Although our latest R&B Season playlist update only has a few new releases to talk about this week, they point to some even more gratifying music coming very soon. For example, Steve Lacy just dropped the single "Nice Shoes" to prepare fans for his upcoming third studio album, Oh Yeah?
This will mark Lacy's first album since 2022's Gemini Rights, and from the sound of this new track, it will be a pretty different tracklist when compared to previous releases. The lyrical content here is a bit more sultry, daring, and blunt, whereas the drums and some synth tones sound more gruff and gritty than previous hits. All in all, we're loving this new sound, and some extra piano chords, background vocals, and other embellishments flesh out what could've been a pretty skeletal experience.
But that's only until the song breaks into an alt-rock-flavored bridge in the last third, and it then closes out with a growling and hypnotic re-treatment of the original shuffle. It's a really engaging and transportive track, and we can't wait to hear the rest of Oh Yeah?'s new direction.
Read More: Steve Lacy Reveals He Confronted Jay-Z About Lil Wayne & Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Controversy
HNHH R&B Season Playlist
Elsewhere on R&B Season, we wanted to shout out Coco Jones for giving us even more material on her new deluxe, Why Not More? (MORE!). It follows an already extended version of April LP, and features a total of eight new tracks in addition to the original tracklist.
Of these eight cuts, two of them are remixes. The Leon Thomas version of "Here We Go (Uh Oh)" is very solid, but we want to highlight a vocal feat in the "Other Side Of Love" remix featuring Alicia Keys.
Unsurprisingly, this is a gorgeous cut that shows off a lot of vocal harmony and build-ups, all with a great sense of drama. It goes to show there are still amazing soulful releases coming out every day for those looking for classic R&B vibes.
As for our Fire Emoji playlist, we had big hip-hop releases this week from Chance The Rapper, Cardi B, and A$AP Rocky. As we head into the fall, we'll see what sticks around.
