His more recent singles “aggressive”, “nothings changed (!)” and “father” are really good too if you haven’t listened to them yet
what are some more "untraditional" r&b records that I should be checking out? the above list is solid, but also a bit samey. the big standouts to me so far are Jim Legxacy, Jalen Ngonda, Kyle Dion. I love stuff that puts an interesting spin on things, even if it's not "new." like the way Ngonda pulls from older motown sounds is pretty unique when compared against the current landscape.
Off the top of my head, I think these are some artists that fit your description: Brainstory Mustafa Thee Sacred Souls
This album is more soul than R&B (sorry we don’t have a soul thread so in here it goes) but it’s AOTY potential…beautiful voice and getting lots of praise. Pitchfork gave it BNM. Annahstasia - Tether (June 13, 2025) • forum.chorus.fm
Just got around to SiR’s Heavy Deluxe. Great additions. Back is a classic SiR track. He’s my favorite right now