H.E.R, Jazmine Sullivan And Snoh Aalegra Are Reshaping The Future Of R&B

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. And these three ladies right here have reshaped and redefined R&B for the new generation while also bridging the gap between the old generation. 

The Philly-based artist Jazmine Sullivan came up in the late 2000s as a protégé of Missy Elliott, who produced her timeless debut single “Need U Bad” that went on top the R&B charts and established Sullivan as a strong up-and-comer.  She went on to release successful albums but took a long break from releasing her own music but kept busy with writing for fellow artists such as Monica, Chrisette Michele, Mary J Blige and others. 

This year she returned with her first project in six years, which comes in a form of an EP simply titled "Heaux Tales". It`s deeply entertaining, sexually empowering and unapologetically captures Black women`s dating experiences - featuring intimate and honest confessional monologues from Sullivan`s friends that go hand in hand with the music.  

She gave us a glimpse this version of herself on her third album "Reality Show" with tracks like "Mascara" but with this project  it`s more fleshed out and sees her more resilient as an artist and more importantly as a grown ass woman, creating a space for other women to speak freely without judgement. The vocals, the harmonies, the placement of songs and the features are perfection. 

Some of the standout tracks are "On It" which finds Sullivan riffing back and forth with  Ari Lennox so sultry and sensually, complimenting each other so beautifully as well as her collaboration with H.E.R "Girl Like Me" and Anderson .Paak "Pricetags". And another standout track is the show-stopping "Pick Up Your Feelings" that beautifully showcased her raspy mezzo-soprano range and her in-depth songwriting as she addresses an ex to pick up his feelings and kick rocks as she`s done with him, throughout the song she skillfully switches up her delivery without losing the essences of the song. "Put a lock on the door where my heart once was, boy you had your fun but I had enough. Now I'm really done, I deserve so much more than you gave to me, so now I'm savin' me and I made my peace, so you can run them streets."

"Heaux Tales" shows us how to be patient with pain and to free ourselves from kind of judgement and explore all the layers within.

 Los Angeles-based songstress Snoh Aalegra is truly one of the rarest breeds of artists and the fact that  she was one of Prince`s protégés, speaks volumes as he had a great ear for talent and she hasn`t missed a mark yet. Drawing alot of comparison to the legendary British singers Sade Adu and Amy Winehouse, especially with her soulful-jazzy vocals that go hand in hand with her sound that she described as “cinematic soul”.  

Her second album "Ugh, those feels again" was a great introduction to her music for me but her latest album "TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES" sees her fully coming into her own and her sound is more solid now, featuring a range of different production work from a number of new producers, including the Neptunes and Tyler, the Creator. Who all came together to create a great foundation for her to showcase her voice at its rawest as she sing vulnerable lyrics about romance, heartbreak and solitude

Some of the standout tracks are "Indecisive", "Lost You", "Dying 4 Ur Love", "We Don't Have To Talk About It", "In The Moment", "In Your Eyes", "Taste", "Just Like That", "Save Yourself" and "Everything". Honestly the entire album is amazing, throughout it Snoh merges unbothered vibes with magical vocals and bold lyrics, the instrumentals are great mixture of gentle and bumpy.

H.E.R recently released her long awaited debut album "Back of My Mind" which follows a string of successful EPs that saw her winning 4 Grammy awards already, which is rare to see but her talents speaks for themselves. She has a voice beyond her years and put serious efforts into writing and performing good grown-folks music without losing her generation, beautifully bridging the gap and creating a lane that she can only be in. 

While her debut album is a bit too long and has some unnecessary features, she does have some great moments that capture her talents to the max, like with the opening track "We Made It" that finds her displaying a range of different vocal delivers from sing-songy raps to hitting some beautiful falsetto notes over a slightly stripped back yet layered production that creates a live performance atmosphere. 

"Damage" incorporates a late-career Herb Alpert`s classic hit "Making Love In The Rain" with shades of Sade and Janet Jackson within her musical appeal and approach. "Trauma" finds her singing about the trauma and the emotional baggage that comes with the pain she's felt from her relationships and rapper Cordae proves to be a great addition to the song as he delivered a tight verse over a dark and atmospheric production "Think I need a drink, I just need to chill, maybe I need a shrink. Need to hear 'em preach, and some inner peace, I'm always in a mood, think I just need some sleep".

"Cheat Code" finds her addressing her man about his cheating ways over smooth production that samples Lauryn Hill`s song ‘The Sweetest Thing’, a song Hill wrote and performed for a ’90s rom com. "Mean It" is a gentle and poignant acoustic song with a chorus that gets more lodged in your chest each time H.E.R. recites it. Expressing great concern as she becomes skeptical of her men’s words and the intentions behind them. Her honestly and her words hit so hard over nothing but an acoustic guitar strums.  "Maybe I should be more like her, just forget about what’s right, just forget about my worth. Maybe I should be heartless too." 

H.E.R delivered an masterpiece of album and something to proud of, displaying alot of growth in so many areas. 

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