2015: The Year in R&B

To be an R&B fan in 2015 was to be delighted, bewildered, mind-blown and overwhelmed. Before the year even began, D’Angelo released Black Messiah, his endlessly anticipated follow-up to 2000’s Voodoo, almost by surprise. The album’s accolades and swirling brain-drain were well-deserved—but it was also a waving flag that signified a very good upcoming year for the genre. It certainly didn’t hurt that Jodeci, the forefathers of R&B’s rap-hybridization, a