Kali Uchis, UMI, Naomi Sharon, And More New R&B For Hard Truths

Yahoo

09-05-2025

The week in R&B, we're exploring the process behind communicating a hard truth. It's not always rewarding or timely, but remains necessary to honor one's own heart.
To soundtrack such emotions, Kali Uchis, UMI, 6LACK, and Naomi Sharon are among those who released new music that reflect these deep feelings. We're also obsessed with recent offerings from Brandon, TA Thomas, Keke Palmer, SAILORR, Jhonni Blaze, Tyla, Honey Bxby, and more.
Check out VIBE's top new R&B picks below.
Kali Uchis' fifth album, Sincerely, is her most vulnerable work of art yet. As she romanticizes her life since becoming a mother, the LP—written and executive produced by the songbird— weaves together themes of love, healing, and fighting to maintain her peace.
Per AP, the singer notes, 'I really did make the music that I needed for my grieving process, for just the place that I'm at in my life right now.' The album has a sentimental touch as well as she immortalized her mother on 'Sunshine & Rain…,' and featured her son's laugh on 'ILYSMIH.'
UMI's new duet with 6LACK is a hypnotizing, sultry record that embodies the 'peaceful [albeit] electrifying' energy UMI is known for. Together, they fluidly explore and stress the importance of honest connection and communicating hard truths.
The singer explained in a statement, ''HARD TRUTHS' delves into the complexities of self-awareness, the emptiness of materialism, and the importance of genuine connection. Alongside 6LACK, the lyrics explore the contrast between external appearances and internal realities. Emphasizing the need to confront uncomfortable truths about oneself and relationships.'
UMI described 'HARD TRUTHS' as her 'reintroduction to the world after a long shadow period of my life.' She added, 'I've purged many parts of myself to understand the core of who I am now. That journey began with me asking myself the very things I sing about in this song … (what matters to me?) So it felt right to start telling my story here.'
Naomi Sharon just speaks to your soul and her new EP, The Only Love We Know, is proof of that.
The soul-stirring project is a story of acceptance, understanding, emotional maturity, and forward progression. She explains, 'This EP is more about finding happiness within yourself and embracing the positive things in life. Love still plays a role, but now there is a deeper understanding that true love comes from within. If something does not work out, that is okay too. It is about self-love and independence.'
Storytelling and melody are safely intertwined and it's easy to get lost within the world she's created. Allow yourself to do so.
Keke Palmer is finally telling the full account of what went down behind the scenes with Ushergate 2023 and her now ex-boyfriend.
'This one is personal […] me giving voice to the feelings I buried,' the singer shared on Instagram. 'Sometimes the closure we need doesn't come from a conversation— it comes from being honest with ourselves. That's what this song is. My peace. My clarity. My way of letting go […] I'm not here to play perfect. I'm here to be honest. I'm just here to be Keke.'
'My Confession' is a taste of what may be her most personal album to-date.
Tyla is back with her first solo single of 2025.
Following the success of her eponymous debut album, the international phenom returns with 'Bliss.' It's a vibrant tune with an air of romance, flirtation, and sensuality.
'Burnin' desire when you/ Throw your arms all around me/ Need to feel all your passion/ You and I create magic,' she sings on the chorus. She first previewed the record at Coachella.
When speaking on her new approach to music, Tyla shared, 'I've changed a lot in a short amount of time because I was kind of forced to— with how fast I had to adapt to everything. I don't think it's going to be the same energy at all, especially with what I've started making. It's different, but also still Tyla.'
SAILORR's highly-anticipated new album, FROM FLORIDA'S FINEST, is here.
The LP is a strong display of wit and honesty that features fan favorites like 'POOKIE'S REQUIEM,' 'DOWN BAD,' and 'W1LL U L13?' and new standouts like the relatable 'SOFT GIRL SUMMER' and the audacious 'UR MOTHER'S SON.'
'I do music to open myself and those I love up to opportunities we wouldn't otherwise have,' SAILORR details. 'In the world of art – we all mesh them together to make the world a better place. With my music, I want to make people feel like, 'Yeah, I can and I will do what I want.''
With her first release in nearly three years, Jenevieve's 'Haiku' is dreamy, tender, and introspective.
It's as though she captured the delicate feeling of yearning for someone and put it on a song. It feels like the song you'd hear on Mara Brock Akil's Forever or something similar.
It's sweet and endearing— something R&B needs more of.
Honey Bxby's '3AM' is the anthem for 'late-night longing.'
She feels like a cross between Keyshia Cole and Lil Mo, especially with this record interpolating the latter's classic '4Ever.' The inclusion of Toosii's flavor rounds out the seductive jam and really makes you want to have it on repeat.
'3AM' will be featured on her upcoming EP, Raw Honey, out on May 30.
Jhonni Blaze is marking her mark on R&B and 'What If I' might be our favorite record of hers thus far.
Of the ballad's conception, the singer told VIBE exclusively, 'I got my heart broken on April 1 [and] it took me seven days in real life to just ignore the person and know my worth. In the course of that, I did this video. This song is about 'what if I did it to you, how would you feel? How would you feel if I broke your heart and cheated or misused you?' So, I asked myself how long would it take to get over something like that and are you truly over it?'
Think Mary J. Blige's 'Seven Days' or Monica's 'U Should've Known Better.'
The visual is just as enticing as the record itself.
Brandon's debut album, Before You Go, is a heartfelt, earnest depiction of emotions, heartbreak, and exploration of both one's self and art.
With intimate yet sweet tracks like 'You Look Like Love,' 'Right Back,' and 'September,' Brandon embraces 'the complexities of love, the beauty of uncertainty, and the inevitability of change.'
Written, recorded, and produced entirely in his home studio, Brandon used many external factors to help mold what Before You Go became and thus, he made a project he will be forever proud of.
Blossoming songbird, Miriah Renee has issued the newest 'f**k-around-and-find-out' anthem, aptly titled 'Brand New.' The song breathes new life into 3LW's 'No More' as Miriah finds the strength to overcome toxicity and settling for the bare minimum.
'This record allows me as a woman to flip things a little and talk some s**t,' siad Miriah about the track. 'Usually the s**t-talking is from the guys, so I figured a fun female anthem will be the perfect script-flip on them. The 3LW sample was a no-brainer.'
The visual continues to play on the 2000s classic as it simulates the Sims video game.
The UK has done it again.
Nippa is the newest sensation hailing from across the pond and his new EP, Hope She Hears This, is a warm introduction to his catalog.
With songs like the familiar-natured 'Insecure,' the tug 'o war of 'Sum'n Serious' or the weighted 'Unfair,' the crooner gets candid about the emotional complexity behind a fading relationship while blending his take on R&B with nostalgia in a way that makes us want to return for more.
TA Thomas is such a welcomed presence within R&B, who's really bringing back the heart of the genre— when it had roots in the church.
With his new EP, Southern Soul, the crooner delivers a masterful hybrid of blues, gospel, and soul through tracks like the divine 'Preach,' the lovestruck 'Risky,' and the soulful 'Girl Of Mine.'
Of the deeply reverent project, TA explained, 'This project came straight from my roots— from the Delta to your ears. Curated by the Deep South, this EP is all heart, heritage, and Southern Soul […] I remember being a kid, riding with my pops on the weekends, and he'd have Sir Charles Jones' 'Is Anybody Lonely' playing. I didn't even know what Southern Soul was at the time but I felt a deep connection to it! Fast forward to now, and I'm dropping a project that not only honors that sound, but takes YOU my day ones, my supporters on a journey through the music that shaped me into the artist I am today. This is more than music. This is a piece of my heart.'
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