@Lina Anwar

The tracks you can’t get enough of lately, all in one place. Updated as you listen.

Whether what you hear is one of Beyoncé’s fierce statements of autonomy, an inspiring act of consciousness-raising by Kendrick Lamar, an unstoppable party jam by Cardi B or an oh-so-emo expression of vulnerability by Drake, the best hip-hop and R&B of the 2010s is marked by a boldness and urgency that help these artists cut through all of our culture’s noise and chatter. In terms of sound and impact, the ’10s represented a golden age for individuals out to change the game. Just as remarkable is the eagerness of standard-setters like Kanye West and Rihanna to continually rethink what they do, all while recombining a vast array of musical styles and ideas. From hard-hitting trap beats and dancehall rhythms to synth-heavy soundscapes and throwbacks to old-school glories, it all makes for music that keeps pace with fast and unpredictable times.

Recording and performing as Doja Cat, Los Angeles rapper and singer Amala Dlamini has proven herself one of pop music’s savviest, most audacious characters. Despite debuting in 2014, it wasn’t until her 2018 debut album <i>Amala</i> that she took her rightful place in the public consciousness, thanks to dreamy slow jams like “Candy” and “Go to Town”. But Dlamini truly hit when she leaned more into rapping, collaborating with the likes of Tyga (“Juicy”) and Gucci Mane (“Like That”) while still asserting her mastery of sugary pop with 2020’s “Say So”. Taking a fun and fundamentally empowered stance in her singing and rapping about sex, Dlamini graduated to futuristic, interplanetary adventures on 2021’s <i>Planet Her</i>, enlisting SZA (“Kiss Me More”) and Ariana Grande (“I Don’t Do Drugs”) even as she did awfully well all on her own with the self-affirming “Woman” and openly enticing “Need to Know”. Her biggest cultural moment came with 2023’s Dionne Warwick-sampling “Paint the Town Red”, a slinky and explicit rap track that hit No. 1 in multiple countries. Reasserting her ability as a versatile, sex-positive MC, she went softer on “Agora Hills” and nastier on “Demons”, reinforcing the range of moods available from the self-proclaimed queen.

Like its stylistic cousin hip-hop, R&B has some major overlap with modern pop—at times, the charts are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Put another way, the biggest R&B songs are often the biggest songs in any genre, period. Whether you call it crossover R&B, pop&B or something else entirely, this is where you’ll find its hugest new chart smashes, updated every week. We always keep this playlist refreshed with the latest tunes. If you like something, add it to your library.