Rhythm and Blues, popularly known as R&B, is a musical genre full of history and really catchy melodies. It has its roots back in the postwar African-American culture expressions, also as a way of showing cultural pride through music.
It has already faced many different phases and reinventions through the decades. Nowadays, we have an R&B with unique contributions, blends with other genders, and, especially, a massive presence of female artists.
Thinking about that, here is a selection of seven black women from contemporary R&B that I strongly recommend you hear right now. Enjoy it!
- Jhené Aiko
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While listening to Jhené Aiko, it is possible to notice different kinds of songs. The 32-year-old singer has many features with rap/hip-hop artists like Drake, Ty Dolla $ign, Swae Lee, and Kendrick Lamar. But she also makes some hits connecting with names from this new generation of R&B, such as H.E.R.
Her last album, “Chilombo”, strongly brought the concept of “music for healing” — and not only metaphorically. According to a post made on her Instagram, every song from the album features crystal singing bowls, which are basically bowls that produce sounds and vibrations to help you relax. Each song from “Chilombo”, a Grammy 2021 nominated album in the category Album Of The Year, uses these bowls to resonate with different chakras. It’s music for your ears, body, and soul.
- SZA
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SZA is the artistic name of Solána Imani Rowe, or we could simply call her the R&B queen. Many people say that she is kind of reshaping this musical genre, putting her internal thoughts from love, life and insecurities together with cultural references — like in her song “Drew Barrymore”, for example. Her song “All The Stars”, with Kendrick Lamar, became a huge hit after being on the soundtrack of the movie “Black Panther” (2018).
Recently she released the music video of “Good Days”, one of the singles made in 2020, and left her fans with many expectations for new songs and video releases still in 2021.
- Willow Smith
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“Marceline”, “Wait a Minute!”, “Born To Give”, “Female Energy Part 2″… The list of beautiful and even inspiring songs from Willow is almost infinite. She’s 20 years old and started her career in music when she was only a child, but got more mature with her compositions during the years. It’s even hard to categorize her work, because she usually flows between folk, ambient, and the R&B itself, a genre especially noticed in her album “WILLOW”.
- Brandy
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After eight years without new album releases, Brandy Norwood came back in 2020 with 15 songs in her production “B7″. Songs like “Borderline” and “Saving All My Love” are worth knowing more about, with references to Whitney Houston and open lyrics about love, heartbreaks, and mental health.
The American singer hit the top of the music charts when she was only 15 years old. Her debut, released in 1994, led her to be a four-time platinum winner. Her songs blend pop-oriented R&B with more contemporary beats.
- Kiana Ledé
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Singer, writer, actress, and pianist, Kiana Ledé played Zoe Vaughn in the TV series Scream (2015), but her success in music is also a highlight. Her songs “Chocolate” and “Forfeit” are great suggestions for those who want to know more about her album “KIKI”.
In her own perspective, her music is part of something really meaningful and relatable: “I hope people feel the vulnerability and truth in my music and see it as something strong. I hope they hear my story and my struggles and find something to take away from it that makes them feel powerful”.
- H.E.R
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H.E.R is an artist who puts lots of feelings, emotions, and passion into her songs. She is a singer-songwriter who had five Grammy nominations in 2020, including Album Of The Year.
Her true name is Gabriella Wilson, but she keeps a low profile mostly by using the stage name H.E.R. It stands for “Have Everything Revealed”, and it connects a lot with her relation to music: she has a mysterious personality, and only revealed her identity in 2017. She lets her music speak for itself, with lyrics that reflect a lot of her personal evolution, feelings, and messages to her fans.
For the ones who like a little bit of romance, her song “Best Part“, featuring the R&B singer Daniel Caesar, it’s a nice start to hear her amazing voice.
- Jorja Smith
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This British woman is a great closing for this list, because after knowing Jorja Smith, there’s no way not to listen to her songs on repeat. She was already described by the rapper Drake, in one of his concerts, as “one of the most incredible voices, incredible talents and incredible humans” he has ever met.
Her career soared with Blue Lights, in 2018, and other two songs from the LP “Lost And Found (Teenage Fantasy and Where Did I Go?)” were a complete success when released. Since then, Jorja Smith has never stopped conquering space in soul and R&B through the brilliant work she does.
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The article above was edited by Karen Oliveira.
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