkid dropped an elegant video for “Kese (Dance).” Elsewhere, SiR announced he Step Into The Light Tour, Tyla released the video for her “Push 2 Start” remix with Sean Paul, and Angie Stone tragically passed away at 63 following a car crash.
Here are the new music releases you need to listen to:
Jessie Reyez — “Psilocybin & Daisies”
Jessie Reyez announced her third album Paid In Memories with her new single “Psilocybin & Daisies.” The song, which interpolates Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979,” is the sixth single from Reyez’s upcoming album, is one that the singer uses to plead for an everlasting love. As for Paid In Memories, it will arrive on March 28.
Sabrina Claudio — “Need U To Need Me”
This year marks the start of a new chapter for Sabrina Claudio as she begins a new partnership with independent record label Empire. That partnership was brought forth her new vulnerable single “Need U To Need Me.” “I wrote ‘Need U To Need Me’ as a fear-based admission,” Claudio said about the song. “A romanticized translation of longing and yearning to be a necessity to the ones you love most.”
Kyle Dion — “No Gravity”
Kyle Dion has a new album on the way, and while we’ll have to wait some time for information on that, his new single “No Gravity” is here to hold us down in the meantime. With this record, Dion’s trademark contemporary blend of R&B, funk, and soul leads the way as he sings of break free from life’s restrictions. “This song is about hitting a low point and craving freedom — to dance, to escape, to just feel nothing but the moment,” Dion said about the song in a press release. “It’s about letting go of everything weighing you down, shedding it all, and floating into the night.”
Mack Keane — Entries
After nearly three years without a project, following 2022’s Intersections with producer ESTA., LA singer Mack Keane is back with his second solo project, Entries. The 10-track came about as Keane was “jotting down my feelings to a beat that I made,” he told Uproxx. He continued, “It just came about naturally where I was like, I can make this a thing. I could do a little mixtape, or a tape, or a project that’s these journal entries to reintroduce Mack in a way.”
Dende — “Need U Like”
Dende has been a mainstay on this column over the years, and following a newly-inked Def Jam deal, he’s a name you’ll have to keep your eye on in R&B in the next upcoming months. Start with “Need U Like,” Dende’s infectious new single that serves as a profession of love to a significant other that he just can’t keep his hands and his eyes off of.
Iyla — “Wild”
For her second record of the year, LA singer Iyla checks back in with “Wild.” The sultry record captures the burning passion and desire that can exist in a relationship, whether it be for better or for worse. ‘Wild’ unleashes the story of a once innocent relationship that quickly turns dark,” Iyla said in a press release. “I used nature as a way to reflect our own animalistic senses, and to show the tug of war between desire and danger wrapped up in a woman’s need to break free from toxicity and control.”
JAY1 & Hunxho — “Prettier”
At the end of 2024, UK rapper JAY1 released his project Sorry I’m Late, which spawned the hit record “Prettier.” To extend the song’s life, JAY1 tapped Hunxho to deliver a remix of the song. Hunxho gives the song a boost with a slick verse that fits perfectly with the song’s narrative.
Byron Juane & Omeretta The Great — “Atlanta Girls”
With his deluxe reissue of A Night About You out on March 21, Byron Juane returns with “Atlanta Girls” alongside Omeretta The Great. The North Carolina singer teams up with Atlanta’s Omeretta, who went viral in 2022 for her “Sorry Not Sorry” single, for the track that shouts out the best women in the famed city down south.
Aaron Page — “Pretty Girls Like R&B”
Connecticut-bred and Houston-based singer Aaron Page is back to work in 2025 with his new song “Pretty Girls Like R&B.” Over a sexy drill beat, Page glides with ease as he sings about a woman who’s caught his eye and his hope to use his R&B skills to win her over.
LALA — “Pressure”
After ending 2024 with her Lalaland EP, UK singer LALA gets back to work with her new single “Pressure.” The sweet and passionate record finds Lala pouring her heart out over a new partner as she sings, “You give me space, I give it too / You make love to me, I make love to you.”
Larrenwong — 4th & Long
Nearly a year after releasing the deluxe edition of Greenroom EP, California singer Larrenwong delivers another project in the form of his 4th & Long EP. Six songs make up this project for another showcase of Larrenswong’s blossoming talents.