Mario Brings The 2000s Back On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update

Every year, while everyone’s cooking up their best music of the year lists (which we’re coming soon with!) in November and December, the music industry seems to slow down a little bit. While there aren’t that many massive releases to talk about most of the time, we have to give our thankful props to the artists that hold it down while everyone’s busy during the holidays. Moreover, our latest R&B Season playlist update is here to round up the best of the best that the genre had to offer this week as far as new releases. It’s pretty scant, but then again, it’s never a bad time for your favorite artists to drop.

First off, we wanted to shout out Mario for taking it all the way back to 2000s R&B with his new album, Glad You Came. He dropped off a couple of hot singles for it before, and we’re happy to say that new cuts like “Keep Going (Aaaaahhhhh)” live up to that hype. That cut in particular is a slow burner, so we’d highly recommend it if you want a sultry, passionate, and relaxing teaser.

Speaking of sensual and slow-riding R&B jams, we also wanted to highlight the new single from Ne-Yo, “Show Me.” This one isn’t quite as woozy, as it focuses melodically on some muted string work as opposed to more dreamy or psychedelic synths that the genre so often benefits from these days. It’s as lustful as any classic hit from the Arkansas native, with his trademark falsetto stacking up very nicely against some airy vocal harmonies. In addition, there’s also some slight variation in the vocal tones and delivery that switch things up for some more verse structure.

We’re sure we missed some other notable R&B drops this week, but maybe you’re looking for some more exciting or energetic fare. Our Fire Emoji playlist update this week took a stroll through hip-hop’s latest releases, the leader of which was easily Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre‘s new comeback collab album, Missionary. It’s full of vibrant and funky instrumentation, so even if rap isn’t your thing, it’s worth a spin.