Volunteer writer Meg Jocson Ong, brings you a few recommendations for new music to try this year.
R&B. One of my fondest memories as a kid was listening to the R&B CD my mom had in the car and having it on repeat every day for a good 2 years. The CD was full of 90’s and early 00’s R&B classics like Ne-Yo, Mary J Blige and Janet Jackson. I lost touch with R&B in my teens but found it again in my 20s, which brings us here – below are a few artists coming into the spotlight and showing everyone that R&B is back for 2019!
Daniel Caesar
You’ve probably heard some of his more famous songs like “Japanese Denim”, but you should check out other songs from his album Freudian album like “Take Me Away” and “We Find Love”. Not to mention, his song “Best Part” feat. H.E.R. was a number 1 hit on the R&B charts. I could put this song on repeat for a week straight!
Jorja Smith
This British 21 year old makes me want to listen to R&B songs with a side of jazz and soul. Her voice is so smooth and her songs are easy going and might I say, catchy. I recommend adding “On My Mind feat. Preditah” and “Teenage Fantasy” to your playlist. You won’t regret it!
Blood Orange
The reason I started listening to Blood Orange was because I was so obsessed with the Netflix Original Movie – To All the Boys I Loved Before. The song, “You’re Not Good Enough”, is upbeat and, despite the lyrics, really uplifting. However, his R&B album released mid 2018 was surprisingly just as good. The song “Nappy Wonder” has been one of my favourite songs the past 2 months!
The Internet
I don’t know where to begin with The Internet. They have songs like “Girl feat. KAYTRANADA” and “Wanna Be”, which are really relaxed and laid back R&B songs that also rock my world on a lazy Sunday. However, they also have jazzier songs from 2013 such as “Sunset feat. Yuna”, which really caught my attention one day when I was listening to Spotify radio.
Listening to some of these songs allowed me to reminisce on my childhood and gave me an insight into the future of R&B. So, if you’re looking for some fresh R&B artists, or just new music in general, give these artists a try in 2019!
Featured image by: Omeiza Haruna
