Another week has passed, and Beyoncé hasn’t released the visual for her Grammy Award-winning album Renaissance. However, thanks to a few avid fans attending the opening night of the singer’s world tour, we know that despite the album’s heavy dance influence, she’s not wholly down with R&B music yet.
As for musicians that have dropped visuals this week, Brent Faiyaz, Victoria Monét, Jesse Boykins III, and even Kirby teased visuals across social media for her new single. This week’s hot new releases focus on R&B’s core nexus heartbreak from failed relationships with a few deviations.
Check out this Fresh Finds Fridays for some of the best hot new selections of the week featuring Xavier Omär, Kiana Ledé, Keithian, Victoria Monét, Jesse Boykins III, Kirby, Brent Faiyaz, and Reggie Becton. Then, in the comment section, let us know what new releases you’re listening to.
Xavier Omär – “Magic!”
The dream team has resurfaced. Xavier Omär and longtime collaborator Sango reconnected on the singer’s new single, “Magic!” Marking Omär’s first release since his holiday track, “Peppermint Tea,” with Alex Isley back in December, this song has big shoes to fill.
Based on pulling back the mythical wool over a lover’s eyes as Omär repeatedly sings in the chorus, “I won’t make you disappear / You won’t cut me into two / What we got baby, it’s not magic it’s for real,” the musician is showing up exactly as he is both in his romantic endeavors and as an artist. No conforming, second-guessing, authenticity himself – take it or leave it.
Enlisting additional production from Kaelin Ellis and supporting vocals for Zyah Belle, “Magic!” based on its title and the musician’s promotional videos shared to social media, is supposed to be a sonic spectacle but, in all actuality, is rather pedestrian, especially for Xavier Omär. However, that seems to have been done on purpose. Xavier Omär is looking for his artistic reset, and “Magic!” is the perfect middle ground serving as a palate cleanser for what’s to come.
Kiana Ledé – “Deeper”
Last month, Kiana Ledé dropped her single, “Jealous,” featuring Ella Mai. The singer wasted no time following up with a new song, “Deeper.” With so many hands in the proverbial producer’s kitchen, including Rice N Peas, Pat McManus, Some Randoms, and Nija, “Deeper” remained single-minded.
Although Kiana Ledé has no problem singing about her appetite in the sheets, “Deeper” is much more than an erotic command. Each sexual innuendo serves as a double entendre, referring to the entertainer’s physical and mental needs. This brilliant display of lyrical ability is drilled home in the song’s opening verse, as Ledé sings, “I’m cravin’ your devotion / Gave you the key, and that’s rare / ‘Cause I don’t just let anyone in / Had you scratching the surface / But you could do a little more / ‘Cause underneath’s a mountain.”
The song’s title plays right back into the symbolic nature of the song. Conquering just her body won’t satisfy Kiana Ledé, so suitors beware.
Jesse Boykins III – “No Love Without You”
Jesse Boykins III is seeking independence from his former record label and emotional bondage. “No Love Without You” marks the initial step on this long winding road toward liberation. Billed as his first single as an independent artist since his split from Def Jam and Universal, Boykins is officially a new chapter in his career.
Co-produced by a bevy of his past collaborators, including DJ Dahi, the singer flexes his long-hidden talent – his falsetto. “No Love Without You” is not a new track by any means. In fact, the song debuted back in 2021 on Colors Studios. However, with the reworking of the track’s instrumentation and more streamlined vocal delivery, Boykins is ready to be appropriately reintroduced to his eager audience.
In a vlog entry uploaded to YouTube, which was echoed on Instagram, Boykins opened up about the track’s back story, stating, “Creating [No Love Without You] has ultimately helped me express my gratitude to the divine feminine in us all.”
Keithian – “Bullsh*t”
Keithian is letting him being on the road with Vedo stop him from dropping new music. Following up on his single, “Ways,” which hit streaming services last month, the musician has a new track for supporters.
Co-produced by Oliver Delcros-Sainville and Loris Geisen, “Bullsh*t” is Keithian’s relationship woes set to music. Across the track, the singer vents about how emotionally unavailable his lover can be despite the pair having already split for the same reason in the past. It may sound like a broken record to his partner, as he sings, “What’s been taken / Keep on faking / While I’m hurting you keep lurkin’, what’s the purpose? / Thought we knew the consequences on the second try / Did you come up on a reason, or did you change your mind.” However, the entertainer is asking valid questions. By the end of the track, it is clear what the outcome of the relationship will be.
Keithian shared exclusively with us that the song is directly inspired by “the climax of a real-life relationship,” he was involved in which he used the song as a way of holding up a mirror to his sweetheart.
Victoria Monét – “Party Girls” feat. Buju Banton
Victoria Monét is moving full steam ahead into her JAGUAR II. After the singer shared that she was officially the newest talent on RCA Records’ roster, fans grew. So far, she has not missed any pep in her step as she prepares to release her debut album.
The track is undoubtedly a melodic dancehall song, but Monét doesn’t deter from her signature silky R&B vocals. Co-produced by Dmile85, Chiiild, and Dready, Light-hearted, flirty, and, most importantly, danceable elements make “Party Girls” ideal for the coming summer season.
When discussing the inspiration behind the song, in a statement, the entertainer said, “[Party Girls] is an ode to women around the world who keep celebrations alive,” adding, “If you recall any social gathering, nightlife extravaganza or day party you’ll likely recall a moment where a woman made it so much more exciting!”
Kirby – “Eve Gene” feat. Rapsody
As Swarm’s fictional pop star Ni’jah (or at the least the voice of), Kirby was able to drive women to madness. Yet, as herself, Kirby desires empowerment for her woman fans. So the songstress sets out to affirm Black women on her latest single, “Eve Gene,” co-produced by Homer Steinweiss and Latrell James.
Based on the genealogy debate that Black folks are the first living being, Kirby amplifies that by this logic, Black women should be protected, uplifted, and celebrated for their societal contributions. Cutting through the noisy gender wars echo chamber fueled by provocating podcast hosts and other commentary channels, on “Eve Gene,” Kirby and special guest Rapsody create a love letter to their sisters.
As Kirby sings, “They try to look you over like they don’t care / They say they want your body, but not your hair / Oh, they tell you to change your nose, keep your skin too fair / But everybody knows it, deep down they’re scared,” she negates that the anti-Black vitriol targeted at Black woman.
While Rapsody turns her attention to the men as she raps, “Tryna lower our self-esteem / Feeling seen, and unprotected / Brainwashed brothers learn from the real ones that check you because they love us / How you hate someone that looks like ya whole mother / Guess she shoulda used a rubber.”
Kirby took to Instagram to outline what birthed the track, writing, “I hope you listen to [Eve Gene] and sing it to your daughters. I hope you listen to this song and sing it to your mother. I hope you listen to this song with your partner and they affirm how loved you are.”
Later adding, “I hope you listen to this song and know that you are deeply and easily loved. I hope you listen to this song and it helps you heal. I hope this for you only because I hope the same for me.”
If Beyoncé’s 2019 song “Brown Skin Girl” is an anthem for young Black girls, then Kirby’s “Eve Gene” continues the conversation, this time for adult women.
Marshmello & Brent Faiyaz – “Fell In Love”
Brent is back – Brent Faiyaz, that is. Last week, the singer announced his partnership with UnitedMasters ahead of his F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland World Tour. To celebrate the news, Faiyaz dropped the visual for his single “Rolling Stone” off his 2022 album Wasteland. Now, the musician is teaming up with electronic music producer and DJ Marshmello on the new song “Fell In Love.”
Co-produced by Marshmello and Chrome Sparks, “Fell In Love” is the epitome of Brent Faiyaz as an artist. Jokingly nicknamed “R&B’s Toxic King,” this new track is a peek into Faiyaz’s tumultuous dating history. The first verse outlines how some women fawn over him because of the level of success he’s achieved, demonstrated in the chorus. As Faiyaz sings, “You ain’t fall in love with me (Ooh) / You fell in love with the man I could be,” throughout the chorus, you begin to empathize with him.
On the contrary, the second verse highlights the scenarios in which Faiyaz is dismissed because of his fame. “She said, ‘Boy, who you been with?’ ‘I been low,’ / Shе says she don’t believе that shit, she think I’m gross / I can’t even hug a bitch, she gon’ know,” confesses the singer. “Fell In Love” is the genre crossover collide we didn’t know we needed.
Reggie Becton – Sadboy, Vol. 1
Reggie Becton is R&B’s next big star. Nearly two years after the release of his breakthrough album, California, Becton is back with a new body of work. The singer has kept fans fed with the release of singles “Streets,” “Call” with Nana, and “Life,” but there’s something special about an entire album from Becton.
The best part of a Reggie Becton album is the journey it takes you on. Sad Boy, Vol. 1, performs this in more ways than one, from this approach to songwriting to how the project is sequenced Sad Boy, Vol. 1 is intentional. Sad Boy, Vol. 1 is a fresh take on nostalgic genre favorites like simple harmonies, tactically stacked vocals, and a play-up on the good ol ‘baby-baby-please’ narrative. It’s astounding how Reggie Becton crafted such a multifaceted story into a minor framework (of eight tracks and a total run time of under thirty minutes).
When describing the ethos of Sadboy, Vol. 1 on Instagram, Becton wrote, “Oftentimes we look at sadness as negative emotion! With this project, I wanted to embrace and revisit those ‘sad’ experiences to create some of the most vulnerable music I could. Sadness shows up in many different ways, and I wanted to create a world that explored them all!”
