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
“idea 1” by Kelela
In a post promoting her latest song “idea 1”, Kelela explained the existential state of mind that birthed the song. “Born in a garage and written while I was reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of The Sower, ‘idea 1’ is about what it feels like to exist in this climate,” she wrote. “The weight of being expected to witness, absorb, and speak truth at a time when the world feels like it’s unraveling. That’s a particular kind of burden Black women know intimately. This song doesn’t offer answers, it just refuses to look away.”
It’s hard not to hear this thick dread in “idea 1”. The record builds to its chorus with her soft harmonies, then the scorching guitars create a searing effect. “Reason to pause, but you make sure to hide it/Are you alive?” Kelela coos as the song stews in its unease. “idea 1” grapples with courage in a time where it would be so much easier to sink into doom.
“F U” by El Cousteau
Every El Cousteau song sounds like a Scarface montage. He’s never averse to basking in his luxury, but not without putting in the work and the perils that come with his lifestyle. “N***a take risks like I’m in a rush to die/Tiffany diamonds from the Ivory Coast/quarter contact high hanging with millionaires/cut off your hand, n***a wave at yourself,” Cousteau snarls on “F U”. The DC rapper takes the ‘live fast, die young’ mantra to heart on records like these.
“TENDERNIZM” by Melvin Knight and Rhea The Second
Melvin Knight is an R&B savant. There’s a rich musicality to his music that only comes from a deep love and appreciation for the art form. However, he’s also the kind of person to pair this strong talent with an absurd sense of humor. He’ll let a saxophone howl into the night while theorizing that his girlfriend might actually be a lesbian. He’ll invoke his inner Teddy Pendergrass while also proclaiming that he actually gets no action with the ladies on “I Got No H*es“.
This trend continues on the last track in our batch of new hip-hop, “TENDERNIZM”, where Knight yearns and drools over a woman, likening her body to the viral meme about “tendernism” in BBQ. “Come get this boneless love,” Rhea The Second coos in the background as Melvin Knight sings how “that booty fallin’ off the bone.” All of his yearning is delightfully wrapped up in a tightly wound Gap Band sample. It’s delightfully horny and ridiculous, while nodding to the R&B classics that got us here.
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