The crowd dances to the music at the Dreamville Music Festival in Raleigh, N.C. Alanté Serene Millow/NPR hide caption
Summer Walker ENTER TEASER
Summer Walker
GIVĒON Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Roséwave is light and breezy, but not necessarily unsophisticated — the sound of an experience kissed by sweet summer heat. Vanessa Leroy/NPR hide caption
Doja Cat. Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for iHeartRadio hide caption
Projects released by Summer Walker, Shelley FKA DRAM and Jazmine Sullivan are included in NPR Music's best R&B albums of 2021. Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images hide caption
Dreya Mac spits bars at a level far beyond a novice on her debut track "Skippin." Clara Setian/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Summer Walker's Over It is one of the best albums of October. Aiden Cullen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Summer Walker's debut album, Over It, is a sensation. ro.lexx/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Summer Walker plays a Tiny Desk Concert on Sept. 13, 2019 (Laura Beltran Villamizar/NPR). Laura Beltran Villamizar/NPR hide caption
R&B singer Summer Walker. Her latest album, Over It, is on our shortlist for the best releases out on Oct. 4. Aiden Cullen hide caption
KIRBY's "Kool Aid" injects just the right doses of doo-wop and soul. Courtney Loo & David Karp/Courtesy of the artist hide caption