R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: BunnaB, Icewear Vezzo, Masego, Jordan Ward & More

Less than a week later, the worlds of hip-hop and R&B are still mourning late neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo.

On Tuesday (Oct. 14), the four-time Grammy winner, 51, passed “after a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” according to a statement his family shared with Billboard. Since the announcement, artists from Beyoncé to Tyler, the Creator, have taken to social media to pay tribute to the visionary musician. “Rest in peace D’angelo,” wrote Doja Cat on X. “My thoughts, love and prayers go out to his family and friends. A true voice of soul and inspiration to many brilliant artists of our generation and generations to come.”

That same evening, Kendrick Lamar also came out as a surprise guest at Playboi Carti’s Antagonist 2.0 L.A. tour stop. The following day (Oct. 15) marked the end of first-round Grammy voting, bringing us one step closer to the official nominations announcement on Nov. 7. As assessed by Billboard, leading contenders across the rap, R&B, African and global music categories include Lamar, Clipse, Leon Thomas, Kehlani, Tyla and Vybz Kartel.

Back on the R&B side of things, Summer Walker shared the release date of her long-awaited Finally Over It LP, Brandy abruptly left the stage at the Chicago stop of her and Brandy’s The Boy Is Mine Tour (and quickly issued an explanation) and Ty Dolla $ign dropped his new Tycoon album — his first solo LP since 2020’s Featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from a new BunnaB banger to Icewear Vezzo’s latest heater. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.