Every week, seemingly a gazillion songs are released on streaming services. From SoundCloud and Bandcamp exclusives to the endless array of songs on Spotify and Apple Music, it’s a lot to take in. Additionally, some tracks aren’t nearly as good as they should be. Who wants to waste their time sifting through records in fear that some aren’t very listenable? How can one possibly have the time to even do it?
This is where Noisey has you covered. We’re saving you time in the playlist department to narrow it down to the three most essential songs in hip-hop and R&B you should hear. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite artist or album in the process.
3 of the Best New Hip-Hop Songs and R&B Records of the Week
“Soul Unusual” by Blu & Exile
Blu is hip-hop’s everyman. For decades, the Inglewood-bred rapper has made deeply relatable rap music about clocking into work and balancing it with chasing dreams, all in the name of hip-hop. Alongside producer Exile, they’ve formed a legendary enough duo to challenge Gang Starr and C.L. Smooth and Pete Rock alike.
On “Soul Unusual”, the pair pad out their legacy further. Blu taps into the spiritual and his self-worth, and how hip-hop could help bolster that self-assuredness in himself. In all of his accomplishments, he’s indebted to the genre and culture that painted every aspect of his life. There have been many love letters to hip-hop over the years, but Blu pens them effortlessly, especially alongside Exile.
“Theybetterbegladihavetherapy” by GENA
In our quest for self-love and self-improvement, it’s really easy to have regrets. Why did I take so long to get here? What was I doing for so long? As helpful as it all can be, it’ll definitely make you feel a little nuts.
Liv.e taps into these realizations on “Theybetterbegladihavetherapy” alongside producer Karriem Riggins as GENA. There, she reflects on the tears and negative thoughts and how bending over backwards all the time left her exploited. “I mean, damn, I thought it was all kindness/but it turns out I was taught niceness, which really means you are stupid,” Liv.e shrugs.
Then, she emphasizes her boundaries in deep breaths, as if she’s trying to avoid crashing out over bad memories. It’s those moments where she teeters to the edge that keep her grateful that therapy is working out.
“Honour” by Elmiene
Self-sabotage will cause a relationship to crash and burn before it ever really starts. Eventually, that leads to bitterness and the kind of toxicity that floods R&B today. Oxford’s own Elmiene gently and maturely broaches this thin line on “Honour”. For so long, he was used to second-guessing himself and his own worthiness in love. Consequently, he’s working hard to be the man that his partner deserves.
However, it’ll all come crashing down if there’s no faith, no communication, no grace in moments of failure. He’s willing to fight for it, but they have to do the same. “I’m not asking you to lose the shape of your heart/I’m showing you we’re worth not falling apart,” Elmiene croons. Sweet, heartfelt R&B in the calloused age of dating.
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