@Akasha James

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Whether it’s Monday morning or Friday night, get going with this personalized mix of upbeat music.

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Whether moody and introspective or bold and thrilling, the songs that best define indie R&B all count as statements of independence. Starting in the early 2000s, a wave of artists broke free of the conventions of R&B with music that furthered the experiments in sound, texture, and groove that began with neo-soul and trip-hop in the ‘90s. Frank Ocean, Solange, and The Weeknd helped forge a stylistically diverse and remarkably elastic sound that incorporated elements of indie rock, IDM, and dub while retaining the emotional intensity that listeners expect of songs born out of heartache, desire, and all the other feelings that fill long dark nights. And however deeply artists like FKA Twigs, Blood Orange, and Kelela may venture into abstract forms and ethereal soundscapes, their songs never fail to connect thanks to their emotional intensity as singers and ingenuity as songwriters.

R&B is one of the most dynamic, adventurous sounds in modern music, a place where art both personal and provocative meets the mainstream. From the alt vanguard to modern vets, straightforward to left-field, these tracks capture where R&B is now and point the way to where it’s going. This week, Mariah the Scientist’s “Burning Blue” is at the top of the playlist. The smoldering ballad finds the singer-songwriter singing about a lover who melts her heart despite being jaded. “I got that blue fever/Cold as ice till you came near/You’re like another fire-breathing creature/But it don’t burn how it appears,” she lilts on the first verse. Mariah compares the intensity of being in love to the level of combustion that yields a blue flame—an idea which could only have been written by a woman who was once a biology major. We update this playlist regularly. If you like a track, add it to your library.

Rhythmic, breezy jams that head straight for the dance floor. We update these tracks regularly. If you like something, add it to your library.

Get nostalgic with all the summer hits and bangers you'll need. From Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, John legend, Miley Cyrus, P!nk and many more....

The best of 2000s Y2K nostalgia, from *NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" (from Deadpool and Wolverine), to Shakira, Usher, The White Stripes, Beyonce, Outkast, Wheatus, The Fray, Avril Lavigne + more.

Great music doesn’t age, it ripens. So take this collection of party-ready tunes from the late ’90s through the early 2000s as a hit of nostalgia. But also take it as a musical cross-section of a particular time. From mainstream smashes to underground highlights, hip-hop and R&B to indie folk, one-hit wonders to modern classics, this is the sound of our still-young century. As throwback as it may be, our editors still update tracks regularly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.