Welcome back to This Week in R&B, your weekly catch-up on everything happening in the genre we love. From the albums worth spending time with to the industry moves you might’ve missed, consider this your one-stop shop for staying in the know.
This week, John Legend and Pharrell Williams are bringing two decades of friendship into the studio, Snoh Aalegra is making up for lost time with her ‘Legendary Love’ album announcement, and Mahalia is stepping into a new era of independence. Elsewhere, JoJo’s early catalog is getting a new home, and we’ve got a new artist for you to add to your rotation.
Let’s get into it!
John Legend and Pharrell Have Teamed Up for ‘Muse’
Released October 23, Legend’s new album, Muse, is a 16-track collaboration produced entirely by Pharrell, bringing together gospel, doo-wop, classic soul, and hip-hop, with the kind of cinematic arrangements you’d expect from two musicians with this much history between them.
The project came together after Legend appeared on Clipse’s comeback album, Let God Sort Em Out, where his performance on “The Birds Don’t Sing” inspired Pharrell to build an entire project around his voice. Much of the recording took place at Louis Vuitton’s headquarters in Paris, with Pharrell encouraging Legend to experiment with a more conversational vocal approach instead of always relying on the powerhouse vocals we’ve come to know him for. We’re always here for an artist who refuses to get too comfortable.