35 Reasons Why R&B Had The Best Year Ever 35. The Weeknd, Kiss Land
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XO/Republic
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Kiss Land is what you’d expect from the mysterious Abel Tesfaye — moody, dark, filthy, troubling, sexy — but on the next level. The title track’s twinkling backdrop and drum beat is punctuated by the horror-movie screams of a woman, which just adds to the building tension, given the extremely dominant overtones that Tesfaye channels. As long as you don’t pay too much attention to some of the more troubling lyrics that only accentuate Tesfaye’s complicated ideas about women and relationships, the album’s a smooth listen. — Aylin Zafar
34. Jhené Aiko, Sail Out
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Jhené Aiko has been around for a while but really broke out this past year, largely thanks to her appearance on Drake’s “From Time” on Nothing Was The Same. On her debut album, she continues on her Cassie-inspired tip, inviting California fixtures Childish Gambino, Ab-Soul, Vince Staples, and Kendrick Lamar onto her dreamy, zoned-out songs about sex and drugs. If your idea of a good time is Janet Jackson’s kickback in the “That’s The Way Love Goes” video, but while sitting in clouds of smoke rather than dancing, this album’s probably right up your alley. — A.Z.
33. Active Child, featuring Ellie Goulding, “Silhouette”
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Active Child makes a brand of elfin 80s pop best described as Kokiri Forest R&B. “Rapor” should score a dreamscape like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Ditching his signature harp for a synthier sound, a dancier beat, and big-ticket collaborations with Mikky Ekko and Ellie Goulding, Active Child’s Pat Grossi loses none of his gregorian cherub vocals and theatricality. Have you seen him live with a full backing choir and a four-piece string section? — Kevin Tang
32. Saint Heron Records compilation, Saint Heron
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Solange carves out more and more of her own space apart from her big sister Beyoncé with every project, and the first R&B compilation album from her own label, Saint Records, is a huge win. Solange rounds up some of the most exciting artists in what many call “experimental R&B” today, from Kelela to India Shawn to Iman Omari. It’s a solid and exciting sampling of artists that might be unfamiliar to most, while remaining to be a cohesive work on its own. — A.Z.
31. KING, “In The Meantime”
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“In The Meantime” is a beautiful, soulful tune from KING, a trio from California made up of Anita
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Bias and twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother. With breathy, layered vocals and a minimal backbeat, it’s basically what you’d imagine a candlelit bubble bath to sound like if baths could talk. (Weird analogy, I know, but listen and you’ll see!) — A.Z.
30. Charles Bradley, Victim Of Love
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Charles Bradley’s second album as part of Daptone’s excellent roster of soul revivalists feels like it could be a genuine artifact of the singer’s youth in the ’60s and ’70s. It all feels warm and thoroughly lived-in, and old-fashioned in the best possible way. Bradley’s voice is a true marvel – you can hear echoes of Otis Redding, James Brown, and Syl Johnson in his phrasing – but it all comes together as something that feels special and distinctive. — Matthew Perpetua
29. Jessy Lanza, Pull My Hair Back
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Jessy Lanza’s debut album Pull My Hair Back isn’t usually classified as an R&B record –it’s most often lumped in with electronic music because it’s on the Hyperdub label – but if you listen
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to her sing, it’s clear that this music is rooted in soul. Most of the songs feel like extremely slow and chill version of late ’90s/early ’00s R&B. “5785021” is especially great, with Lanza pleading for someone to give her a call over a beat by Junior Boys producer Jeremy Greenspan that feels like a Timbaland track in slow motion. – M.P.
28. RaVaughn, “Best Friend” Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m7JFan-hUKc.
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RaVaughn’s “Best Friend” is simple, but very far from “basic.” With an unexpectedly soaring bridge and a perfectly placed curse word in the hook, it’s the perfect anthem for the disgruntled friend just waiting in the wings. It’s everything that Brandy’s comeback album Two Eleven should have been and more. — Myles Tanzer
27. Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=j9uE46sMugw.
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“I’m sorry, but this is my guilty pleasure and I must listen to it right now,” said a PhD. friend from New Zealand before putting on “Play by Play.” There was nothing guilty about the impromptu feels-fest we had afterwards, in a misery of a five-wine hangover. Autre Ne Veut can’t scrap together an ounce of restraint to save his life, and that’s his virtue. A lothario in consignment satins, he belts everything like he’s enlisting angels as witness for the epic hour-long breakup he’s having with you right now. — K.T.
26. Dawn Richard, “Frequency”
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A perfectly breathy bit of electro-R&B from former Danity Kane/Dirty Money member Dawn Richard. From the plinky, arpeggiated synth line to the cooed vocals, there’s something wonderfully delicate about “Frequency.” — Alex Naidus
25. Shanell, “Dedicated”
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“Dedicated” is a bouncy gem from obscure Young Money-affiliated singer Shanell. She’s written for Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Usher and you can tell she has an ear for an easy, irresistible melody. There’s something almost unfinished or homemade sounding about “Dedicated,” but it really only adds to the song’s swinging, off-the-cuff charm. — A.N.
24. Daley, featuring Marsha Ambrosius, “Alone Together” Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=uV2kWGSFYXM.
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A wonderfully seductive, lush collaboration from UK’s Daley and former Floetry member Marsha Ambrosius. With its slouching rhythm and fluttering vocal performances, “Alone Together” is a delightfully diffuse late night treat. — A.N.
23. Quadron, Avalanche
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Quadron vocalist’s Coco O. has been likened to Amy Winehouse and Adele, and it’s not a gratuitous comparison. The Danish singer has all the spunk, soul, and power of Winehouse, but the polish of a ’90s R&B diva. Her partner-in-crime is producer Robin Hannibal, who’s also one-half of another breakout R&B group, Rhye. But where Rhye is quieter, more intimate, Quadron’s sound is bright and effervescent. — A.Z.
22. Fantasia, featuring Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott, “Without Me” Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6n5SqwERoOc.
With Fantasia, Kelly Rowland, and Missy Elliott on the track, the chance of this song falling flat was/is 0.00%. “Without Me” is the perfect combo of smooth, bold, and soulful. And as if the song isn’t slick enough, the video is insanely sexy. — Tracy Clayton
21. Mack Wilds, New York: A Love Story
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For those familiar with Tristan Wilds, the actor, it’s no surprise to see Wu Tang Clan members Method Man and Raekwon featured on his debut album. Tristan appeared alongside Meth in his unforgettable performance as Michael on The Wire. But Mack — his middle name, and preferred name by friends and family — goes back way further when it comes to his relationship with the Wu. He grew up in Staten Island, running around as a kid at his dad’s barber shop, where the Wu Tang Clan would come by to get their hair cut. These early brushes with hip-hop legends provided him with a solid musical education, and it shows on Wilds’ debut album of R&B and hip-hop soul, which plays plenty of homage to the ’90s “golden era.” Wilds teams up with producer Salaam Remi, whose roster is no small thing: Amy Winehouse, the Fugees, Nas, among others. For those craving the sounds of a fuller, lusher, more classic R&B than the current crop of chilly, hazy male voices out, Wilds’ album is the perfect answer. — A.Z.
20. Kelela, Cut 4 Me
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Kelela’s mixtape Cut 4 Me married very of-the-moment sounds of the minimal, moody bass scene with heart-bursting R&B vocals for a debut that immediately got people talking. She works with a handful of exciting producers who create an eerie, if slightly menacing, backdrop for her airy, silky voice — which ends being a dazzling juxtaposition. — A.Z.
19. James Blake, Overgrown
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With Overgrown, James Blake gives us post-apocalyptic love songs. Without even seeing the music video for “Retrograde,” one of the album’s standout tracks, Blake’s haunting lyrics evoke a cratered landscape, drones and a couple with no one to rely on but each other. That tone rings true throughout the album to stunning effect. — Saeed Jones
18. Blood Orange, Cupid Deluxe
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Cupid Deluxe is uncomfortably pretty, like staring straight at a raw knee. While many bands nostalgize ’80s gauzy suburban innocence, Haynes uses its sounds to elegize New York City’s most disenfranchised and sexually vulnerable. “Uncle Ace” is not only the album’s third track, but the nickname homeless LGBT adolescents give to the A/C/E subway tunnels they sleep in. “Always Let U Down” samples Grace Jones and The Fat Boys for a bruised funk cover of the Mansun’s indie-pop hit. There’s mournful sax, and Dev Hayne’s brusied tenor pleading at you. It’s easy to shower Haynes with plaudits for his celeb songwriting and collaborations (he wrote Sky Ferreira’s “Everything Is Embarrassing” and Solange’s “Losing You”), but Cupid Deluxe is him, centerstage, a vulnerable body. — K.T.
17. Mapei, “Don’t Wait”
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Courtesy of Mapei/Downtown Records
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It’s hard not to fall in love with a song like “Don’t Wait.” The song opens with a hypnotic guitar riff over the warm beat of Brazilian baile funk drums, and gives way to a voice that’s equally entrancing. (“She sounds like if Solange and Imogen Heap had a baby,” said one friend who I played the song for.) Mapei, who was born in Rhode Island and raised in Stockholm, has a voice that’s deep and rich, smooth yet slightly raspy, with a raw and emotional quality that stands out in a pop landscape dominated by ice-queen R&B singers. “Don’t Wait” is a song about friendship, and love, and letting the ones you care about know what they mean to you, before it’s too late. — A.Z.
16. Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines
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Even if you never want to hear “Blurred Lines” (a.k.a. the official summer jam of 2013) again in your life, it’s hard to dispute that his sixth album by the same name is a genuinely good record. Great, even. The whole album is tailor-made for gliding across a dance floor — the perfect soundtrack to a wedding, much of it carrying the spirit of 70s funk. Thicke’s falsetto is in full-effect but it’s effortless, natural. The album’s more pop than we’re used to seeing from him, but he wears it well. — A.Z.
15. Tamar Braxton, “Love and War”
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The title track from Tamar Braxton’s latest album proves that she sings as good a game as she talks on her hit reality shows. The song is laced with powerful lyrics and strong vocals that definitely run in the family. — T.C.
14. Jai Paul, leaked demos
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It’s almost unfair that one of this year’s best pop albums was Jai Paul’s stolen homework. In April, someone illegally released an untitled collection claiming to be the mysterious British electropop/R&B songwriter’s debut album on Bandcamp. Jai refuted that, and said they were just unfinished noodlings, and Bandcamp refunded everyone. Meanwhile, the “unfinished” “Str8 Out of Mumbai” is a jealousy-inducing gem of pure disgusting talent. His ethereal voice threads between a thicket of laser, glitter, Hindi song samples, and deep wall-massaging drums. His cover of Jennifer Page’s “Crush” is also one of the most delightful R&B covers of anything this year. — K.T.
13. K. Michelle, “V.S.O.P.” Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=X5y9Q5CmWYg.
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What isn’t to love about K. Michelle’s syrupy southern accent sliding over a Chi-Lites sample (by way of Jay Z)? “V.S.O.P.” takes the basement parties your parents and aunts and uncles used to have back in the day and makes them extra sexy. — T.C.
12. Kelly Rowland, Talk A Good Game
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Kelly Rowland’s fourth solo album, Talk A Good Game, is maybe her best yet. Though there isn’t a song that quite ma Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/azafar/35-reasons-why-rb-had-the-best-year-ever
Futhermore: 35 Reasons Why R&B Had The Best Year Ever
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