Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, your best recap of the most notable genre-adjacent new releases this week. We have the return of a beloved duo first, as "Everybody Gets Down" sees Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge embracing some funky house as NxWorries.
Compared to their previous material, this is more of a bouncy, crisp, shiny, and easy-going cut, and it's all the more engaging for it. It's great to hear both artists tackle this production style and structure yet again, especially with .Paak's vocal charisma and locked-in percussion from the prolific producer.
Next up on R&B Season is – at long last – new music from Rihanna. Her single for the upcoming Smurfs movie soundtrack, "Friend Of Mine," is another house-inspired record in this update. While RiRi doesn't have the most prominent vocal presence on here, we're just glad to hear her on wax.
Moving onto new albums, Savannah Ré just released the new LP Formed with a lot of songwriting and aesthetic variety. "Go 'Head" is a particularly strong highlight for its resonant keys, and it has an engaging mix of vocal samples and melodies to dazzle with.
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HNHH R&B Season Playlist
Another new album on R&B Season this week is Orenji from the genre-blending Emotional Oranges. If you needed proof of this style-mixing talent, look no further than "That Girl." It sounds ripped right out of 2000s pop-rap in the best way, incorporating more soulful performances and refrains throughout.
Speaking of soul, GIVĒON brought a lot of that on his new single "RATHER BE." It's a gorgeous and tender song bolstered by high-flying strings, his smooth-as-butter tone, and some triumphant horns towards the end.
There's a similar elegance to the new Naomi Sharon single, although "The Only Love We Know" takes on more of a house and slight dancehall character. The combination of ethereal tones blend in mesmerizing fashion with earthy percussion, and of course, Sharon is at the center.
Finally on R&B Season, we wanted to shout out the sultriness of this new JVCK JAMES and Stormzy collab, "Easier Done Than Said." Slow-burning drums, bass, and guitar prelude a killer vocal contrast between chipmunk refrains and the London lyricist's husk.
