R&B: Last News

Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can't get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order.

Normani has dropped her first new music of the year. "Fair" is a tender ballad co-written by the former Fifth Harmony member alongside Abby Keen, Bernard “Harv” Harvey, and Felisha King Harvey. Normani performed the song live on Thursday's Tonight Show to coincide with its release.

Ravyn Lenae stepped away from the studio for a while after dropping her third EP, Crush, in early 2018. "Rewind" — a track that premiered with The FADER in 2020 and appeared on the Insecure Season 4 soundtrack — is the sole song the Chicago R&B singer released in the four-year interim between that tape and her February single, "Skin Tight." A month later, she's back with "Light Me Up," a slow and sensual cut about embracing the uncertainty of an early-stage relationship.

Syd has announced her forthcoming second album, ‘Broken Hearts Club’, alongside the release of new track ‘CYBAH’ featuring Lucky Daye.The Internet singer’s latest track is the third to be previewed from her upcoming LP, following last year’s ‘Missing Out’, ‘Fast Car’ and ‘Right Track’.Speaking about ‘Broken Hearts Club’, Syd said: “The album is about a relationship I had that ended in my first real broken heart. It almost felt like I joined a club because all of my friends went through similar experiences.

New York-based experimental R&B artist Yaya Bey has unveiled Remember Your North Star, her poignantly-titled third full-length album out on June 15. It's also her first for the esteemed label Big Dada, recently relaunched to focus on marginalized and racialized artists.

Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can't get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order.

Almost a year after the release of her enchanting debut album Overgrown, Joyce Wrice has returned with a new song. It's called "Iced Tea," and it was produced by Kaytranada, who joined up with the San Diego singer on Overgrown's "Kaytra's Interlude." The new song doesn't mess around with the formula they established too much—"Iced Tea" is a refreshing jam for anyone that's been eager to hit the dance floor.

Kelis’ husband, photographer Mike Mora, has died at the age of 37. The news was confirmed overnight by the singer's management.

Tiana Major9 struck R&B gold in 2019 with "Collide," a collaboration with EARTHGANG that earned her a Grammy nomination and performance slots at the BRIT, BET, Soul Train, Billboard, and MOBO Awards. She followed that track's success with two mixtapes: 2020's Back At Sixes And Sevens (remixed the following year) and 2021's Major Mantras.

Kelis‘ husband Mike Mora has died after a battle with stomach cancer.The 37-year-old photographer’s death was confirmed by Steve Satterhwaite of Red Light Management, in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.“Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away,” he said. “We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now.

I imagine that when Mariah the Scientist sits down to write songs she consults an imaginary devil and angel sitting on her shoulder. The Atlanta R&B singer writes tender, complicated stories about modern love that have all the chaotic melodrama of a network soap opera.

Missy Elliott, Kali Uchis, Jhené Aiko, Ozuna, and Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals.It is described on the festival’s social media channels as “a radical movement designed for and by Black, Brown, Asian/Pacific Islander, and LGBTQIA+ free spirits, artists, and creators”.Elsewhere on the line-up are Jorja Smith, Flatbush Zombies, Major Lazer Sound System, Wizkid and Jai Wolf.The mission of the event (via Rolling Stone) is “to close the equity gap for Black, Brown, Asian, and other underrepresented people in the entertainment industry, with the aim of achieving a diversified workforce across all levels in the industry by 2030.”Tickets are available now via Dice.A post shared by LETSGETFR.EE (@letsgetfr.ee)“LETSGETFR.EE is more than just a music festival,” it reads on the festival website. “It’s a radically inclusive experience where you get to explore and engage with other cultures and other communities in a broad-minded, respectful, considerate, non-cliché, and non-exploitative way.“A celebration of cross-cultural exploration (inspired by Brazilian Carnaval’s approach to extreme fun and radical self-expression) takes place in Queens—widely considered to be the most diverse county in America.“LETSGETFR.EE’s line up celebrates a number of contemporary culture-crossing artists who we believe have followed in the footsteps of free-thinking change agents and artists-as-world-citizens like Nina Simone and Caetano Veloso.” In December last year, Timbaland took to Twitter to tease a new studio album for Missy Elliott.The album would be Elliott’s seventh, and first since 2005’s ‘The Cookbook’.

Omar Apollo is nearing the end of a busy release cycle for his sophomore LP. IVORY drops April 8 via Warner Records and boasts a tracklist nearly twice as long as any of the Mexican-American crooner's previous projects.

TMZ, saying: “We have come to a time where we must inform the public that after a year of privately undergoing a series of treatment for esophageal cancer our beloved Traci Braxton has gone on to glory.”A post shared by Toni Braxton (@tonibraxton) The singer and reality TV star was born in Maryland in 1971 and began her career with her sisters in the group The Braxtons in 1989. She released on single with them, ‘Good Life’, before embarking on her own solo career many years later in 2014.Under her own name, she released two solo albums – 2014’s ‘Crash & Burn’ and 2018’s ‘On Earth’.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have released their annual report on recorded music revenue. According to the group's research, overall sales were up nearly 20 percent last year from 2020, reaching a record-high $15 billion. Streaming and physical revenue saw the biggest growth, with streaming climbing 24 percent and physical sales up a whopping 42 percent.

Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can't get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order.

This Friday, March 11, Rex Orange County will drop his fourth studio album, Who Cares?, via Sony Music. The English crooner announced the forthcoming record in January with its lead single, "Keep It Up," and dropped its second offering, "Amazing," last month. He's now shared the record's third and final pre-release cut, "Open a Window" featuring Tyler, the Creator.

On recent singles "Hard Life" and "Running," Manchester, U.K.-born songwriter and vocalist Pip Millett has dealt with heavy issues linked to structural problems in society like racism and the links between poverty and crime. New song "Ride With Me" is more inward looking but no less heavy-hitting with Millett's pillow-soft vocals barely hiding the hurt as she opens up about a platonic relationship gone bad.

Summer Walker has announced a limited run of 2022 tour dates. "The Summer Walker Series" will kick off on March 20 in Houston and make stops in Chicago and Dallas before the Atlanta-based R&B singer hits a string of festivals over the summer.

It's been two years since Brent Faiyaz shared Fuck The World, but that doesn't mean it's too late to share new visuals from the EP. Today, he's shared a video for "Let Me Know," a tender, loving cut that shows Brent is more than the toxic heartthrob he's often described as.

Kehlani released "altar," the lead single from her third studio LP, blue water road (release date TBA) in September. Today, she followed it up with "little story," a sultry song about returning not quite hat in hand to a lover you've previously wronged, hoping to pick up where things left off.