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 of the 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 good? 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
Navy Blue- “Orchards”
Navy Blue makes some of the most spiritually gratifying music you’ll ever hear. There’s a tender embrace of life’s challenges, but not through a bootstrap mentality. Instead, he posits it like a choice: if the only way is forward, do you stay in place or move forward? You can never go back, no matter how much we want to fix everything.
Consequently, there’s profound beauty in how Navy Blue tackles grief and depression. One of the greatest tricks our minds play is that we aren’t allowed to feel better. We stew in this misery, and we never look around us as a result. But Sage argues for the beauty in these journeys, that our losses carry our spirits at our worst.
“Orchards” explicitly demonstrates this, a keen understanding of life and how we must persevere. “Life’s tapestry is tattering, find beauty in the darkness that we battling,” he raps over tender, motherly chords. Navy Blue raps for the days that the sun still hits our faces, even in our worst moments.
Hoodrich Pablo Juan- “First Day Out”
Has there ever been a bad “First Day Out” from a rapper? For younger people, they might remember Tee Grizzley’s booming “First Day Out” that helped revitalize music out of Michigan. For those with more skin in the game or people who know their hip-hop, the best belongs to Gucci Mane. But whether it’s Chief Keef or Young Nudy, the “First Day Out” record has quietly become a hip-hop constant. Anytime a rapper is finally freed from prison, they immediately head to the studio. Exhausting all the raps in their notebooks or bursting out all of the creative energy as catharsis, a “First Day Out” and all of its variants can be liberating.
After being locked up for five years over racketeering, Hoodrich Pablo Juan adds to the collection with an invigorating, winding verse. He’s always been one of hip-hop’s great stylists; his breathy flows are dizzying, wondering where he ever pauses to take a breath. Juan oscillates between the deceptively clever (“I’m chrome-hearted, hold your b***h up for ransom”) to the staggeringly simple and silly (“EA Sports, I’ma play it like 2K”). The stream of consciousness makes it addictive, a progenitor to rappers like Gunna. A “First Day Out” has always served as a reminder for anyone who forgot how great an artist is. For Hoodrich Pablo Juan, it’s like he never left.
Brent Faiyaz- “have to.”
Brent Faiyaz oftentimes gets relegated to the ‘toxic R&B’ guy. He definitely isn’t averse to calloused heartbreakers where his only goal is to get his nut off. Records like “One Night Only” or “Best Time” show Brent sweetly cooing just to get into a woman’s pants. There’s no emotional availability there. But to flatly discard him as an R&B singer without romance misses the potency of his best records. “Talk 2 U” is a classic 2000s yearner, while “Show You Off” is remarkably earnest and sweet. Brent Faiyaz may enjoy the role of a horny bachelor, but real love suits his saccharine melodies and harmonies.
“have to.” adds to this argument, a gorgeous portrait of throbbing desire over a thick, syrupy bassline. “Dreaming about touching down, I can’t sleep ’til you touch me, baby. When can you make it feel good before I leave again?” Brent sings. Begging for a woman is R&B 101. Jodeci went out to the desert in leather pants for a girl. Using his stardom as the basis for his pleading is a sharp display of loneliness. It even explains where some of that trademark toxicity stems from. It’s all a matter of loneliness. When he finally sheds the facade, there’s a hopeless romantic at the core.
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