Category: R&B

Ari Lennox is continuing to warm fans up for her third album Vacancy with a new music video for her song “Under The Moon.” Lennox first released the song last week, but expands the track with the clip, which arrives with a spooky twist just in time for Halloween. Vacancy is out on January 23, 2026 and is available for preorder now.

In the music video, directed by Erik Rojas, Lennox dines with a man in a diner late at night. Immediately, he gives off a couple of red flags: he won’t touch any silverware, his eyes seem to be glowing, and he begins to grow claws as the full moon rises into the restaurant’s window. While most people would flee from a werewolf, it turns out that Lennox is also a werewolf herself. As the two take their romance to the parking lot, they transform into the beasts of the night, running atop city buildings and sharing an embrace under the moon, up on some roofs.

“Under The Moon” is the second single shared in advance of Vacancy; the title track and lead single was released back in September. Vacancy follows Lennox’s 2022 album age/sex/location and 2019 album Shea Butter Baby. Both albums were critically acclaimed, with the earlier album having been certified gold in the United States.

Lennox cites a massive list of impressive reference points for her music, telling GQ in 2019 that she was “inspired by Missy Elliott, Tweet, SWV, 702, En Vogue, Anita Baker, Oleta Adams, Billy Ocean, D’Angelo, Bilal, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Omarion, Ciara, Ashanti, Petey Pablo, Kanye West, Common, Jazmine Sullivan, Chrisette Michele, and Floetry. I listened to all of them, studied all of them.” While it’s safe to say that all of Lennox’s studying paid off, she’s also steadfast that she is her own artist, as anyone who listens to her music knows well.

Order Ari Lennox’s Vacancy now.

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Musicians love to dress up. Whether it’s to shock squares, blow minds, or put on a show, they inspire us all to be freakier than we ever thought possible. While stage costumes are an integral part of performances and personas, Halloween calls for a different kind of dress-up. Check out some of the best musician costumes to inspire your Halloween look this year.

Björk

Björk invented the Björk Halloween costume when she showed up at the 73rd Academy Awards dressed as Bjork.

Nicki Minaj

From kooky costumes to multiple personalities, Nicki Minaj is a one-woman show of her own. She built her career on wild stage costumes and even performed an exorcism of her “Roman” persona at the Grammys. For the 2010 BET Awards, she went full Bride of Frankenstein, while strapped to an electric chair.

Taylor Swift

Though Taylor Swift may have been called the “princess of pop” by Madonna, some may be shocked to learn she isn’t a real princess. Here she is channeling her best Ren Faire look on her 2009 Fearless tour.

Questlove

Even Questlove’s not above joining the fray of chain-smoking Elmos, Batmen, and other costumed characters who occupy the tourist-hustling-economy of Times Square for Halloween.

Brides Of Funkenstein

The 70s were essentially Halloween for 10 years, but the debauched decade also gave rise to some of the most inventive costumes in music. Few were wilder and cooler than the Parliament-Funkadelic musical collective. Once George Clinton established the origin story of intergalactic funk with Star Child and Dr. Funkenstein, he took a cue from the classic horror film Bride of Frankenstein and created the Brides of Funkenstein, to help bring the funk to the funkless earth.

Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop makes an absolutely perfect… Weird judge from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Weird preacher guy from Night of the Hunter? Weird old man from Poltergeist? Eccentric rock singer from Iggy Pop & The Stooges? He’s already given several brilliant Halloween ideas without even trying.

Katy Perry

The Met Gala is already like a Halloween parade for celebrities, but the 2019 theme of “Camp” took it to the next level by convincing celebrities to embody the “spirit of extravagance,” and nobody does that better on a red carpet than Katy Perry.

Mariah Carey and P. Diddy

Haters will say Diddy waited until the last minute and grabbed whatever was left at Party City, but we all know this a BTS shot from the unreleased “Honey” (Bad Boy Remix) sequel shoot.

Rihanna

Is it sacrilegious to worship at the holy altar of RiRi?

The Rolling Stones

Before landing on the Rock and Roll Circus idea for their concert film, The Rolling Stones actually tried out several other ideas, including Rock and Roll Side Show, Rock and Roll Picnic, Rock and Roll Bar Mitzvah. The circus concept worked because Mick Jagger was already wearing a top hat in public, so this became the workaround.

Donna Summer

Donna Summer was famously Guillermo del Toro’s inspiration for Pan’s Labyrinth.

Cher

Unbelievable! Cher’s shocking Happy Days audition tape reveals she auditioned as The Fonze. It’s the tape Henry Winkler doesn’t want you to see!

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra’s 1938 mug shot is one of the most famous bits of music ephemera out there. Less famous is when he was on the other side of the law.

Elton John

Before he was Sir Elton John, he was Lady Liberty, holding the world’s biggest candle in the wind.

Ringo Starr and Marc Bolan

Is this a still of Ringo Starr and Marc Bolan from the film Born to Boogie or an all-male remake of Thelma and Louise?

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper was so committed to shock’n’roll he ended up in a straitjacket. You’ve heard of self-care, but self-scare?

Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart had to do this photoshoot in international waters where there are no laws, because it’s criminal to look this good.

Isaac Hayes

So many performers in the 70s seemed to be convinced that they actually came from outer space, but only that Heaven’s Gate group had the guts to do anything about it.

Meatloaf

It’s tough to sweat it out on stage in a tuxedo shirt night after night, sometimes you gotta get back to your roots on the ranch like Meatloaf.

Grace Jones

Cats famously have nine lives, but Grace Jones has lived enough for more than 20 lifetimes.

The Fat Boys

A nod to their hit single “Jail House Rap” and debut album cover, rap trio The Fat Boys proved they’d go to get lengths for a Sbarro slice.

Boy George

Boy George reminding us of the true spirit of Halloween: extremely horny.

Ozzy Osbourne

One of the scariest legends in rock’n’roll history is often misunderstood. Ozzy is infamous for allegedly biting the head off of a bat, but a little-known fact is, the only reason he did that is because he’s actually a werewolf. See? Not so strange anymore, once you know the real story!

Harry Styles

Harry Styles is an idiosyncratic dresser in his own right, but for Halloween, he aimed for the fences, donning Elton John’s iconic bedazzled L.A. Dodgers outfit, which the singer wore during his 1975 performance at Dodgers Stadium. Game recognizes game.

Ellie Goulding

Hello Dolly! UK pop singer Ellie Goulding paid tribute to the leading lady of country, Dolly Parton for this charity benefit. Time for a “Jolene” cover.

Listen to our Halloween Party Music playlist or shop for the best Halloween music on vinyl now.

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Blessed with a squeaky, high-pitched voice, Jamaican singer Millie Small was one of the pop sensations of 1964, thanks to her breakout hit single, “My Boy Lollipop,” which peaked at No. 2 in both the UK pop and US R&B charts. The record reportedly sold seven million copies worldwide, instantly transforming the teenager into an international star. Three years later, the iconic track appeared as the centerpiece of the singer’s first retrospective, The Best Of Millie Small.

The insanely catchy “My Boy Lollipop” represented a seismic moment in pop music history, when Jamaican ska music – an uptempo precursor to reggae – entered the mainstream and appeared on the radar of the wider public consciousness. The record’s phenomenal success brought the 16-year-old singer into the orbit of The Beatles, whose 1964 TV special Around The Beatles she appeared on. Her celebrity also put her on the iconic UK music show Ready, Steady, Go! and propelled her into the cast of a British television musical, The Rise & Fall Of Nellie Brown, which aired the same year. Such was her fame in the UK that she even cut a ska record called “The Bournvita Song,” promoting a hot beverage for chocolate manufacturer Cadbury’s.

The Best Of Millie Small is available on vinyl via the Black Story initiative. Order it now.

But matching “My Boy Lolipop’s” success was another matter. A follow-up single, “Sweet William” – cast from a similar stylistic ska-style mold – stalled at No. 30 in the UK chart while her debut album, More Millie (re-titled My Boy Lollipop for the US market) surprisingly failed to make any impression on the British albums chart. Millie scored one final British hit in 1965 – “Bloodshot,” a high-energy pop number that scraped into the UK Top 50 – before fading into obscurity. In 1967, however, Island Records attempted to revive her career with the fourteen-track The Best Of Millie Small, which perfectly summed up the Jamaican singer’s ebullient singing style.

Born Millicent Dolly May in Jamaica in 1947, Millie was the youngest of twelve children, raised in a shack on a sugar plantation where her father was a supervisor. A keen singer from an early age, at the age of 12, she won a radio station-sponsored talent contest held in Montego Bay’s Palladium Theatre. As a teenager, she came to the attention of the noted Jamaican record producer Coxsone Dodd, who gave her the stage name Millie Small. He signed her to his Kingston-based Studio One label, where she first tasted success in 1961 opposite singer Owen Gray on the duet “Sugar Plum,” a popular Jamaican hit. Another duet, 1962’s “We’ll Meet,” where she teamed up with Roy Panton, caught the ear of Chris Blackwell, a British music entrepreneur raised in Jamaica who had founded Island Records in 1959, an independent label that he used as a conduit to bring Caribbean music to the UK.

On hearing Small’s unique voice, Blackwell was instantly captivated. “There was no one who sang like Millie, with such wonderful little-girl earnestness,” he wrote in his biography The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond. He persuaded Dodd to let him manage the singer, then 15, and got permission from her parents to take her to England. Blackwell was convinced he could transform her into a star, stating: “Of all the singers in Jamaica, Millie was the one I thought had the greatest chance of success in the UK.”

Blackwell became her legal guardian and enrolled his young charge at a London drama school, which he hoped would soften her rough edges and make her more palatable for UK audiences, though he emphasized, “I wasn’t trying to whiten Millie … though her impish Kingston patois needed a bit of massaging.”

The first single he made with her, “Don’t You Know,” a driving slice of teen R&B released by the Fontana label, was a flop, but then Blackwell found what he believed was the perfect song for her, “My Boy Lollipop,” which was an old US R&B track first recorded by teenage singer Barbie Gaye in 1956. Using the eminent Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin as his arranger, he gave the tune a ska makeover, a fresh, new, and infectious sound that was tailor-made for huge chart success.

The timeless track was the undoubted focal point of The Best Of Millie Small, which included Millie’s two other UK hit singles “Sweet William” and “Bloodshot Eyes.” Her brilliance as a ska pioneer was also reflected in the catchy self-written “Oh Henry,” taken from Small’s debut album More Millie, and “Wings Of A Dove,” the B-side to the 1967 pop-meets-vaudeville-style single, “Chicken Feed,” which was also included.

The Best Of Millie Small also revealed that there was much more to the so-called “Blue Beat Girl” than “My Boy Lollipop.” The non-album single “Killer Joe” put her in an R&B setting, while its B-side “Carry, Go, Bring Home” sounded like calypso-tinged beat pop. There was also an aching rendition of soul man Sam Cooke’s bluesy ballad “Bring It On Home To Me,” released as a single B-side. Later, there’s the bluesy “Three Nights A Week” and “Walkin’ To New Orleans,” both plucked from the singer’s second, largely forgotten album, Millie Sings Fats Domino, a tribute to the New Orleans singer who was hugely popular in Jamaica. Small’s voice was framed on those two tracks by thick orchestral strings over chugging R&B backbeats.

Despite the popularity of “My Boy Lollipop” – which would be covered by everyone from Teresa Brewer to Bad Manners over the years – The Best Of Millie Small didn’t sell enough copies to break into the UK and US charts. Today, however, it offers a vivid reminder of the girl from Clarendon, Jamaica, who took the world by storm in 1964 and put ska music on the international music map.

The Best Of Millie Small is available on vinyl via the Black Story initiative. Order it now.

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MusiCares has announced that Mariah Carey will be the 2026 MusiCares Person of the Year. The 35th annual Person of the Year benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, January 30, 2026. According to a press release, Carey was chosen due to “her extraordinary career as well as her long-standing commitment to supporting communities and people in need.”

“Mariah Carey’s influence extends far beyond her remarkable artistry,” said Theresa Wolters, Executive Director of MusiCares. “She has used her platform consistently to provide tangible support to communities, whether through disaster relief, youth empowerment, or programs that help those facing barriers to opportunity. Her work exemplifies the values at the heart of MusiCares: creating systems of care that lift people up and ensure music professionals and communities can thrive. Honoring her as Person of the Year celebrates both her incredible musical legacy and her dedication to making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”

“We are honored to recognize Mariah Carey as this year’s MusiCares Person of the Year, a true creative force and once-in-a-generation talent,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares. “Her artistry and her voice have helped shape the sound of our times. We look forward to celebrating her remarkable career on this very special night.”

Of particular note, Carey founded Camp Mariah alongside the Fresh Air Fund. The entity aims to support underserved youth, pinpointing crucial programs advancing health, education, and social welfare.

This isn’t the first honor bestowed upon the great Mariah Carey recently. Last month at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, which took place at Long Island’s UBS Arena, Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award. Carey performed a discography-spanning medley, which marked her first performance at the Awards since 2005. In addition to her Video Vanguard Award, Carey also won her first ever VMA for Best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”

Shop for Mariah Carey’s music on vinyl or CD now.

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Melvin Van Peebles’s landmark 1971 film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song was the cinematic Big Bang of the Blaxploitation genre. The story of a male sex performer who becomes a fugitive after defending a young radical being beaten by police, its opening credits famously announced, “Starring THE BLACK COMMUNITY.” “Before that time there had been no Black movies that mirrored the wants and desires of the urban proletariat,” Van Peebles recalled in 1990. But the antecedent to Sweetback’s revolutionary storytelling can be heard in Van Peebles remarkable work as a recording artist.

Listen to Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death on Apple Music or Spotify.

A multidisciplinary artist who was also a playwright, author and painter, Van Peebles (who passed away in September 2021 at age 89) came to music with no formal training but with a wealth of life experience. Just as he believed that Hollywood failed to present adequately expressive Black stories onscreen, so too he felt that Black popular music was severely limited. So he went into the studio with a line-up of accomplished musicians led by drummer/arranger Warren Smith, and in his distinct Southside Chicago drawl spoke/sung compositions that gave voice to characters that white society had long marginalized.

Like Van Peebles’ 1969 debut, Brer Soul, Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death (shortened from A Slave Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death) burns with humanity and urgency, its ghetto vignettes imbued with humor, pain, and poignancy. Voicing the streetwalker of “Funky Girl On Motherless Broadway” Van Peebles affectionately portrays her as both sassy (“You know what balling is/It’s a poot in old death’s face”) and sage (“The world is all scabs and broken needles/Unless someone cares for you anyway”). As “I Got the Blood’s” prizefight bettor, he’s not above hilariously name-checking the movement in order to lure a sucker bet on a so-called great white hype (“…I’m a militant/My dashiki’s in the cleaner but I’m a lieutenant/So take my money…”). The beautifully intimate “Three Boxes of Longs” finds Van Peebles’s narrator alone with his thoughts, marveling at the stillness of the city after hours, knowing its ruthlessness never really rests: “How come day break and don’t fall/And night fall and don’t break/And blue eyes can’t be satisfied/ Unless his foot’s up me.”

Driven by Smith and company’s furious backing and dissonant electric harpsichord, “Come On Feet Do Your Thing” flips the minstrel era saying “Feets Don’t Fail Me Now” on its head for the Black Power era, advocating self-help over helpless prayer. Van Peebles practiced what he preached. Ever resourceful, he’d not only reprise the track as one of the key songs for Sweetback, he’d also utilize many of Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death’s (and its predecessor’s) groundbreaking compositions for his 1971 multi-Tony Award-nominated Broadway theatrical production of the same name. Reviving the show in the 2000s – after a younger generation of listeners had also embraced his songs via hip-hop samples – Van Peebles staged it interactively, the demarcation between performers and audience non-existent. Not surprisingly its immediacy still resonated, as it does today.

Listen to Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death on Apple Music or Spotify.

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Two-time Grammy winner Muni Long has kicked off her next chapter with her new single, “Delulu.”

The R&B singer and songwriter wrestles with relationship expectations on the track, confessing on the chorus, “I’m delusional thinking I could have it all.” 80s-style keys give the song a throwback feel, even while its lyrics feel definitively 2025: “I’m delulu, delulu over you.”

Within the last two years, Long has taken home a 2023 Grammy Award in the category of “Best R&B Performance” for “Hrs & Hrs” and another “Best R&B Performance” Grammy Award in 2025 for “Made for Me (Live on BET).” During the most recent ceremony, she stood out as the most-nominated artist in the R&B genre with a total of four nods across key categories.

Long originally released music under her birth name, Priscilla Renea, before reintroducing herself in 2020 as Muni with the EP Black Like This. Before her solo career took off, Long worked in the industry as a songwriter, penning hits including Rihanna’s “California King Bed,” “Timber” by Pitbull, and “Imagine” by Ariana Grande.

In 2024 Long released Revenge, her second album on Def Jam. The album’s singles “Made for Me” and “Make Me Forget” both charted in the top 20 on the Billboard 200. Upon its release, she shared with Rated R&B what she hoped fans would take from the record: “I hope they get a couple of lessons. Maybe feel like they got to know me a little bit better. I hope they have a couple of favorites on there that they go back to. I really try to make no-skip albums that you could just put on and let it play… I’m claiming I’ve made the R&B album of the year, so that’s what we want everybody to think or feel, should I say.”

Listen to Muni Long’s “Delulu” now.

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Summer Walker has officially announced the release date of her long anticipated third album, Finally Over It. The album will arrive on November 14th, completing the Over It trilogy of albums that began with 2019’s Over It, followed by 2021’s Still Over It. Finally Over It is available for fans to pre-order now.

Walker first teased the announcement last week via The Shade Room. The Instagram page shared a number for fans to call, writing: “If you or a loved one has been affected by waiting on #SummerWalker’s album to drop, compensation may be in store for you! For relief, Summer has dropped a hotline number for anyone impacted by the wait.”

That teaser was followed by a video on Walker’s own YouTube page, in which she sits down for a lie detector test to answer a series of questions about the album. In it, she confirms Latto’s appearance on the record and shares its release date.

Finally Over It will feature the single “Heart Of A Woman,” which was first released in December 2025. The song’s lyrics explore a toxic relationship: “Question is, why I do the things I do? / Answer I may never find, but I’ll always choose you / Wanna give up on you but, damn, I know I can’t / I put the blame on me for giving you chance after chance.”

The video for “Heart Of A Woman” saw Walker stuck in a time loop, repeating the same day three times, with each day representing a different phase of the Over It trilogy. The video additionally opened with a 15 second teaser of a brand-new track, which we might expect to hear on Finally Over It.

Walker recently appeared on Cardi B’s No. 1 album, Am I The Drama?, with both of her features, “Dead” and “Shower Tears,” charting on the Billboard Hot 100.

Order the new Summer Walker album, Finally Over It, now.

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As debuts go, Gabrielle’s was pretty spectacular. She launched her career in the summer of 1993 with the self-penned single “Dreams,” an aspirational anthem welded to a danceable pop-soul groove. It landed at the No. 2 spot on the UK charts in the first week of its release, breaking the UK record for the highest-ever chart position achieved by a debut single. A week later, “Dreams” was ensconced at the summit of the charts, where it stayed for three weeks; it also broke into America’s Top 30. In its wake came a Top 10 UK album, Find Your Way; and to cap it all, Gabrielle won the Best British Newcomer gong at the 1994 BRIT Awards.

Her self-titled sophomore album in 1996 proved that the Hackney chanteuse born Louise Gabrielle Bobb was no flash in the pan. It also brought her a second BRIT award for Best British Female Vocalist. Given her previous successes, expectations were understandably high for Gabrielle’s third album Rise.

Listen to Gabrielle’s Rise now.

There was no reason to worry. Rise proved to be Gabrielle’s magnum opus and easily the most accomplished of her first three albums; a culmination of the elegant pop-soul aesthetic she had cultivated since her debut six years earlier. Working with past collaborators – like Richie Ferme, who produced “Dreams” – and new associates like Johnny Dollar, a British trip-hop producer whose credits included Neneh Cherry and Massive Attack, Gabrielle created eleven sharp-eyed observations of love and life.

Rise spawned four Top 10 UK singles: the mellow “Sunshine,” the upbeat “When A Woman,” the haunting mid-tempo “Out Of Reach,” and, most notable of all, the album’s memorable title song, a defiant tale of overcoming adversity which sampled Bob Dylan’s 1973 single “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” (The sample was authorized by Dylan – a rarity in itself – who purportedly liked Gabrielle’s song and received a co-writer credit). Rise’s rousing, gospel-infused title track ascended to No. 1 in the UK charts – where it spent three weeks – and helped push the parent album to pole position. (It eventually went quadruple platinum).

Although Gabrielle has made albums since Rise, her 1999 long-player has a special place in her catalogue. It was a career-defining recording that deepened the stylish singer’s mainstream appeal, added more signature songs to her repertoire, and succeeded in transforming her into a household name.

Listen to Gabrielle’s Rise now.

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When she was writing Wanderland in 2001, Kelis probably didn’t know how prescient the album title would end up being. It’s an obvious pun: a reference to Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, it’s also evocative of the desire for adventure and wanderlust.

Wanderland has its own fabled story behind its release. Amid a series of label mergers and other industry upsets, Kelis’ experimental sophomore album got lost in the shuffle. Right when it was released in Europe, Kelis parted ways with her label, and the album was never released in the US. Wanderland was… wandering. But a Neptunes-produced Kelis album wasn’t going to elude fans forever.

Listen to Wanderland now.

A significant mythology

Wanderland became one of the most storied “lost albums” of the era – even if it wasn’t really lost, just exceedingly hard to come by. It was, of course, imported, bootlegged and loved, before finally being released in the States via streaming services in June 2019, 18 years after its October 17, 2001 release date around the rest of the world.

Kelis wasn’t alone; this was the second time in three years that a Neptunes-produced project got shelved. Clipse had suffered the same fate with their album Exclusive Audio Footage, which, like Wanderland, accrued a significant mythology during its lost years. In fact, Clipse, as individuals, feature on Wanderland as well, with Pusha T and Malice featuring on the tracks “Popular Thug” and “Daddy” respectively.

Timelier than ever

Pharrell himself lends vocals to a handful of tracks, but, like Clipse’s appearances, these spots help tether Wanderland to our familiarity with The Neptunes’ sound rather than overshadowing the album’s departure from it. Ultimately, this is a Kelis album first and foremost, not a Neptunes project. Even if the beats immediately identify it as being of the era (no bad thing), Wanderland is a welcome – if not unexpected – departure from the braggadocio of N*E*R*D and Clipse… even if the Rosco P Coldchain feature on “Digital World” makes you think Ab-Liva is going to pop around the corner any second.

About halfway through Wanderland, “Shooting Stars” starts to sound like something out of a late-90s shoegaze album, or Frank Ocean a decade ahead of schedule. Even when it’s less outwardly self-assured than the work of Kelis’ counterparts, Wanderland remains self-aware – and sexy with it. Outside of some dated tech references, “Digital World” is timelier than ever, proving that people have been struggling with sex and technology for decades.

Predicting the hip-hop hybrid

When “Perfect Day” hits, it’s an arresting moment: the kind of perfect hip-hop/rock hybrid that would have felt right at home on Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding. Indeed, two decades on from its release, Wanderland’s crossover appeal is almost shocking, making you wonder how anyone could have shelved the record. “Perfect Day” sounds like the kind of rock-rap hit Pharrell would chase for the better part of a decade. That it features contributions from No Doubt makes sense: they’d spent the late 90s crafting their own reputation for genre-blending, while Pharrell and Gwen Stefani would go on to have a hugely successful working relationship just a handful of years later.

Wanderland ends on its most unexpected notes: “Mr. UFO Man” and “Little Suzie.” The tracks address God, but are ultimately more existential in nature. “UFO Man” centers around the idea that things have gotten so complicated in the world, only an alien is capable of relating to The Creator. Released just one month after the September 11 attacks, it didn’t sound like such a far-fetched idea at the time.

On “Little Suzie,” Kelis casts herself as a woman aware of the problems the world faces, while “just trying to play my part.” If she’s doing anything, it’s what God willed for her. This sentiment of self-assurance, if only a misguided half-truth, feels all the more powerful in the light of Wanderland’s receiving the release it always deserved.

Wanderland can be bought here.

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You can’t discuss contemporary R&B music without Ne-Yo. Since the start of his illustrious career, the Arkansas-bred singer-songwriter, producer, and performer has treated listeners to his buttery vocals, slick dance moves, and poetic lyricism regarding life and love. With a host of top 10 hits, No.1 albums, and platinum plaques, Ne-Yo has proven his abilities as a hitmaker who stretches the confines of genre.

Inspired by artists like Michael Jackson, Donny Hathaway, and Usher, Ne-Yo combines the traditional aspects of R&B with modern flair. One may think ego would accompany his gifts, but Ne-Yo’s unabashed, gentlemanly swagger always has a humility built-in. His dedication to music, passion for performing, and love of songwriting make him a true quiet storm.

The Songwriter

Before he became a solo sensation, Ne-Yo got his name off the ground in the mid-2000s as a songwriter. Some of Ne-Yo’s best songs from this period focus on love, sex, and relationships. One of his strongest gifts as a writer is his ability to create memorable, empowering songs for women, no doubt a result of being raised by a single mother and other strong female family members.

Mario – Let Me Love You

Mario’s 2004 single “Let Me Love You” put Ne-Yo on the radar as an R&B songwriter. The velvety, Scott Storch-produced song, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005, also may have a familiar ring to it, as it gently lifts musical elements from Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”

Rihanna – Unfaithful

The second single from Rih’s 2006 sophomore effort A Girl Like Me, “Unfaithful” is one of many collaborations between Ne-Yo and the Norwegian production team Stargate. The song deals with feelings of regret and shame for cheating on a partner, and features dark production inspired by the rock band Evanescence. Rihanna reportedly reached out to work with Ne-Yo after the success of Mario’s “Let Me Love You,” and was eager to work on a ballad in order to show off her singing chops.

Beyoncé – Irreplaceable

Beyoncé’s number one single “Irreplaceable” went through several twists and turns before making its way into her catalogue. Ne-Yo’s initial idea was to make the 2006 hit a country tune, however, production and lyrical tweaks made it a Queen Bey staple. Ne-Yo also wrote the track from a male perspective, but later recognized it would be more empowering for a woman to sing.

Jennifer Hudson – Spotlight

Thanks to Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson’s 2008 debut single showed a different side of the Oscar-winner, whose work in Dreamgirls was focused on theatrics and themes of self-reflection. The mid-tempo R&B ballad keeps her show-stopping pipes intact while remaining relatable to the average listener, as she sings about sticking it to a no-good partner. The song earned Hudson two Grammy nominations.

Keri Hilson – Pretty Girl Rock

Female empowerment and self-love are a few of the themes Ne-Yo focused on for Keri Hilson’s 2010 song, “Pretty Girl Rock.” Over sugary yet sassy production that features a subtle sample of Bill Withers’ “Just The Two Of Us,” Hilson repeats affirmations about being “beautiful” and “fly,” hoping to instill a sense of confidence in herself and her listeners.

The R&B Hits

After a failed try at solo success, Ne-Yo found his lane in 2006 with his debut album, In My Own Words. Years later, he continues to release the thought-provoking, relatable songs that made him a star, while also fitting the fresh vibe of contemporary R&B.

So Sick

The second single from Ne-Yo’s debut proved to be an instant hit, peaking at the top slot of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005. Working with longtime collaborators Stargate, “So Sick” was written about the first time Ne-Yo experienced true heartbreak. Because of this pain, he detests love songs, yet they allow him to reminisce about his past relationship.

Sexy Love

Take “Sexy Love” as the more positive musical counterpart to “So Sick.” Instead of lyrics about missing a former flame, this time around Ne-Yo sings about how much love he has for his current partner, painting vivid depictions of their time beneath the sheets. The track reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is certified three times platinum.

Because of You

The title song from Ne-Yo’s 2007 album (which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100) tells the story about an intoxicating woman occupying his everyday thoughts. What makes this track stand out is the production. “Because Of You” has an undeniable disco influence, and includes the sounds of a harpsichord and guitar to make the track stand out.

Miss Independent

Ne-Yo’s critically-acclaimed third album, 2008’s Year of the Gentleman, dropped off a host of hit tracks, including the top 10 single “Miss Independent.” The mid-tempo ballad about loving a self-sufficient woman samples Keesha’s “Forget About Me,” and won Ne-Yo two Grammy Awards (Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance).

Mad

This Year of the Gentleman staple carries an important message about relationships of all kinds: fighting – instead of listening – only creates more chaos. The Stargate-produced song, which features a heavy piano and bass, finds Ne-Yo explaining to his partner that while they’re not perfect, he hopes that their issues are patched up before bed.

The Collaborations

Ne-Yo’s approach to work thrives on collaboration, stating in an interview that some link-ups “just work.” Several of his sonic pairings have been outside of the R&B realm, but his singing talents and songwriting chops remain intact wherever he finds himself.

Hate That I Love You

2007’s “Hate That I Love You” sees Ne-Yo reuniting with his A Girl Like Me collaborator Rihanna. Throughout the track, the two trade lines about being hopelessly in love, and their voices complement each other beautifully as they tell their tale. The platinum-selling tune is one of Rihanna’s longest-running top 10 hits; it peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100, and was in the top 10 on the chart for 26 weeks.

Knock You Down

Sometimes a good love can become sour, and “Knock You Down” – Ne-Yo’s 2009 collab with Keri Hilson and rapper Kanye West – proves it beautifully. The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated tune masterfully pairs contemporary R&B with hip-hop flair, and Ne-Yo’s standout verse showcases both his envious vocal runs and storytelling skills. (“I used to be commander-in-chief on my pimp sh*t flying high,” he croons, “‘til I met this pretty little missile that shot me out the sky.”)

Bust It Baby Pt. 2

Rapper Plies made his Janet Jackson-sampling song “Bust It Baby” the first single off Definition of Real, in 2008. It was “Part 2” featuring Ne-Yo, however, that proved to be the version with staying power, as it combines his tender singing voice with Plies’ gritty, hard-hitting rap verses. The second edition peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Give Me Everything

“Give Me Everything” is an Afrojack-produced club banger that featured on Pitbull’s 2011 album Planet Pit. Not only did the song hit No. 1 on the charts, it’s certified six times platinum and is one of the best-selling digital singles of all time, with 11.2 million digital copies sold. “Give Me Everything” is also a product of the times, referencing everything from a “locked up” Lindsay Lohan to taking photos in Times Square with Kodak cameras (remember when?).

Time of Our Lives

Another popular link-up between Ne-Yo and Pitbull, “Time Of Our Lives” is featured on Pit’s album Globalization and Ne-Yo’s Non-Fiction (both from 2014). The duo sing and rap about living in the moment and not worrying about what tomorrow will bring. They teamed up with producers Dr. Luke and Cirkut, who created the top 10 hit’s electropop-heavy sound.

Ne-Yo’s Electronic Songs

As electropop began to heat up in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Ne-Yo reintroduced himself as a high-octane hitmaker. He worked closely with artists and DJs to release songs with fiery energy.

Closer

A top 10 hit from Ne-Yo’s Grammy-nominated Year of the Gentleman, “Closer” is heavily inspired by a visit to London, which proved to him the impact of house and techno club sounds. To accompany lyrics about his experiences with a magnetic yet enigmatic woman, Ne-Yo and Stargate provide production that is “smoky, kinda dark, and mysterious.”

Turn All The Lights On

Ne-Yo joined T-Pain on his Revolver album in 2012 for “Turn All The Lights On.” The duo worked with Dr. Luke and Cirkut to produce and co-write the song, which is about going hard in the club, partying, and celebrating for the hell of it. T-Pain and Ne-Yo have a brother-like bond, with the rapper saying that the singer “stayed down” and supported him during a period of depression.

Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)

The Afrojack-produced “Let Me Love You” (not to be confused with the chart-topping song Ne-Yo penned for Mario) peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012. The song is co-written by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, and describes a love that goes further than just romance. As the title suggests, Ne-Yo wants to help his partner build not just a better relationship with him, but the one she has with herself.

Let’s Go

DJ and producer Calvin Harris teamed up with Ne-Yo in 2012 for their gold-certified collaboration “Let’s Go.” A top 20 single, the high-octane tune is hype music, pure and simple, with lyrics about going for your goals. It’s no surprise, then, that “Let’s Go” was used in a Pepsi campaign in 2012 and Ne-Yo performed it during his set at the 2013 NBA All-Star game.

Play Hard

“Play Hard,” a 2013 collaboration between Ne-Yo, David Guetta, and Akon is about the balance of work and play. The electro-house song was a huge hit on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, where it peaked at No. 2. It heavily samples Dutch musician Alice Deejay’s 1999 track “Better Off Alone” and the remix of Italian singer-songwriter Noemi’s “In My Dreams.”

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