Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, whose latest update rounded up the best of the best releases of the week pertaining to the genre’s orbit. To start, we have to shout out the new single from Roy Woods, as “Rockstar Baby” is a very smooth and charismatic cut. It fuses some elements of woozy, psychedelic, but nonetheless hard-hitting trap with passionate vocal runs, light string embellishments, and what sound like some The Weeknd-inspired deliveries and flows. It’s energetic enough to perk your ear up and engage you in the sound, but chilled-out enough to let you sit back and enjoy the vibes.
As for more genre fusions in the R&B world, Jessie Reyez and Ari Lennox teamed up for a slightly dancehall-inspired and relaxing collab, “JUST LIKE THAT.” Both vocalists share a lot of vocal chemistry on the track thanks to their whispered harmonies and more powerful exclamations, and the acoustic guitar is a very tender anchor to the cut’s atmosphere. The drums are very light as well, keeping things simple so your attention mostly goes to the singers’ melodic prowess.
HNHH R&B Season Playlist: Stream
Elsewhere on R&B Season, we have more dreamy and somewhat melancholy fare, such as Chase Shakur’s new song “2ofUs.” The big draw behind this record on impact is the slick, crisp, and steady drum break that energizes an otherwise ethereal and minimal sonic pallet. Chase’s voice remains buttery throughout, mixing in well with the synth pads and keys embellishments. However, the single also adds some subtle melodic elements here and there to flesh this aspect of it out, namely some floating synthesizers and background vocals that harmonize with ease.
Finally, we’d be remiss not to mention Nao’s chilling, wondrous, but still funky new jam, “Elevate.” The high-pitched vocal delivery offsets you a little bit on impact, but by the time it matches with dramatic chords, slow-burning and cavernous drums, and a buzzing electric guitar solo, it fully reaches its evocative potential. Let us know what your favorite R&B Season inclusion was this week, as well as what else we missed, down in the comments below. Check the playlist out up above and, as always, stick around HNHH for the best new music drops around the clock.
About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case.
Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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