Four or five years ago, R&B caught a second wind from critics, thanks to a new crop of young singers with arty sensibilities that resonated with indie audiences. In truth, though, the distinction between so-called alternative R&B (or PBR&B, as it was derisively tagged) and mainstream R&B was overstated. For decades R&B has been a forward-looking, production-driven medium, and these latest sounds were just an extension of that mentality.
Milwaukee R&B singer Rina is just 19, meaning that she was in her formative teenage years during the great Frank Ocean/ Jhené Aiko /Miguel/Dawn Richard boom of the early ’10s, and judging by her debut single “Temptation,” she’s clearly internalized some of their moves, as well as their disregard for traditional genre boundaries. It’s a limber, long-morning-stretch of a song, planted somewhere between the adventurous neo-soul of Erykah Badu and the avant poise of Kehlani. It also instantly announces Rina as a singer to watch in a city that, quite frankly, hasn’t been known for R&B music in a long time.
Steam the track below.
