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R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Giveon, TA Thomas, Jordan Hawkins & More

Listen to new must-hear songs from emerging R&B/hip-hop artists like Rory and Nueve Lio.

Lamar did not bring out Lil Wayne as a surprise guest, but he did tap Samuel L. Jackson to serve as a narrator as he ripped through classics like “Humble” and “DNA,” as well as GNX cuts like “Man at the Garden,” “Squabble Up,” “Peekaboo” and the SZA-assisted “Luther.” After cheekily teasing the beat several times throughout the show, Lamar did, in fact, treat the Super Dome to a remarkable rendition of his Drake-obliterating “Not Like Us,” which won five Grammys, including record and song of the year, last weekend (Feb. 2). Across Rory’s sparse soundscape accented by mournful piano and echoing drum and bass percussion, Leon Thomas waxes poetic about his partner morphing into someone he can no longer recognize. TA Thomas has been committed to making real R&B — rapid-fire riffs, bare chest and all — for some time now, and he’s doubling down with “Preach,” the new single from his forthcoming Southern Soul EP (via Def Jam).

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