R&B
The Weeknd Performs “Save Your Tears” at 2021 Billboard Music Awards: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T02:50:26+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 10:50pm ET The Grammys pissed off one of music’s biggest names when they completely snubbed The Weeknd at this year’s awards ceremony, and you can bet the Billboard Music Awards aren’t making the same mistake. Not only did they hand the After Hours singer seven trophies before the televised event even began, they gave him the first broadcast award of the night for Top Hot 100 Artist. (And a handful more after that.) Later in the show, they also provide him with a whole dang parking lot for his performance of “Save Your Tears”. The Weeknd’s performance made innovative use of vehicles instead of backup dancers. It began with him leading a gang of r...
Leon Bridges Announces New Album Gold-Diggers Sound, Shares “Motorbike”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-14T19:59:04+00:00“>May 14, 2021 | 3:59pm ET Leon Bridges has announced his new album, Gold-Diggers Sound, out July 23rd. It is the follow-up to his 2018 sophomore full-length, Good Thing, and features the lead single, “Motorbike”. The 11-track Gold-Diggers Sound is named after the Los Angeles speakeasy and studio in which Bridges recorded the project over a two-year window. He executive produced the album with Ricky Reed and recruited Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and Ink for features. “I spent two years jamming in what often felt like a musician’s paradise. We effortlessly moved from the dance floor to the studio,” recalled Bridges in a press statement. “We would be finishing ...
Jorja Smith Drops New EP Be Right Back: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-14T15:39:27+00:00“>May 14, 2021 | 11:39am ET Jorja Smith has released Be Right Back, her new eight-track project and follow-up to 2018’s Lost and Found. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. She’s also shared a video for the song “Bussdown”. This is Smith’s first studio release in three years, but don’t call it an album. According to the R&B singer, it’s more like an EP than anything else. “It’s called be right back because it’s just something I want my fans to have right now,” she said when announcing it last month. “This isn’t an album and these songs wouldn’t have made it. If I needed to make these songs, then someone needs to hear them too.” Be Right Back is a...
Xenia Rubinos Shares New Song “Cógelo Suave”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-11T19:32:01+00:00“>May 11, 2021 | 3:32pm ET Xenia Rubinos indulges in some nearly-nonsensical fun on the new song “Cógelo Suave”. Over a funky bass line, our former CoSigned artist scats and riffs her way through a tropical storm of syllables. While she often arrives at phrases such as “Well, I don’t know,” or “I’m doing fine,” these messages are besides the point. Rubinos revels in the way words sound, layering different recordings of her voice on top of one another and allowing the motion of her lips to take the ear for a ride. Via Stereogum, Rubinos said in a statement that, “It’s a gibberish spaceship ride, high speed chase, birds and stars whirring around your head...
The Weeknd Calls Grammy Rule Changes “Admission of Corruption”
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-03T17:45:00+00:00“>May 3, 2021 | 1:45pm ET The Weeknd is not satisfied with the Recording Academy’s decision to eliminate almost all secret committees responsible for nominating artists for the Grammy Awards. Despite calling for that very change in March, the artist born Abel Tesfaye is doubling down on his Grammy critiques, telling Variety that the rule changes are an “admission of corruption.” Tesfaye’s crusade against the Recording Academy actually began last year, when he was shut out of all Grammy categories despite releasing one of the most critically-lauded, commercially-successful albums of 2020 in After Hours. His rhetoric escalated in March when he announ...
The Weeknd Enlists Ariana Grande for “Save Your Tears” Remix: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-23T04:02:20+00:00“>April 23, 2021 | 12:02am ET The Weeknd has teamed up with Ariana Grande for a remix of his After Hours song “Save Your Tears”. Watch the accompanying animated music video below. The track is the latest in a string of remixes that the Canadian Grammy boycotter has released since After Hours arrived last March. It follows he and Rosalía’s “Blinding Lights” remix from back in December, which was preceded by a Kenny G-featuring rendition of “In Your Eyes”, and a handful of remixes by Chromatics, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Lil Uzi Vert earlier in the year. It’s the first material The Weeknd has released since he reissued his debut mixtape Ho...
Luther Vandross Seized the Moment and Redefined R&B with Never Too Much: Classic Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-22T17:20:55+00:00“>April 22, 2021 | 1:20pm ET April 20th marked what would’ve been the 70th birthday of the late, great Luther Vandross. To celebrate his memory and musical legacy, we’re holding a giveaway for a one-of-a-kind prize pack, featuring Never Too Much and This Is Christmas on vinyl, plus a special plaque commemorating the icon’s gold and platinum singles. Visit here for more information and a chance to win. And in the meantime, enjoy Rashad Grove’s classic review of Vandross’ game-changing debut, Never Too Much, which will turn 40 later this summer. Nobody aware of his backstory would ever characterize the emerging stardom of Luther Vandross as an overnight success. Va...
Janette King Drops New Song “Cool Me Down” Featuring DijahSB: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-21T15:27:54+00:00“>April 21, 2021 | 11:27am ET Janette King has dropped a new song called “Cool Me Down” featuring DIjahSB. It’s off her upcoming debut album What We Lost, which arrives June 25th via Hot Tramp Records. King is a songwriter and producer based out of Montréal, and she starts off “Cool Me Down” with a famous clip of Eartha Kitt laughing off the idea of compromising for a man. “A man comes into my life and I have to compromise?” she scoffs, as the tinkling, jazzy beat begins to pick up steam. In a statement, King said that the song was about “staying focused on your goals,” explaining, “‘Cool Me Down’ is about staying focused on your goals and not letting anyone...
Flying Lotus Shares Two New Songs from Anime Series Yasuke: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-20T16:07:23+00:00“>April 20, 2021 | 12:07pm ET Today is April 20th, the high holy day, and Flying Lotus is celebrating with a pair of new singles. “Black Gold” featuring Thundercat and “Between Memories” featuring Niki Randa both appear in the Netflix anime series Yasuke, for which FlyLo composed the score. Yasuke is based on the true story of the first Black samurai to serve a warlord in Japan, and stars the voice of Lakieth Stanfield (Atlanta, Knives Out, Judas and the Black Messiah). Flying Lotus did more than write the music; the artist born Steven Ellison consulted on the story with creator LeSean Thomas. “[LeSean] and I talked about being outsi...
Win a Luther Vandross Prize Pack to Celebrate R&B Legend’s 70th Birthday
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T18:19:52+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 2:19pm ET You can never get too much Luther Vandross, which is why we’re celebrating what would have been the R&B legend’s 70th birthday by giving away a sweet prize pack. Born April 20th, 1951, this year would have marked Vandross’ 70th, though he passed away in 2005. To honor the late icon on his platinum birthday, we’re giving away one (1) prize pack featuring Never Too Much and 1995’s This Is Christmas on vinyl, plus a unique commemorative plaque highlighting Vandross’ four RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum singles: “Never Too Much”, “Here and Now”, “Endless Love”, and “Dance with My Father”. Released on August 12th, 1981,...
Tirzah Returns with New Single “Send Me”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T16:43:48+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 12:43pm ET UK songwriter Tirzah has returned with her first new single in three years, “Send Me”. After dropping the I’m Not Dancing and No Romance EPs in 2013 and 2014, respectively, Tirzah unveiled her lauded debut album Devotion in 2018. “Send Me” is a meditation on the period that followed. According to a press statement, the new track is “a subconscious snapshot from across a year when Tirzah was playing live regularly for the first time.” “Send Me” was written and recorded in collaboration with Mica Levi and Coby Sey. It’s built around a simple guitar riff and drums, and this pattern is only varied with an oc...
Miguel Releases Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4 EP: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T04:12:17+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 12:12am ET Nine years after the original trilogy, Miguel has returned to his Art Dealer Chic series with the Vol. 4 EP. Stream the collection below via Apple Music and Spotify. The R&B singer broke onto the scene with his hit “Adorn” from ADC Vol. 1 back in 2012. That same year he released two other entries in the series, all leading up this his debut full-length Kaleidoscope Dream. In a press statement, Miguel intimated that releasing Art Dealer Chic Vol. 4 is akin to reactivating a moniker that gets to the core of his “truest self:” “I’ve been doing a lot of work to consider and refine my beliefs in the last few years. Inevitably, this bro...
