It’s week two of our International Women’s Month spotlight series and it’s time to showcase our delectable picks for R&B. So delve in and get mesmerized by the plethora of magical voices and turbulent wave of emotions packed in this line-up.
1. Amaeya – Let Me Remind You
After paying her dues being a background vocalist for prominent Afrobeats stars like Tems and SDC, Amaeya made her debut in 2023 and soared on top our radar with the soulful, infectious On My Own. Let Me Remind You packs the usual punch of an Amaeya record, as she serenades the listener for three whole minutes with her angelic voice over quixotic guitar strings. She seldom dabbles with Afrobeats, but this one is pure R&B magic.
2. Juno – Personal
Juno doesn’t care much for societal constructs concerning romantic advances and opts to take agency in approaching her love interest, instead of waiting around for him to notice her. Perhaps her defiant energy can be linked to her alté roots or genuine love is just that overwhelming, whatever it is—this song is brimming to the top with emotions and you can sense her dire need to make things as personal as they can be.
3. Keziah Mallam – Trouble
Love is beautiful but it’s also trouble and Keziah knows this better than anyone, but she’s willing to indulge its treacherous flames for a chance at experiencing its magic. It’s a conundrum everyone in love is plagued with and the crux of the song zeroes in on the quality of love being therapeutic, as much as it’s also mind boggling—a double edged reality that afflicts us all. Tim Lyre is Afro-R&B royalty, but he raps on here and elevates the song several tiers up.
4. Rukmani – Wet
We head to erotic territory on Wet and Rukmani is stuck in a time loop of reminiscing about the good times with a lover and the intimate moments they shared. However she isn’t starry eyed to assume great sex is enough to make a man stick around. For the entirety of the song though, she iterates her and her love interest make so much sense together—while leaving the ball in his court and potentially making peace with the fact that the memories might be all she’ll end up with.
5. Suurshi – Take It (Interlude)
With only a minute and tepid piano notes to go off, Suurshi isn’t giving a whole lot to work with on the Cosamote album—but she makes the most of her cameo on the interlude. She delivers a vocal performance that’s every bit as emotive and heart wrenching as her musings of love on the song, where she declares that she’s willing to undertake whatever cost that arises in the matter of her love.
