September has a nice mix of R&B and Soul artists releasing music. The headliner is Trey Songz, whose fourth album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, drops just a little over a year after his breakthrough release, Ready, came out. Also coming with new albums are Barbados native Shontelle, whose No Gravity was pushed back from August, and sophisticated singers Will Downing and Elisabeth Withers. But the release that your R&B Guide's most looking forward to is Wake Up!, an album of collaborations between crooner John Legend and hip-hop band The Roots. For the full details on Sept. 2010's noteworthy new music, just look below.
1. Passion, Pain & Pleasure, Trey Songz
Trey's latest release is due in stores Sept. 14 via Atlantic Records.
Tracklisting:
- Here We Go (interlude)
- Love Faces
- Massage
- Alone
- Bottoms Up
- Pain (interlude)
- Can't Be Friends
- Please Return My Call
- Made to Be Together
- Pleasure (interlude)
- Red Lipstick
- The Usual (feat. Drake)
- Doorbell
- Passion (interlude)
- Unfortunate
- Blind
- You Just Need Me
2. Wake Up!, John Legend & The Roots
Wake Up! is a collection of mostly little-known old school Soul songs remade by one of the best singers in R&B today along with one of the best hip-hop acts of all time. It's due out Sept. 21 via Columbia Records.
Tracklisting:
- Hard Times
- Compared to What
- Wake Up Everybody (feat. Melanie Fiona & Common)
- Our Generation (the Hope of the World)
- Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude)
- Little Ghetto Boy
- Hang on in There
- Humanity (Love the Way It Should Be)
- Wholly Holy
- I Can't Write Left-Handed
- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
- Shine
3. Lust, Love & Lies (An Audio Novel), Will Downing
He's known more an a Jazz vocalist, but Will's first full-fledged R&B release, which is a concept album, comes out Sept. 14 via Peak Records.
Tracklisting:
- Glad I Met You Tonight
- Feelin' Alright
- Lust at First Sight (conversation)
- Get to Know You
- Tell Me
- Consensual
- Safe in His Arms
- Put Yo Momma on the Phone (conversation)
- Fly Higher
- Saturday
- Guess Who's Back (conversation)
- Shades
- Extra! Extra! (conversation)
- Libido Interuptus (conversation)
- Do You Know
- You Do U (conversation)
- At This Moment
- I Got You Back (conversation)
- Coulda Been/Should Been
- Deja Vu/Glad I Met You Tonight (conversation)
4. Lyrics, Donell Jones
After a brief hiatus from releasing new material, love master Donell returns with Lyrics on Sept. 28 via E1 Music, the label formerly known as Koch Records.
Tracklisting:
- The World is Yours
- Your Place
- Love Like This
- Imagine That
- Backdoor
- Blackmail
- All About the Sex
- Stripclub (feat. Yung Joc)
- What's Next
- You Can Burn
- The Finer Things in Life
- Just a Little
- O How I Wonder
5. Blu Transition, Conya Doss
This highly talented by underrated R&B/Soul songstress will release her fifth independent album via her own Conya Doss Songs label on Sept. 28.
Tracklisting:
- Celebrate
- What We Gone Do
- Never Be the Same
- All in You
- Losing Game
- No More
- Sweet as Honey
- Friends
- Fly Away
- The Best Thing
- You're No Ready
- Pointless
- Wi-fi
- Doesn't Have to Be This Way
6. Mattress Music, Marques Houston
The ex-kiddie group member formerly known as "Batman" releases his latest solo project Sept. 14 via Music Works Entertainment.
Tracklisting:
- Mattress Music
- Pullin' on Her Hair (feat. Rick Ross)
- Kickin' & Screamin'
- Mess
- Noize
- Swag Sex (feat. Soulja Boy)
- He Ain't Me
- High Notes
- Ghetto Angel
- Explosion
- Waterfall
7. No Regrets, Elisabeth Withers
Elisabeth's follow-up to her solid 2007 album It Can Happen to Anyone is due out Sept. 14 (that sure is a popular date for new albums, ain't it?) via E1 Music.
Tracklisting:
- Rock and the Raincloud
- I Remember
- Bittersweet (feat. Gordon Chambers)
- I Believe
- Take Me Back
- No Regrets
- Why
- Dream
- Superman
- Because I Love You
- Everything is Gonna Be Alright
8. Good Things, Aloe Blacc
This Orange County, California native who's the son of Panamanian immigrants releases his second album on Sept. 28 via the Stones Throw label.
Tracklisting:
- I Need a Dollar
- Green Lights
- Hey Brother
- Miss Fortune
- Life So Hard
- Take Me Back
- Femme Fatale
- Loving You is Killing Me
- Good Things
- You Make Me Smile
- If I
- Mama Hold My Hand
- Politician (Reprise)
9. Fellowship, Lizz Wright
The latest project from this highly talented, yet very underappreciated jazz-Soul songstress is a Gospel/spiritual album. It comes out Sept. 28 via the Verve Forecast label.
Tracklisting:
- Fellowship
- (I've Got to Use My) Imagination
- I Remember, I Believe
- God Specializes
- Gospel Medley: I've Got a Feeling/Power Lord/Glory Glory/Up Above My Head/Hold On Just a Little While Longer
- Sweeping Through the City
- All the Seeds
- Presence of the Lord
- In from the Storm
- Feed the Light
- Oya
- Amazing Grace
10. Airtight's Revenge, Bilal
The second officially released album by this highly talented and eclectic new-Soul crooner will be released by indie label Plug Research on - you got it - Sept. 14.
Tracklisting:
- Cake & Eat It Too
- Restart
- All Matter
- Flying (Explicit)
- Levels
- Little One
- Move On
- Robots
- The Dollar
- Who Are You
- Think It Over
11. 6: Commitment, Seal
Seal's last release was an album of remakes of classic Soul songs. His latest is an all new collection of his usual soft, tender tracks. It'll be in stores Sept. 28 via Reprise Records.
Tracklisting:
- If I'm Any Closer
- Weight of My Mistakes
- Silence
- Best of Me
- All for Love
- I Know What You Did
- The Way I Lie
- Secret
- You Get Me
- Letting Go
- Big Time
12. No Gravity, Shontelle
Pushed back from August, No Gravity might finally be in stores on Sept. 21 via the Motown label.
Tracklisting:
- Perfect Nightmare
- Impossible
- No Gravity
- Take Ova
- Say Hello to Goodbye
- DJ Made Me Do It
- Love Shop
- Helpless
- Kiss You Up
- T-Shirt (Radio Killa remix)
