Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, whose latest update this week has a lot of new material to get into. The main reason why is because of the expansive, versatile, sleekly produced, and charismatic new album from Jessie Reyez. Across 21 total tracks, PAID IN MEMORIES is a fitting title for the wistful and vivid way in which this project's instrumentation mixes chill vibes with melancholy melodies and vocal interpolations. Look no further than "**6LESSINGS**" with 6LACK as an example of this, as warm bass and well-matched vocal tones from both performers solidly lead them to count their blessings despite their heartache.
On a much softer note on R&B Season this week, we have the new Naomi Sharon single, "Can We Do This Over." It's a spotlit vocal showing from the Dutch-Aruban singer, and its foundation is a clean percussion pattern with airy synth tones and occasional acoustic guitar fading in and out of the track's progression. Sade fans will probably get a kick out of the buttery-smooth approach to the production here, and Sharon once again communicates a lot of emotional dynamism in her refusal to close the door on someone.
HNHH R&B Season Playlist
Back to a bouncier mood, Ari Lennox livens up our R&B Season playlist with her new single "Soft Girl Era." Despite the title, this is one of the more immediate and punchy tracks that Lennox has hopped on in recent memory, coming off as more playful and feisty in her cheeky lyrics. While the melodic approach here is soulful through and through, the pace of the percussion sets this up for a killer remix down the line. Also, we can't forget about the sampled vocals punctuating the beat every now and again.
Finally on R&B Season, we'd be remiss not to mention the new Emotional Oranges cut, the woozy "Out The Blue." Heavy reverb effects here create a lot of distance from the stark drum kit, but subtle chords and piano embellishments bring you back down to Earth. The duo obviously comes through with vocal chemistry as well, and we're excited for more dynamic approaches in the near future.
