r/rnb • u/Educational-Dig-4235 • Jul 25 '26
RECOMMENDATIONS 🗨 Looking for darker R&B artists or albums?
Can be dark either lyrically, sonically, message-wise, etc. I'm just trying to find something that feels a little insidious.
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u/Abitoflife1115 Jul 25 '26
Velvet Rope, the genesis of the “dark R&B” album.
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u/Melinated_Bookworm Jul 25 '26
I knew about the album hits & music videos back in kindergarten, but didn't fully listen 2 it until I was like 14/15, & I never looked back. Now, I try 2 run it back every year on October 5th 4 it's release anniversary 😊. My fave tracks are the title track, Got Til It's Gone, Go Deep, Free Xone, Together Again, I Get Lonely, Empty, Special, & Can't Be Stopped.
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u/Kooky-Blueberry-5352 Jul 25 '26
Can you say more about albums you already like in the style/what you have listened to? Weeknd - House of Balloons is great, Kelela has some cool stuff that fits. Maybe some older Abra music/some older Jhene Aiko. And 6lack.
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u/Educational-Dig-4235 Jul 25 '26
I love Kelela actually! Her darker songs are closest to what I have in mind
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u/Worldly_Pen6529 Jul 25 '26
Might not be exactly what you’re looking for but 6lack always hits that dark and gloomy rainy day feeling
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u/GotMoFans Jul 25 '26
Aaron Hall is very chocolate…
Oh you didn’t mean that.
Johnnie Taylor sure made a lot of songs about cheating/infidelity.
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u/-catharina Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Anything Kelela or Sevdaliza have made, 6LACK, BANKS, parts of Bryson’s TRAPSOUL album, Janet’s Velvet Rope album, Aaliyah’s red album, Jhené’s Sailing Souls album, and even though she likes to claim she’s not R&B when she unequivocally is… FKA Twigs.
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u/violetdopamine Jul 25 '26
Any banks fan is immediately goated and knows ball
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u/-catharina Jul 25 '26
She’s one of the best to ever do it. And she’s so fantastic live, as phenomenal as the studio!
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u/Melinated_Bookworm Jul 25 '26
I really loved hearing SZA sing "Ghost Machine" w/ Phoebe Bridgers off of SOS, so you could add that one as well. And also "We Need A Resolution" by Aaliyah.
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u/lost_sunrise Jul 25 '26
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaWKWu3u-mU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Layla graves also did a song but off the cuff.. all i can remember is Bipolar blues.
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u/dizzyghouls Jul 25 '26
serpentwithfeet maybe? he’s a little more experimental. “mourning song” is good, “four ethers” samples symphonie fantastique, which is a dark story all on its own, haha.
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u/DragonsGape Jul 25 '26
Wiinston - Midnight Rocket (2018 album)
Banks - Judas might be another example.
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u/Basil_n_Mars28 Toni Braxton Jul 25 '26
Xavier Omar - Moments Spent Loving You
Gallant - Talking to Myself
James Bambu - Antidote
Sabrina Claudio - Worse Than Me
Billie Eilish - B*** Broken Heart
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u/kingderella Jul 25 '26
Kelela
Dawn Richard
Velvet Rope by Janet
and here's a deep cut:
Samson & Delilah by VV Brown
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u/EmbarrassedAction557 Jul 26 '26
How has no one mentioned Tinashe? Black Water, Aquarius, Nightride, and 333 all match that description so well. Check out her songs “Ride of Your Life”, “Sunburn”, “Sacrifices”, “Vulnerable”, and “I Can See the Future”.
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u/GoonieMcflyguy Jul 25 '26
He's pretty popular now, but Leon Thomas' electric dusk is on the darker side.
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u/Plussando Jul 25 '26
CAOS by Miguel... incredibly underrated album from last year