Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the hottest R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak gifts us with their first offering from their forthcoming collaborative album as Silk Sonic. Also, Jhene Aiko shares her “Lead The Way” off Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and Joyce Wrice connects with Freddie Gibbs for “On One.”
Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak — “Leave The Door Open”
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have united to create the ultimate super R&B duo Silk Sonic and their first release is titled “Leave The Door Open.” The song is filled with all the funk and rhythm that you’d expect.
Jhene Aiko — “Lead The Way”
Off the soundtrack to Raya And The Last Dragon, Jhene shares the music video for the song “Lead The Way.” Directed by Carlos López Estrada, Jhene journeys through a magical kingdom. The song was a dream come true for the R&B singer. “I’ve always had this little fantasy of being a Disney princess, voicing one, or like being the character,” she said in an Apple Music interview. “And so this was the closest that I’ve gotten, so I was pretty excited.”
Joyce Wrice — “On One” Feat. Freddie Gibbs
Joyce Wrice’s debut album is set to drop March 19 and ahead of its release, she shares with fans the music video for “On One” featuring Freddie Gibbs.
E Bleu — “3AM”
As rising Houston artist E Bleu preps for the release of his upcoming project, he arrives with his new single “3AM,” signaling his return. The ethereal cut is dreamy and definitely sets a chill, late-night summer vibe. “I’ve always been a night owl. The energy at night is just different to me,” he said in a statement. “I remember being in an Uber on the way home just mentally recapping the night and feeling like it’s somehow a pattern I fall into every night. I got home and recorded it in like 15 min on my kitchen counter at 3 AM.”
Xian Bell — “Sex Pistol”
As Xian Bell readies for his upcoming album, the Los Angeles native delivers his first release of the year, “Sex Pistol.” Accompanying the new release is its Starks, Cristian Navarro, and Clyde Goins-directed music video, featuring some sensual gunplay to go along with the singer’s clever wordplay.
Feather — “Juke”
Tank‘s artist Feather is repping for her hometown of Chicago on her new single “Juke.” “’Juke is a part of the culture in Chicago that I grew up on and I’m so excited to be a part of spreading that culture to the world,” she said in a statement. The music video for this bop is coming soon.
Laura Mvula — “Safe Passage”
Laura Mvula takes R&B artistry to another level with her new track “Safe Passage.” “‘Safe Passage’ is a poem about the vehicle that takes us all from the space where we feel like we’re drowning, and we’re trapped to the promised land, which actually exists,” she says of the song in a statement. “It’s not a dream, it’s not a fictional place.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
