Rod Wave Forms A "Westside Connection" On Our New "R&B Season" Playlist Update

Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, the latest update of which rounds up all the best of the best new releases from the R&B world this week. To start, one of its most successful careers as of late added another point onto its board, as Rod Wave released the new single "Westside Connection." It's the same kind of melodic trap and sorrowful vocal performance that emphasizes passion and simple instrumental embellishments to make his voice take up the spotlight. While it's exactly what you would expect, we wouldn't be surprised if 2025 holds another full-length project with more unique cuts and more of what fans love.

Next up is Jordan Adetunji and kwn with their new track "Too Many Women," which starts off quite differently to what you will probably find in R&B these days. The dense bass is par the course, but the warbled and particularly funky production induce more of a stank-face than it should. Nevertheless, the melodies, flows, and melodic variations of this song are quite impressive, falling in and out of its chorus with ease and grace.

For a more classic R&B jam, we'd look no further than Teddy Swims' latest offering, the cut "Are You Even Real" featuring Giveon. To no one's surprise, they match very well vocally and croon in buttery smooth ways over a crisp drum beat, lightly psychedelic wah guitars, and occasional vocal harmony rushes. These are the brains behind some huge hits in the 2020s decade, and the catchiness and simplicity of the songwriting here once again shows why. It makes a lot out of a little within its traditional pop structure, and we hope to see more variation and experimentation in the future for these artists that really nailed this sound already.

Finally on R&B Season, we wanted to shout out the latest record from Black Atlass, "We Own The Night." It's more of an '80s-tinged, synth pop-inspired cut that pulls heavily from The Weeknd's grand and spacious treatment of those sounds. Nevertheless, the melodies are catchy, the synths are rich, and additional rises during the outro wrap the atmosphere together.