Usher, Tori Kelly, Andra Day, And More New R&B To Come Home And Chill To
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This week’s new R&B feels like one big celebration of Usher, but he isn’t the only artist making waves, announcements, or otherwise, showing up for the genre.
In addition to the release of Ursher’s ninth studio album, COMING HOME—which is also his formal debut as an independent artist, Tori Kelly has revealed that her new album is slated to arrive in April. Andra Day shared another single from her forthcoming LP. Fresco Trey is addressing a heavy subject matter. T-Pain is flexing his vocal range. Eric Roberson is singing a love letter to the sapiosexuals. Blessing Jolie is reintroducing herself. WanMor is calling all lovers and rounding out this week’s new offerings is DIXSON’s music videos for “FRIENDS.”
Whether you’re coming home to chill by yourself or with a homieloverfriend, we’re sure one of these picks will appeal to your senses and your needs.
Usher – COMING HOME
Usher is back with his ninth studio album, COMING HOME. Fans have gotten accustomed to its singles: “Good Good” featuring 21 Savage and Summer Walker, “Ruin” featuring Pheelz, and “Risk It All” featuring H.E.R.. Now they can fall in love with songs like the uptempo jam “A-Town” Girl featuring Latto, the toxic anthem “On The Side,” the vulnerable “Kissing Strangers,” the affectionate “Luckiest Man,” the sensual “Please U,” and the adoring “One Of Them Ones.” L.A. Reid has called the album a “must-listen for fans old and new.”
“COMING HOME is an ode to going back to your roots, whatever or wherever that may be,” Usher said in a statement. “I’m COMING HOME to where I’m comfortable in being exactly who I am right now. My hope is that you identify with the new album no matter where you are or what you’re going through, too.”
This is Usher’s first release as an indie artist under his label, mega, in partnership with gamma.
Tori Kelly – “high water”
Tori Kelly’s “high water” is so eerily reminiscent of Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be.” It’s almost as if she decided to go to the studio and breathe new life into that classic instead of sampling it. It’s more like singing a hymn on the brink of a new dawn. As predicted, working on the empowering anthem was how she coped with her health scare from last year. It’s the lead single from her new album, TORI..
“I have been working on my next album for the last few years, exploring new sounds & expressing so many different sides of myself. I thought I had covered it all until I had a health scare in July of last year that reminded me just how fragile life can be.” Kelly explained in a statement. “‘high water’ is about simply holding on and believing that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. My hope is that ‘high water’ will uplift others in whatever they might be going through and encourage them to keep going.”
TORI. is set for an April 5 release.
Andra Day – “Probably”
It’s been a while since we swooned over Andra Day’s “Where Do We Go” and now, she’s back, luring us in with “Probably.” There’s no hesitation or caution when it comes to loving this song. The melody will keep your head nodding and Day’s voice mimics that of a siren as she sings about the three sides of the “truth.”
On the making of the record, Day reflects on finding the humor in heaviness in relation to being gaslit in relationships. “I hate hearing women called crazy. Especially by their partners, especially by men on social media, no offense,” she said. “I really wrote it with a relationship situation in mind—’I loved you, I supported you’—but I wanted it to be funny. I always want to talk about heavy things with a sense of humor. Truthfully, that’s a cultural thing. I really wanted it to be funny because, as Black people, we use humor to survive. I actually think there’s power in being able to turn your pain into humor like that. It helps us to cope and to move on.”
We will probably have this on repeat until we can hear her new album, Cassandra.
Eric Roberson – “You”
Eric Roberson’s “You” isn’t your average love song. It’s actually a love letter to intellects who wind up more in love with words than people. Co-written by Roberson and Brett “Bdubb” Baker, the record has “hidden inspiration,” says the crooner. You wouldn’t even consider dissecting the lyrics or meaning without Roberson’s explanation of the track and that’s the beauty and magic of music.
“The main focus is about finding someone who completes the missing parts about you,” he notes. “You can love anyone, but it feels different when you love the person truly meant for you. Now the fun part is, this song is part of a story I am writing. The story is about a world renown poet, who is so infatuated with the art of words, it interferes with his love life. In this story, the song ‘You’ is actually a love story to the letter ‘u.’ Listen again and let me know what you think.”
Blessing Jolie – “Why”
Blessing Jolie, formerly known as Blessing, has a rich tone. Upon first listen, we were completely mesmerized by “Why.” It took a few listens to really hear her new single. The record is a breakdown of the five questions: who, what, where, when, and why. In relationships, people are known to take some L’s. Instead of the W in question being a win, it’s actually a why.
Jolie says, “‘Why’ embodies where the mind will take you and trick you as you seek comprehension; even second guessing a friendship. I learned that in order to get a rather decent comprehension of any story all you really needed to know were the 5 W’s: who? what? when? where? why? I know who hurt me, I know what happened, I know when it occurred, I know where it occurred and exactly where I’m feeling the most pain, the only W I have left to answer is Why.”
Despite the song’s context, the song is an instant win to us.
Fresco Trey – “Times Like This”
Fresco Trey is opening speaking about his trauma in an effort to raise awareness on the horror associated with drunk driving. Though substance abuse is often sensationalized, the Memphis phenom’s chilling new single, “Times Like This,” displays the riveting emotional turmoil of taking accountability as it relates to driving under the influence.
The single was inspired by the real-life story of his close friend who was involved in a one-person car accident. Growing up, he was often surrounded by those who thought it was okay to drive while drunk, but it wasn’t until that accident that he saw the trauma for what it was. Trey encourages all listeners to appoint a designated driver to prevent any traumatizing outcomes. Even if it has to be you.
T-Pain – “Dreaming”
T-Pain’s singing voice will always be a gift to the masses and his inspirational new single, “Dreaming,” puts his dynamic voice on full display. Coming off the heels of his successful live album of covers, he’s back with some original music. After struggling to decide on the record’s release date, he felt now was the best time. “Dreaming” perfectly encapsulates the beauty of the artist banking on himself.
“I’ve been sitting on this song for a very long time because I wanted to wait for the right time to release it to the world,” said T-Pain in a statement. “For some reason it just didn’t feel right to just let this get eaten up by all the negative that is the world we live in, but with all this new-found and rekindled T-Pain love all over the place, the time is now.”
WanMor – “Baby”
WanMor’s new jam is a HitMaka production that is dedicated to their “baby.” As the young men sing, “Baby, baby, baby, baby/ You know I’m so proud of you/ I keep it a hundred with you/ I love when I’m sliding through/ My baby, baby, baby, baby/ I can’t get enough of you/ Shaking off all these blues/ Oh my baby, baby, baby,” the record mimics that of Justin Bieber’s hit of the same name—but with far more soul. The quartet has another smash on their hands with this one; it’s a great follow-up to their cover of Boyz II Men’s “Please Don’t Go.”
DIXSON – “FRIENDS” [VIDEO]
DIXSON has made a movie out of his latest single, “FRIENDS.” Kennady Schneider stars as the focal point in the cinematic visual. On its own, the record is sultry and bold in nature, but the Khairi-directed video ups the ante.
As he whispers the sweet-nothings of “You and your friends / Me and my friends / We can make plans for thе night,” we get lost following Schneider’s silhouette around the dimly-lit room. You wouldn’t have even guessed that this was her first time becoming a video vixen.
“It’s not often that I’m able to show up on projects to dance my own personal style,” she shared on Instagram. “Any professional dancer can attest to this! To be included in a video that nurtures my own aesthetic and artistic sensibilities was so aligning and affirming.”
Clearly, this is just a taste of what DIXSON is cooking up.
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