Corneille has been making a name for himself in Canada for years with his infectious blend of funk and soul. Fans of John Legend and Lennie Kravitz will eat up his first English-language release, The Birth of Cornelius.
2008 was a breakout year for many. Rihanna solidified her status as superstar, Jennifer Hudson avoided the American Idol curse and delivered a solid album, and Raphael Saadiq continued to amaze and astound with The Way I See It. You can find these artists along with other exceptional musicians who made music to our ears in 2008.
Do the ladies run this mother? - Looks like they did in 2006. Check out our latest playlist featuring of some of the year's hottest tracks from the finest ladies in R&B.
Unsigned hype: volume one - Screw American Idol, these five talented singers have what it takes to shine for some lucky record label in the near future.
For the ladies - Who says more is better? We've honed this list down to just five tracks, all aimed to get you in the mood with that special person in your life.
Just when you thought the horrific melodies of Auto-Tune had taken over R&B, along comes Anthony Hamilton's new release, The Point of It All. Expect more of the funky southern soul he's given us over the past few years mixed in with a lil' hip-hop, thanks to the collaboration with David Banner.
Soul-pop's revival and Stax Records' second life collide brilliantly for Nikka Costa's latest. The rattling tambourines and brassy vocals of an Amy Winehouse appear on Pebble to a Pearl in less mannered form, and Costa emerges as an old-school diva perfectly in touch with the modern.
It was a very good year. Or, at least, it was for music, as the editors and writers of Download Music can attest. In our annual year-end wrap-up, each writer, editor, and producer has assembled a stunning playlist pulling together 10 of their favorite songs from our site.
Our guests in Studio C just keep getting stronger--and this week we outdid ourselves, hosting former Tony! Toni! Tonï¿?! /Lucy Pearl frontman Raphael Saadiq, who was in town promoting his latest album, The Way I See It. In our exclusive session Saadiq talked about working and hanginï¿? out with Stevie Wonder, and how the late great J Dilla influenced him musically.