R&B

After locking in a new role at EMPIRE as their Vice President of A&R, Hitmaka continues to prove that he has an ear for chart-dominating hits with “Quickie.” The self-produced track features Queen Naija as his adjacent collaborator, with a feature from Ty Dolla $ign.  On the straightforward track, Ty is ready to pull up

Teyana Taylor is ready to leave it all on the stage one last time for her farewell tour this fall.  Billed as The Last Rose Petal Tour, the series of U.S. shows, currently 12 dates, begins on November 7, in San Francisco, stopping off in major cities including Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. She

Lucky Daye has debuted the video for his new single “Over,” which co-stars Jordyn Woods.  Styled in a flowy white dress, the socialite opens the cinematic picture at no better place than a nearly vacant theatre. Her reason for being there is apparent: Daye. He’s backstage with his team, who are preparing him to be

Toni Braxton is ready to take the beauty industry by storm. The legendary R&B vocalist has announced her new brand Nude Sugar. Selling exclusively at Ulta Beauty stores and Ulta.com, Nude Sugar was “developed to enrich and enhance the skin for women of all colors,” according to a press release. “I’m excited to step into

Vedo’s consistency won’t be denied. The singer-songwriter has released his fifth proper album, 1320. It follows last year’s project, For You.   The 14 tracks featured here demonstrate Vedo’s expertise in making music for love-making. He best illustrates this flex on high-profile collaborations with Lloyd (“Sex Room”) and Ari Lennox (“Juicy”). He also gets his seduction vibes

Fresh off his entire catalog finally being made available on streaming services, Tank was awarded an honorary ​​Doctor of Philosophy in Musical Arts from Harvest Christian University over the weekend.  The R&B general shared the celebratory news on his Instagram, writing, “I am a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Musical Arts!!! Thank you, Harvest Christian

They say the truth comes out when you’re drunk. Well, it shouldn’t be a shocker that Sevyn Streeter’s sophomore album, Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz, is her most authentic and upfront body of work to date. Being in the music industry since she was a teenager, including as a member of two girl groups, Streeter has

Chicago’s very own Ann Marie makes a staunch return with her new project Hate Love.  With production from Tasha Catour, Killah B, OG Parker, and Hitmaka, to name a few, the 13-song release explores the lows of relationships, mixed emotions, and sensuality.  In the song “I Need,” Marie sings about and lists all the desired

With fall on the cusp, Majid Jordan enjoys one last week of “Summer Rain” on the new song.  The duo’s producer Jordan Ullman and Stephen Kozmeniuk worked together on the superbly created ’80s backbeat suited for the vocalist Majid Al-Maskati’s story about how a stiff love hold pins him down.  Majid sings, “Lost in the

B y Kyle Dion’s account, sassy is seen as “being live and saying whatever the f*ck you feel.” Part of what makes Dion’s new music so flagrant across the boards is he has comfortably set foot inside shoes that rightfully belong to him rather than those of an exaggerated persona. His latest album, SASSY, does

On October 8, Marc E. Bassy will release Little Men, his second album under his own imprint New Gold Medal and his first since 2019’s PMD, which he reissued a year later.  Early tracks slated to appear on Bassy’s upcoming set are “Tell Me Lies” and “Trouble,” as well as the two-pack singles “Atmosphere” and “Zone.” The pop-R&B crooner pairs

Dawn Richard isn’t stopping for anything as it relates to her newly-released album Second Line. The New Orlean native has released a video for the split track “Mornin | Streetlights.”  The black-and-white visual directed by Zebretta Johnson features Richard and two dancers in sync with a tight routine shot in front of a forested area.

Bathe’s forthcoming project, Bicoastal, is due on October 15, and it features their latest track, “Bolero.”  Reflecting on his lineage over a smooth and airy production, the duo’s vocalist Devin Hobdy describes the song as “a therapy session with my ancestors and a love letter to the Black and brown communities that made me.”  “Tell me it’s

In February, VanJess ended their nearly three-year project drought with the EP Homegrown. The sister duo keeps the era going with a deluxe version that expands from nine to 14 songs.  While the reissue continues to hone in on VanJess’ collaborative energy with the previously shared remix of “Slow Down” featuring Lucky Daye and the TOKiMONSTA-assisted “Say Yes,” it allows room for

Queen Naija has announced the dates for The Butterfly Tour with special guest Tink.  The tour will kick off on October 17, at Center Stage Theater in Atlanta. From there, Naija and Tink will play in major cities in the U.S., including Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and San Francisco. The tour will conclude on November

Following the details about her upcoming album Blue Water Road, Kehlani has shared the first single and its music video. The new song, “Altar,” was produced by Andrew “Pop” Wansel (Kiana Ledé, Ariana Grande) and contains background vocals from Ambré and Jacob Collier.  Speaking on the new track, Kehlani said, “Understanding grief and death has been a

A new Kehlani era is upon us.  The Grammy-nominated singer has announced her new album, Blue Water Road, will arrive this winter. Her announcement was accompanied by a cinematic, minute-long trailer. “Coming out of the rubble of It Was Good Until It Wasnt and into the light, on to the road,” Kehlani wrote on Twitter. Blue

Jon Vinyl extends his streak of new music with “Deflect,” his fourth offering of 2021.  In this new song, the Canadian singer-songwriter is in a serious tailspin that has caused him to be doubtful about where to place his feelings in a possibly forced romance.  Prior to “Deflect,” Vinyl released three other songs this year, including

Chaka Khan has returned with “When The Time Comes,” a new song lifted from the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie soundtrack.  This bold and spirited number is reminiscent of a Diana Ross classic, but with an inherent vocal charisma that only the Queen of Funk can effortlessly pull off. Here, she sings about knocking down all sorts of barriers

Front + Center is Rated R&B’s artist discovery series, putting new and emerging R&B singers at the center of your attention. They say you don’t make 100 percent of the shots you take. But, for Cocoa Sarai, the stats are quite favorable. In recent years, Sarai put her stamp on the music industry, working on