Kendrick Lamar & SZA Make Magic On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update: Stream

Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, the latest update for which has some of the very best genre-adjacent releases that came out this week. We have a big release to talk about that you’ve probably already bumped, and that’s obviously the new Kendrick Lamar album, GNX. While it’s mostly pretty fiery songs and performances, there are some softer cuts on here that are also excellent, two of which feature SZA. “luther” in particular is a very tender, woozy, and calming jam with a wonderful sample flip, gorgeous progressions, and some awesome interplay between both vocalists that we loved to hear back from after so long.

Next up is the new single from Savannah Ré, “Sex With My Ex.” As you can probably tell from the title, it’s a pretty conflicted push-and-pull lyrically, and one whose soft piano keys and often intruding sample kind of reflect that sense of complication. The vocal performance is pretty smoky, but it definitely has its more impressive runs that emphasize Ré’s melodies. Overall, it’s a pretty dark and sensual cut that might’ve benefitted from more involved percussion, but their stark sound as it is works just fine, too.

Finally, we wanted to give a shoutout to the Unlocked edition of the British R&B group FLO’s latest album, Access All Areas. They have some interesting remixes, guest performances, and re-imaginings that weren’t there on the original effort, including some fitting and charismatic performances from the Bailey sisters, Chlöe and Halle, on a new version of “Soft.” It’s exactly what it sounds like, as light snaps, simple synth pads, and tight vocal harmonies give a lot of boisterous flair to an otherwise pleasant soundscape.

However, if you’re looking for something more lyrically involved and hard-hitting, make sure to stay up to date on all the latest hip-hop releases. To check out new cuts from Cordae’s latest album The Crossroads and more hot singles like Ray Vaughn and Isaiah Rashad‘s new collab, check out our Fire Emoji playlist update from last week in the “Read More” section down below. Also, let us know what your favorite R&B Season pick was this week, as well as what else we missed, down in the comments. Check the playlist out above and, as always, come back to HNHH for more killer music drops around the clock.