Keithan Samuels

Steve Lacy’s third album Oh yeah? begins with blaring synths that pull you in like a first-watch movie trailer. The opening title track sounds as if he’s trekking through desolate dunes, where he cycles through “tragedies and wins” with memories of home in the rearview, pleading, “I don’t wanna lose again.” Arriving four years after Gemini Rights, where he sought happiness after a breakup, Oh yeah?

We may not be able to control every outcome life throws at us, but we can choose how we react under given circumstances. Masego was overseas when his house burned down during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025. Being thousands of miles away from home, he had to quickly decide what he wanted his friend to preserve on his behalf, before the fires consumed his neighborhood — personal photo albums, his grandfather’s vinyl collection, instruments and cufflinks. That’s all.

Rated R&B is bringing you the most essential releases this week. From the traditional R&B that purists love to the boundary-pushing sounds of the alt-R&B scene, this new music roundup keeps its pulse on what’s happening in the genre. Dive into it below. Kenyon Dixon, Ego Ruins Everything Kenyon Dixon does some self-work on Ego Ruins Everything, his new concept album that’s equally reflective and results-driven.