D’Angelo has passed at age 51 after a private struggle with pancreatic cancer. He rose in the ’90s as one of the key artists of the Neo-soul movement, which marked a paradigm shift in R&B. A Pentecostal church upbringing and serious study of Prince and foundational Black music gave him the stock to become a futuristic funk sorcerer. Brown Sugar, Voodoo, and The Black Messiah mastered tradition and then personalized it with nuance and a vision that, unlike his predecessors, included hip-hop. D’Angelo became a major link between 20th- and 21st-century soul music. The hit records and adulation from the music industry complicated things for him after the reaction to his naked physique in the “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” video. He eventually worked through those feelings and returned to the mission of making pure music free from commercial obsessions. Those albums became a guiding light for successive generations of artists, including contemporary names like Kendrick Lamar and Doja Cat.

Of course, soul fans like me are trying to understand why he passed only seven months after his former personal and professional partner, Angie Stone. The trajectory of her career as a hip-hop pioneer was one of the things that linked their approach to his music and hers. Whether he was working as a member of The Soulquarians, collaborating with Lauryn Hill on their classic “Nothing Even Matters,” or touring with The Vanguard, he changed the way they approached their artistry. We last saw him earlier this year in his friend and colleague Questlove’s Sly Stone documentary. Coincidentally, Sly was the other Stone to pass this year, leaving only a few funk lords left on earth.  At the time of D’Angelo’s passing, he was working with Raphael Saadiq on his fourth album. 

Howard Hewett left the group Shalamar in 1985 to start a solo career and in 1986 his debut album, I Commit To Love, was released on the Elektra label. Leon Sylvers III had shaped Shalamar’s dance-oriented sound as the house producer of Dick Griffey’s SOLAR Records. Griffey and Soul Train founder Don Cornelius put the group together and the trio released a collection of mainstream and club hits. Hewett’s solo voice went straight into a hardcore R&B love man sound. The songs on I Commit To Love were slower and moved at the pace of a patient courtship. Jazz bassist, songwriter, and producer Stanley Clarke co-wrote and produced “I’m For Real” with Hewett. Clarke’s versatility as a jazz player had already been tested in his musical partnership with George Duke, which produced the pop and R&B hit “Sweet Baby” five years earlier. “I’m For Real” soothed with a warm saxophone and Hewett’s impassioned promises. Hewett’s work with Clarke on “I’m For Real” helped him grow as a balladeer and they made an R&B top ten hit. In 2025, new generations are discovering and reacting to Hewett’s “I’m For Real.” He released the single “To Thee I Pray” in 2021. 

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Kevin Ross just entered his LOVE UPTEMPO: MAX era and it is a continuation of his luxe R&B plus more. He shared a taste of the album with the Love Uptempo, Vol. 1 EP that came out earlier this year. LOVE UPTEMPO: MAX is the full experience, and he has collaborative energy on deck from creative duo Louis York, songwriter Justin Love, and musician Romeo Taylor. Ross summed up the collection in the album title, as the music is wholly dedicated to the dynamics of romantic relationships at a pace made for dancing. A song like “Back 4 More” makes the very common obsession with an ex less difficult because the sprightly rhythm resembles joy instead of rehashed heartbreak. Ross puts Afrobeats in the mix seamlessly on “Spin,” “Afrolude,” and “Spin (Again),” and it’s just enough to complement his core sound. “Love In The Middle” is the album’s North Star as it stayed in the number one slot on Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart for three weeks. 

LUM has everything Ross’ fans expect with songs that adhere to his habit of making R&B that honors his authenticity. He says, “This project means so much to me because it’s about celebrating love in all its forms through the joy of R&B music and its effects on the mind, body, and spirit. It’s my love letter to the genre that shaped me. As an independent artist, I’m grateful to be able to create music on my own terms and share it with people who truly connect with it. LOVE UPTEMPO: MAX is me pushing the boundaries of what R&B can sound like while keeping that soul at the center. I hope when people hear it, they feel good and inspired.”

Ross is currently touring LUM.