Many contemporaries had delivered impressive debuts, yet few wrestled so directly with questions of belonging. The music succeeds because it merges a young woman’s history with accessible craft. shatterthestandards.com/p/anniversarie…

Shed of choir-girl confines, Chlöe x Halle fuse velvet harmony with frank late-night candor to announce a fully realized adulthood. shatterthestandards.com/p/chloe-x-hall…

Here’s your upcoming rundown of albums/singles releasing on June 13th, featuring Slick Rick, Lil Tecca, twenty one pilots, Mark Ronson/RAYE, and many others. shatterthestandards.com/p/new-music-dr…

What matters now is not whether Victory tops playlists or recaptures his eighties peak. Its significance lies in watching the quintessential storyteller seize control of his narrative once again. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

Fantastic, Vol. 2 has lived a double life, passing from hand to hand as a beloved underground tape, while simultaneously serving as a touchstone whose influence reaches far beyond Detroit. shatterthestandards.com/p/milestones-f…

As an artist of Nigerian descent working in a scene often split by genre tags, Annahstasia avoids easy boxes. She folds folk progressions, soul inflection, and subtle jazz voicings that elevate songs. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

Three 6 built a local language so vivid that the outside world eventually learned to speak it. Every triplet stanza snapped off by a chart-topping rapper, and the influence is foundational. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/the-understa…

The list outlined an alternative timeline of R&B, one where everything remained central even as the business world around them kept changing the rules. shatterthestandards.com/p/r-and-b-grou…

With Theo Croker, juicy j/Rap Ron Howard, Leikeli47, Annahstasia, #Apathy, Joe Armon-Jones, Brandee Younger, CHERRIE, Natanya ✰, TOULOUSE, PsiRyn, and others, hit play on these projects released last week. shatterthestandards.com/p/wednesday-ro…

As we reflect on that legendary night, the inspiration continues to flow. The Pop Out was a movement, one that’s still pushing West Coast hip-hop forward today. shatterthestandards.com/p/sometimes-yo…

Here’s your upcoming rundown of albums/singles releasing on June 20th, featuring Benson Boone, Haim, Muse, JADE, and many others. shatterthestandards.com/p/new-music-dr…

.Midas has delivered one of her most compelling projects yet, proving that sometimes the bravest thing an artist can do is embrace all facets of life and turn them into music. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

Shatter the Standards Thank you for this!

On his fourth album, Loyle introduces a warm, introspective space defined by personal growth and cautious optimism. It glows with raw humanity and hard-won optimism. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

Come As You Are succeeds in painting the sonic portrait it set out to create. It’s an album that invites you to experience the full breadth of what South Los Angeles’ Black music culture has to offer. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

No list will ever satisfy everyone, of course. R&B is a sprawling genre spanning many eras and styles, narrowing it down to a ranked 75 is an exercise guaranteed to spark debate. More: shatterthestandards.com/p/billboard-pl…

.Nick Grant opens up about his time in the major-label system, reflecting on the industry's pitfalls, but makes it clear that he hasn’t forgotten where he came from, even as he steps into new ground. shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review…

With Midas, kwn, Loyle, samaracyn, Nick Grant, Terrace Martin/KENYON DIXON, Maxo, Ché Noir, Bas/THE HICS, Nyah Grace Music, and others, hit play on these projects released last week. shatterthestandards.com/p/wednesday-ro…

Here’s your upcoming rundown of albums/singles releasing on June 27th, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Lorde, Blood Orange, UMI, and many others. shatterthestandards.com/p/new-music-dr…

The 2010s produced a quiet flood of R&B tapes that redirected the genre through bedrooms, label boardrooms, and avant-garde club basements. Let’s see if you remember these eight mixtapes. shatterthestandards.com/p/the-best-r-a…