Ironic, then, that such a shift seems to have been ushered in by a death — not of R&B proper, mind you, but of one of its greatest modern pacesetters: The Weeknd. Since 2011, the persona inhabited by ...

Vets and newbies flexed their best bars in 2025. After being spoiled by a monstrous three-peat from Future, a lyrical face-off between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and scintillating releases from Doechii ...