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R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Leon Thomas, Jay Swishes, Babyface Ray, Yolanda Adams & More
Listen to new must-hear songs from emerging R&B/hip-hop artists like Ray Vaughn and Jdot Breezy
After Wednesday night’s (Sept. 11) VMAs ceremony treated viewers to performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Eminem, GloRilla, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, and a special Def Jam 40th Anniversary medley featuring LL Cool J and Public Enemy, the past weekend in hip-hop and R&B had a lot to live up to. Playboi Carti and The Weeknd both launched their new eras with the release of their lead singles “All Red” and “Dancing In The Flames,” respectively; Nicki Minaj announced a forthcoming third installment of her Pink Friday album series; and NYC banded together at the Apollo Theater to honor the life of Grammy-winning Harlem native Fatman Scoop (Sept. 12). “Melanin hit her like the sun, her complexion/ 5’2,” one not the two, no contestant/ She a lil freak, we Minaj with her best friend,” he sing-raps before dipping into a more dancehall-adjacent cadence, with X-rated bars like, “Make her suck pon di c–ky like breadfruit/ Put mi wood inna her belly, don’t run.” Accented by shimmering synths and fingerpicked guitar, “Mona Lisa” combines different elements from the year’s hottest sounds into one sultry banger.
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