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Lists

Tenderness, Control, and a Strong Sense of Self
These five R&B albums from 2011 that stayed close to the body and the voice, then kept deepening over time. Some came in quietly, but none of them…
 • Soulpolitan
The Handguide to Lucky Daye
David Brown left a cult at eight, got cut from American Idol at nineteen, and starved in LA at thirty. Lucky Daye is what happened after all of it…
 • Shatter the Standards and Janelle K. Moore
There Is Only One Chaka Khan
Since the mid-seventies, Chaka Khan has been a colorful chameleon on and off the stage. She is widely known for her spontaneity and has constantly found…
 • Blackpolitan and Raya Sinclair
Glenn Lewis, Thundercat, Alex Isley, and More R&B Songs This Week
Glenn Lewis is back. Plus Thundercat, Alex Isley, Leven Kali, and Casper Sage. What do we get? Returns, debuts, and a duet that sounds like almost…
 • Soulpolitan
Omarion, Ayra Starr, and Five R&B Singles Worth Your Weekend
New R&B from Ayra Starr, Omarion, Ama with Brent Faiyaz, Nia Smith tag-teams Destin Conrad, and Jalen Ngonda.
 • Soulpolitan
Five Records That Ignore the Game on Purpose
A year that argue with each other about what “hip-hop pleasant” even means. These picks move from barroom funk DJs to block-level grit without changing…
 • Words Past da Margin
When the Veteran Still Has the Best Cry
A gold-leaning group tightening their formula, a baritone romantic moving like he’s built for the charts, and a veteran. Add a breakout vocalist from…
 • Soulpolitan
R&B Songs Where Everybody’s Losing the Argument This Week
New R&B songs where Bruno Mars surrenders, Liv.e runs a background check, Elmiene confesses, Saint Harison restrains, and GoGo Morrow hangs up.
 • Soulpolitan
February 2026 Roundups: The Best Albums of the Month
February’s best albums came from people who had been holding something back. Jill Scott returns in a decade, Tiana Major9 left Motown and came back…
 • Shatter the Standards
The Lineage of Michael Jackson (Kids / Young Stars)
Each guide is based on this run of albums, believed to be part of Michael Jackson’s roots. It then branches out into post-1995, drawn from that tree…
 • Shatter the Standards, Brandon O'Sullivan, and Phil
The Breakout Rap and R&B Artists of 1996, Pt. 1
A LaFace newcomer who plays like a one-person unit meets a Bronx singer who can stand next to rappers. On the rap side, Queens detail and Brooklyn…
 • Shatter the Standards and Cierra Marcel
The One Where Everyone Catches Feelings
New R&B songs from Ty Dolla $ign, Jorja Smith, kwn, Jai’Len Josey, and Yaya Bey. Here are the songs that stretch from luxury-brand flirting to…
 • Soulpolitan
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