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1
McGrady
Kari Faux
02:44
2
Pressure
Ari Lennox
03:13
3
chuu
anaiis, Topaz Jones
04:13
4
Breathe Deeper - Lil Yachty Remix
Tame Impala, Lil Yachty
04:48
5
Headaches
Raveena
05:11
6
Lavande
BlackDoe, jeebanoff
03:19
7
Easy (feat. Summer Walker)
Aminé, Summer Walker
03:31
8
Deixa partir
Béesau, Pongo
03:36
9
til bliss
KEYAH/BLU
03:23
10
Free The Frail
JPEGMAFIA, Helena Deland
03:30
11
Lucky - Things You Say Remix
Tiana Major9, Things You Say
03:37
12
SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Fana Hues)
Tyler, The Creator, Brent Faiyaz, Fana Hues
09:48
13
Relax
Rejjie Snow, grouptherapy., Cam O'bi
03:51
14
Eze Ego
Keyz Emmanuel, Kida Kudz
02:36
15
Binz
Solange
01:51
16
Good Days
SZA
04:39
17
Gonna Love Me (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Raekwon) - Remix
Teyana Taylor, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon
04:49
18
Girls Want Girls (with Lil Baby)
Drake, Lil Baby
03:41
19
X
Tinashe, Jeremih
02:51
20
Nights
Frank Ocean
05:07
21
LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI.
Kendrick Lamar, Zacari
03:33
22
Feel The Vibe
BJ The Chicago Kid, Anderson .Paak
04:00
23
Can I
Kehlani
02:47
24
Girls Need Love (with Drake) - Remix
Summer Walker, Drake
03:42
25
Needed Me
Rihanna
03:11
26
Energy (feat. Mahalia)
Pa Salieu, Mahalia
03:08
27
Sky Walker (feat. Travis Scott)
Miguel, Travis Scott
04:19
28
See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis)
Tyler, The Creator, Kali Uchis
03:00
29
Escape From LA
The Weeknd
05:55
30
IN THE MOMENT feat. Tyler, The Creator
Snoh Aalegra, Tyler, The Creator
03:34
31
I Like That
Janelle Monáe
03:20
32
Blue Lights
Jorja Smith
04:10
33
altar
Kehlani
04:03
34
SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY
Amaarae, Moliy
03:16
35
Young Dumb & Broke
Khalid
03:22
36
Self Care
Mac Miller
05:45
37
Come Home (feat. André 3000)
Anderson .Paak, André 3000
04:26
38
B.S. (feat. H.E.R.)
Jhené Aiko, H.E.R.
03:32
39
Rich & Sad
Post Malone
03:26
40
Woman
Little Simz, Cleo Sol
04:29
41
Feels Like Summer
Childish Gambino
04:57
42
BOY HOOD
Jon Batiste, PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty
04:26
43
Slide
H.E.R., YG
03:58
44
Roll Some Mo (feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Wale) - Remix
Lucky Daye, Ty Dolla $ign, Wale
03:31
45
Trip
Ella Mai
03:33
46
Silver Lines
IAMDDB
03:20
47
Don't
Bryson Tiller
03:18
48
Got Friends
GoldLink, Miguel
03:46
49
Sleigh (with Monte Booker & Masego)
Smino, monte booker, Masego
02:25
50
Gave Your Love Away
Majid Jordan
04:45
51
RPG (feat. 6lack)
Kehlani, 6LACK
03:56
52
Shea Butter Baby (with J. Cole)
Ari Lennox, J. Cole
03:30
53
Mood Swings (feat. Lil Tjay)
Pop Smoke, Lil Tjay
03:33
54
Find Someone Like You
Snoh Aalegra
03:26

Contemporary R&B

Music’s yesteryear is R&B’s tomorrow.  

Contemporary R&B’s status and clout in today’s music world is inevitably linked with that of hip-hop. It was hip-hop that brought R&B samples back from the dust of history; hip-hop that made R&B not just cool but gangster with the likes of Biggie Smalls; and hip-hop that leveraged its star power and popularity to bring slow jams back to the urban mainstream. Now, in a subtle way, we see R&B subverting hip-hop. Drake, Kendrick, Kanye, Mac Miller, all the superhuman names of music have made a healthy collection of hits embracing the genre. It seems the quicksand of love and the lush character of R&B’s sound was too consuming to casually dance on its surface. Not to say that the spectra of Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones didn’t come out of music’s meat grinder unscathed. No, R&B has grown out of teenage heartthrob, got some tattoos, and collected stories of street and sorrow. 

It started in the late 90s with incredible talents like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and TLC who imposed a soulful, hip-hop, beat centred style to make the transition from Barry White and Luther Vandross. While Chris Brown and R.Kelly may have hijacked the genre with their hyper-sex pop for a few solar evolutions, R&B’s North Star has always been pointing towards a constellation of hip-hop. Flash forward to the 2020 Grammy Awards for a bit of insight, keeping in mind the awards tend to drag their feet on taste and style. Anderson .Paak took home the golden gramophone, but look at the nominees; BJ the Chicago Kid, Lucky Daye, Ella Mai, PJ Morton. At least half of these artists and their discographies could be tagged a form hip-hop. 

So what does all this mean for today’s R&B ? For one, it means kids like me who grew up on hip-hop can start to lean into R&B’s finest and find something to hold onto. It also speaks to the predominance of hip-hop; take a look at pop over the last 10 years and you might find a similar story. Finally, it’s a gentle reminder of the artificial nature of genres, and the lines we draw in the sand that are moved by ocean, tide, and time. 

One thing is for sure, R&B is now bumping shoulders to the front lines of America’s favorite music. Will the trend follow beyond the Occident? There are some signs in the French hip-hop scene, Brazilian Indie, and K-Pop slow jams that suggest, “yes”. And that’s why R&B is so powerful, it’s a sound so difficult to define, but immediately identifiable once you hear it. It’s worth noting, when Jerry Wexler first coined the term “rhythm and blues” for Billboard magazine back in 1949, it was a politically correct substitute for “black music”. What does that mean today ? It means soul, funk, gospel, jazz, rock’n’roll, hip-hop, and everything we love bumping out the speakers. With this in mind, it’s no surprise how flexible and powerful R&B remains in popular music despite the hip-hop juggernaut. 

Whether it’s hip-hop today, or the J-Pop and afrobeats of tomorrow, R&B will always have it’s soft, sweet, and lush space in contemporary music. 

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