R&B / Soul

NOW That’s What I Call Music ‘90s R&B features 16 of the best R&B songs from the decade with tracks from Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Bobby Brown, Babyface, Toni Braxton and more.

Mayer Hawthorne cut his teeth in his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he started making beats and DJing at the height of Detroit hip-hop. Since his debut heart-shaped seven-inch, Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out, dropped via Stones Throw in 2008, Hawthorne has released four LPs, raking in accolades from esteemed publications like GQ, New York Times Magazine, Playboy, and Rolling Stone. From NPR's proclamation of his imminent stardom to BBC Music's endorsement of his authentic soul, his artistry has captivated the hearts of critics and fans alike. With a wealth of additional press coverage and features in notable outlets such as Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, and Vanity Fair, in addition to appearances on Conan, Letterman, Kimmel, The Today Show, and beyond, Hawthorne's cultural impact is undeniable.

Not only do critics and fans love Hawthorne, but his peers do, too. He opened for Amy Winehouse on her final tour before she tragically passed away, and served as direct support for Bruno Mars twice; he crafted modern yacht rock jams with Pharrell poolside in Miami and John Mayer called his debut the “album of the year” on Twitter. His songs have soundtracked episodes of Girls, the end credits of the final episode of Ugly Betty, and is the only non-Kanye song in the famed Spike Jonze directed short film, We Were Once A Fairytale. Hawthorne has written and produced the lion’s share of his catalog, and apart from his solo work, he collaborates with hip-hop producer Jake One on their boogie funk super-group, Tuxedo, which is now three albums and multiple world tours deep.

After the release of his last album Man About Town on Vagrant Records in 2016, Hawthorne launched the next phase of his career as a producer and writer for fellow artists. Recent credits include Jordan Ward’s single “Lil Baby Crush” released through Interscope Records,“Truth or Dare” by Chika featuring Freddie Gibbs, and most notably “Options featuring JID” from Doja Cat’s double platinum album Planet Her, which earned him a Grammy nomination.

This summer, Hawthorne debuted “The Pool,” a swirling, smoke-filled song that guides the listener towards transcendence. Written and produced entirely by Hawthorne, this song is where rebelliousness and carefree living intertwine, inviting you to embrace the thrill in psychedelic adventures. Now, Hawthorne is ready to share his fifth studio album, For All Time, an immersive experience that transcends boundaries and embraces the shadows. On this record, he delves deep into the depths of the human heart, exploring the complexities of love and the raw emotions that accompany it. It's a captivating blend of dark, sexy, and moody vibes that will transport you straight into a smoky, art deco jazz club. For All Time is a celebration of a love that burns with intensity, leaving an enduring mark on the soul.

Doja Cat's fourth studio album Scarlet introduces a new era for the Grammy award-winning global superstar that represents a rebirth in her career sonically and creatively.Scarlet shows the artist's versatility as a rapper, with this album being completely written by Doja Cat throughout. This 15 track collection includes the worldwide hit "Paint The Town Red."

As they set to work on their highly awaited sophomore album, Black Pumas broadened their palette to include a dazzling expanse of musical forms: heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind-bending excursions into jazz-funk and psychedelia, starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped from the cosmos. The debut was nominated for 7 Grammys and reached one million album equivalents. Chronicles Of A Diamond arrives as the fullest expression yet of their frenetic creativity and limitless vision.

3xLP * tri-color handmade color-in-color vinyl * 9 bonus tracks * gatefold* Limited to 500

GRAMMY winning album Black Radio III is just the latest historic milestone in the decade-long Black Radio series. An ongoing project, evolving over time, perhaps never complete but anchored in its creative commitment to celebrating black excellence in music. As a next chapter Glasper releases Black Radio III: Supreme Edition on vinyl for the 1st time. A 3xLP, in a gatefold jacket, with tri-color handmade color-in-color vinyl, & 9 bonus tracks (Mac Miller, Bilal, PJ Morton, India.Arie, & more)!

Usher's second album, My Way, established him as a young and skillful R&B artist with slow jams and memorable guest artists. The 25^th Anniversary Edition includes alternative album art that pays homage to the original cover from 1997 and a 2^nd LP of 3 re-imagined tracks, “You Make Me Wanna… ,” “Nice & Slow,” and “My Way” by James Carr.

SOS is the second studio album from GRAMMY award winning singer SZA, and the follow up to 2017’s major label debut album Ctrl. The genre-blending album contains elements of pop, R&B, soft-rock, gospel, and hip-hop. SOS features guest appearances from Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. SZA worked with a variety of hitmaking producers including Ctrl collaborators ThankGod4Cody and Carter Lang, along with Jeff Bhasker, Rob Bisel, Benny Blanco, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Emile Haynie, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Jay Versace, and more.

This 1965 collection from The King of Soul™ is as fresh and urgent now as ever. Featuring “That’s How Strong My Love Is” and “Mr Pitiful” among this beautifully curated collections of soul ballads, this is a foundational record in any collection.

Following the worldwide success of Steve Lacy’s critically acclaimed album Gemini Rights, this collection is now available on vinyl beginning 11/4/2022. The album features Steve’s chart topping global hit, Bad Habit.

Steve Lacy is a Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, producer, and musician who was born and raised in Compton, California. Steve was introduced to the music industry initially in 2015 as a member (guitarist) of R&B group, The Internet. His previous solo work includes his debut EP, Steve Lacy’s Demo (Feb 2017), his debut album, Apollo XXI (May 2019), and The Lo-Fis (December 2020). Steve has production, writing and feature credits with artists like Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Tyler, Mac Miller, The Internet, Thundercat, GoldLink, Solange, YG, Vampire Weekend, and Kali Uchis to name a few.

This is the FINAL album coming from legendary musician/actor Morris Day. Considered one of the founders of the “Minneapolis Sound,” as well as Prince’s “greatest creation,” Morris’s career has spanned 40 years. Now it’s the “Last Call.” Celebrate with us and some of Morris’s best friends as you journey through 12 final tracks with features from Snoop Dogg, Jazze Pha, E-40, Tech N9ne, Daddy O from Stetsasonic, Big Daddy Kane, Flo Rida, Trinidad James and Billy Gibbons.

RENAISSANCE is the highly anticipated new album from global icon Beyoncé. Packed with rousing anthems that resonate with everybody, RENAISSANCE is a culmination of freedom and escape that encourages unimaginable jubilation, agency, and movement with abandon. The singular intent of RENAISSANCE, a reinvention of four on the floor, is to showcase music that stirs you from the soul and encourages your dancing feet.  It is a celebration of a club era when anyone who felt like an outsider sought each other and formed a community of freedom-seekers to express themselves creatively through the rhythm, which we still celebrate today. 

When you think of R&B in the 21^st century, romance, sex, love, and Tank instantly come to mind. With vocal fireworks lit enough to heat up any bedroom and an instantly recognizable presence, the nine-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum singer, producer, actor, comedian, and R&B Money label founder has defined two decades of the genre with one seminal record after another. Along the way, he has gathered hundreds of millions of streams, picked up platinum plaques, and sold out shows around the world. However, he leaves the game with one more magnum opus, delivering his tenth and final full-length offering, R&B Money [R&B Money/Atlantic Records], in 2022.

“For me, I’ve adjusted and lived through the changes with R&B,” he explains. “R&B is back in an amazing place. There are so many R&B artists who have incredible careers. The title R&B Money speaks to how lucrative the R&B business is and how expensive the music is. However, relationships and love are expensive in terms of how much you have to emotionally and spiritually invest. The investment is worth it though. R&B is about relationships. Nothing gives you the blues like a relationship when it goes wrong. Nothing gets you more excited than a relationship when it goes right. It’s never changed for me. I’m still making R&B.”

Throughout 2021, he assembled what would become R&B Money as his most ambitious body of work yet. “I’ve got more songs than ever,” he says. “I wanted to give it all I’ve got. For the first half of the album, it’s a vibe. You’re either making up or making out. There’s a song for any groove you’re in. It’s a ride, so pack a lunch.”

Following a record-breaking debut, Ella Mai brings us her highly anticipated sophomore album, Heart On My Sleeve. With the physical available upon immediate release on May 6, 2022, fans can experience the thrill of running to the store to grab the CD and press play on their favorite R&B songstress.

Love & Algorhythms is an interstellar synthesis of astral Soul, R&B, and sci-fi Funk. Working with producer Paul Butler (The Bees, Micheal Kiwanuka, Caroline Rose, Hurray for the Riff Raff), Seratones have taken the invitation to knock at the door of the cosmos. A.J. Haynes’s voice dances with soul-stirring devotion at the altar of Black Feminisms: weaving the words Toni Cade Bambara, Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis multiverse, echoes of bell hooks, and Audre Lorde’s Power of the Erotic. With drummer Jesse Gabriel’s machine-like precision and the transcendental touches from guitarist Travis Stewart, the album oscillates between Alice Coltrane-inspired bliss & Giorgio Moroder’s ecstatic release. Each song hovers and pulsates in the wide, dark matter—constellations guiding a journey through the subtle body, the vast fullness of the human experience and the irresistible potential of liberation.

Robert Glasper’s highly anticipated third installment to the Black Radio album series. Black Radio III, much like both of its predecessors, is a cultural moment that celebrates black love and resilience, features an eclectic group of talented collaborators, and is composed by Glasper who the New York Times proclaims is “probably the most prominent jazz musician of his generation”. An innovative and essential addition to Glasper’s seminal Black Radio series. Limited Edition Indie Exclusive Chartreuse 2 LP.

Stro Elliot (of The Roots) puts his spin on ten James Brown classics. The remixes draw upon a variety of inspirations, from Afro-Beat to electronica.

A fever dream in sonic form, The Alien Coast is the first album St. Paul & The Broken Bones recorded in their hometown of Birmingham. Produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Drive-By Truckers, Margo Price) - the bands fourth full-length is a dizzying convergence of rock & roll and R&B, psychedelia and stoner metal, gospel and jazz-funk. At turns explosive, elegant, and thrillingly unhinged - it makes for a majestic backdrop to the groups visceral exploration of the strangest dimensions of the human psyche.

The 5^th Dimension’s “Greatest Hits On Earth” is being issued, featuring 11 of their most beloved hits including “Last Night I Didn’t Get To Sleep At all,” “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In,” “One Less Bell To Answer” and more!

A brand new album of brand-new songs from the No. 1 R&B Group of All Time, The Temptations. Features tracks written and produced by Narada Michael Walden, the young hip-hop producer K. Sparks, longtime group member Ron Tyson, founding member Otis Williams, and the equally legendary Smokey Robinson, whose classic songs launched the group’s original hit streak. The new album release will coincide with Otis Williams’s 80^thbirthday, and the Broadway return (and road show edition) of the hit musical, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.

$ (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 1971 movie of the same name. The soundtrack was composed and produced by Jazz legend Quincy Jones and includes performances from Roberta Flack, Little Richard and Doug Kershaw. This version will be the first repressing since 2002, and will be pressed the color of money on mint green vinyl. SIDE A 01 Money Is (feat. Little Richard) 02 Snow Creatures 03 Rubber Ducky 04 Redeye Runnin' Train (feat. Doug Kershaw) 05 Shady Lady 06 Money Runner 07 When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) [feat. Roberta Flack with the Don Elliott Voic SIDE B 01 Do It - To It! (feat. Little Richard) 02 Candy Man 03 Passin' the Buck 04 Kitty with the Bent Frame 05 Brooks' 50c Tour (Main Title Collage) [feat. Little Richard and Roberta Flack]

The 1976 Warner Bros Motion Picture “Sparkle” features a soundtrack created by two Soul giants – Aretha and Curtis. Whilst the movie stars - Irene Cara and Lonette McKee (primarily) - sang the songs on the film, “Sparkle (Music From The Warner Bros. Motion Picture)'' features the Queen of Soul herself 'Aretha Franklin', accompanied by composer and producer Curtis Mayfield recorded at his Curtom studio in Chicago. It will be pressed on LP - for the first time since its original release in 1976 - on a Crystal Clear vinyl. SIDE A 01 Sparkle 02 Something He Can Feel 03 Hooked on Your Love 04 Look into Your Heart SIDE B 01 I Get High 02 Jump To It 03 Loving You Baby 04 Rock with Me

Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 is a career-spanning, 31-track collection of music pioneer Sam Cooke’s greatest works. This collection presents tracks from Cooke’s gospel and early R&B career, pop/soul hits from the Specialty and RCA labels and combined them with the cream of the masters that are part of his own company, Tracey Records. Includes comprehensive liner notes by Peter Guralnick as well as detailed musician credits. Limited Edition Indie Exclusive 2 LP on 180-gram clear vinyl.