Tink, UMI, Dana Williams And More New R&B To Feel Something
This week in R&B, the music is making us feel. Depending on the song, said feelings can range from sad, honest, amorous, or flirty, but either way, we’re here for it.
From new releases from Tink and Bryson Tiller to Jane Handcock and Anderson .Paak, these bops have us in a chokehold. Note: we can’t control your reaction to this wave of emotions; we’re just here to put you on game.
Check out VIBE’s top new R&B picks below.
Tink, Bryson Tiller – “Can We Talk?”
Who knew that we needed a duet between Tink and Bryson Tiller?
“Can We Talk?,” produced by Hitmaka, stresses the importance of communication in a relationship. As she questions where she stands with her man, Tiller chimes in with the male perspective and affirms that the desire to understand one another is being reciprocated.
The catchy tune comes ahead of Tink’s special appearance on Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is 20th anniversary tour.
UMI – “10AM”
UMI is one of love’s greatest admirers and proves such through their new single, “10AM.”
Written by UMI, and produced by longtime collaborator V-Ron, “10AM” is a love song inspired by the hypnotizing, dreamy daze of a romance-filled morning.
“10AM is the feeling of bliss—to me that is love,” UMI shared. “It’s inspired by the story of a friend. I asked ‘how do you know you are in love,’ and they replied ‘when I’m waking up next to my partner on a slow Sunday morning, eating breakfast together and there’s nowhere else I want to be.’ ‘10AM’ is the sonic embodiment of love itself. It’s the same feeling my friend told me and we all search for it in life, that wordless feeling of not needing to be anywhere but right here—bliss and presence.”
Dana Williams – Real Friends
Alt-R&B darling Dana Williams’ debut album is a vulnerable work of art that taps into the deepest parts of your soul. The now-indie songbird recalled in a statement that when she began to piece together this project, creating an album wasn’t the goal in mind.
“I wanted to let go of the pressures I usually put on myself and just enjoy the process. For the first time, I had the incredible opportunity to create music with my friends. Every song was born out of conversation. We shared ideas. We laughed. We had fun,” Williams explained.
From the emotional weight of “Temporary” to the sweet nature of “Remember It’s Love,” this album is one to sit with when life is life-ing too hard and you need a good exhale.
Teyana Taylor – “Bed Of Roses”
Teyana Taylor‘s Escape Room cannot come fast enough, but she’s keeping us fed with these singles.
Her newest one, “Bed Of Roses,” is a sultry reflection about how beautiful it is to love and be loved. “I got all this love to give, love to kill tonight/ Let me show you it feels, how sweet it feels inside,” she sings on the first verse. It’s as though love is in full bloom and we’re witnessing such in real time.
Escape Room is out on Aug. 22.
Sasha Keable – “Feel Something”
Sasha Keable is the reason we all need to feel something this week.
“I needed to say what I needed to say,” she said of her new single, noting that the record was written in under two hours. “Go run that, blast that in fact, scream at the top of your lungs!!!!! I wrote this cus I was numb, never again,” she declared.
It’s a fun anthem about the carnal desire to feel— something we all need.
Sheléa – “I Don’t Care”
Sheléa’s new single is a powerful take that centers around the joy following a breakup that didn’t break you.
“When you’re truly over a relationship, you’re not even mad about it. You’re just done. And I wrote ‘I Don’t Care’ for that exact moment! It’s meant to be a bit comical,” the singer said of her latest offering.
It will appear on her forthcoming EP, Spirit, out on Aug. 29.
Leven Kali – LK99: The Prelude
Leven Kali’s new EP, LK99: The Prelude, is finally here.
A thrilling blend of R&B, funk, rock, and jazz, the project is what it sounds like to live out loud. Standout tracks include “Blackrock,” “In The End,” and “Pieces.” All of which serves as a precursor to his new album, which is set to drop this fall.
Annie Tracy – Scared Of Heights
Annie Tracy is one of them ones to watch. Through her major label debut EP, Scared Of Heights, Tracy shows how to “tug at your heartstrings—without losing her edge.”
Whether she’s being playful on “Accessory,” embracing the soft life on “To Love And Be Loved” or questioning one’s true intentions on “Catching Feelings,” Tracy blissfully navigating being guarded to choosing happiness across the EP’s seven tracks.
Jane Handcock, Anderson .Paak – “Stare At Me”
It’s not a shock at all that Jane Handcock and Anderson .Paak’s new collab is a vibrant groove, perfect for summertime fun and flirting.
It boasts about that magnetic pull of attraction when you connect with someone who just get you. “Something ’bout the way you stare at me/ Think you might have put a spell on me,” she sings. Their back-and-forth banter adds to the playfulness of the record.
“Stare At Me” comes on the heels of Handcock’s “Can’t Let Go” and “Stingy“— all of which will appear on her highly-anticipated new album, It’s Me, Not You, out on July 11.
Durand Jones & The Indications – Flowers
Durand Jones & The Indications’ new album, Flowers, is strictly for the grown and sexy.
As the trio— Durand Jones, Aaron Frazer, and Blake Rhein— explore life as thirty-somethings, they realized it was time for some maturation in the best ways.
“All of these songs touch on such mature topics, things that we never got to sing about before,” Jones noted. Frazer added, “We took the spirit of play that started the project, and added in the wisdom and lessons we’ve acquired through the years.”
Whether it was confronting insecurities or dancing through one’s heartache, the men put their hearts on the line and birthed some beautiful music to soundtrack the journey.
