R&B 157
Album of the Week: Jamila Woods – LEGACY! LEGACY!
The Chicago singer/songwriter/poet recasts cultural superheroes' powers through the narrative of song on her incredible second album.
Kelly Finnigan : The Tales People Tell
An atypical soul debut for all the right reasons.
The Budos Band : V
Burnt Offering, a thick cut of Afrobeat meets psychedelic brain fuzz—with Gandalf on the cover—signaled a reboot of sorts for the venerable Budos Band. This 2014 release introduced droning, tuned-down sludge that tangled with experimental ’70s Can-style funk. Who saw that coming? Breaking with tradition, along with scratching the numerical album title signature for a […]
Album of the Week: Shafiq Husayn – The Loop
The Sa-Ra Creative Partners member returns after a decade with a years-in-the-making set of psychedelic soul.
Lee Fields and the Expressions : It Rains Love
An album that doesn't reinvent classic R&B, but still feels good.
Marvin Gaye : You’re the Man
The soul icon's lost album finally resurfaces for his 80th birthday, suggesting an alternate timeline hit record.
Album of the Week: Solange – When I Get Home
Ms. Knowles puts grown-folks' blues and concerns into a consistently stunning beat-tape format.
Greatest Hits: The best Janet Jackson songs
The greatest musical moments from one of the best pop artists of our time.
Remake/Remodel: Redrawing the map to Anderson .Paak’s ‘Oxnard’
Making some tweaks to a good album that fell short of its potential.
Stream the new Anderson .Paak album, Oxnard
Hear the California R&B artist's guest-filled third album now.
Charles Bradley : Black Velvet
A coda rather than a closing chapter to the late soul singer's career.
Remake/Remodel: Raiding the vault to build Prince’s ‘Purple Rain Part Two’
Adding a follow-up with eight more songs to a perfect pop moment.
Georgia Anne Muldrow : Overload
Muldrow's most mainstream release to date also harbors some of her most stunning acts of creativity.
Jamila Woods’ “Giovanni” is a funky, defiant tribute
The Chicago singer/poet honors the women that shaped her over a fierce groove.
Album of the Week: Neneh Cherry – Broken Politics
A beautiful, uncomfortable meditation on activism and self-awareness.