THE TAY-LIST 🎧

5 Black Artists You Should Be Checking For

Listen, I love the artists we already know. I love the legends. I love the people with 30 million streams, six Grammys, a perfume, a liquor company, a clothing line and enough damn followers to start their own country.

But who the fuck is NEXT? That’s what The Tay-List is for.

I’m always looking for Black artists who haven’t completely crossed over into the mainstream yet—the singers making fire-ass music without a machine beating us over the head with their name, the musicians building their audience one song at a time, and the people making the kind of shit that makes you stop mid-song and go, “Wait…who is THIS?”

And understand something: I’m not picking people because they’re underground. The music still has to be good. I’m not giving out participation trophies because somebody uploaded a song to Spotify.
I listened. I judged. I changed my mind a couple times. And these are the five that made me want to keep listening.

So turn off that same tired-ass playlist you’ve been playing since 2023 and come meet somebody new. Here are five Black artists you should be checking for.

1. GIGI

R&B That Remembers What the Hell R&B Is Supposed to Feel Like

• THE SOUND: Contemporary R&B / Soul / ’90s-influenced R&B

• TAY SAYS START HERE: Diamonds Dancing

• THEN PLAY: Waves of It

Let me start with GIGI because sis understood the assignment. This is R&B. Not a pop song somebody slowed down, added some finger snaps to and decided to call R&B. Not two minutes of somebody whispering like they’re scared they’re going to wake the baby. R&B.
GIGI came out swinging with “Diamonds Dancing,” her solo single, built around confidence, soulful vocals and a deliberate nod to ’90s R&B. It was released as the first taste of her Waves of It era. And I immediately understood what she was going for.

Her music has that grown, feminine, slightly luxurious feeling to it. You can hear the older R&B influence, but she isn’t walking around sounding like she’s doing a tribute act to 1996. That’s important. Because if you’re going to bring old-school R&B into 2026, bring the feeling—not somebody else’s whole damn identity. And GIGI has enough personality in her voice that I don’t feel like I’m listening to somebody cosplay the ’90s.

What really works for me is that she doesn’t seem interested in oversinging every damn syllable. We know you can sing. You don’t have to turn the word baby into a 37-second vocal exercise to prove it. Sometimes the sexiest thing a singer can do is sit their ass in the pocket and let the song breathe. GIGI does that.

TAY SAYS:
I’m checking for her. Heavy.
She has one of the more immediately accessible sounds on this list because you don’t have to “figure out” what she’s doing. If you’re an R&B person, you’re going to understand this shit almost immediately.
And if you’re one of those people constantly saying, “They don’t make R&B like they used to,” okay. Here go some shit. Now actually support the damn music.

2. ZYAH BELLE

Soul, Attitude and Just Enough “Nigga, I Know You Lying”

• THE SOUND: Neo-soul / Contemporary R&B / Alternative Soul

• LATEST PROJECT ON HER DISCOGRAPHY: LYIN: Remix Pack

• TAY SAYS START HERE: LYIN

• THEN PLAY: 1-800 Heartbreak, My Life, About Time, and Deserve

Zyah Belle sounds like somebody who has been through some shit but still moisturizes. That’s my description and I’m sticking beside it.

There’s something grown about her music. I’m talking about music that feels like the person singing it has actually lived enough life to have something to say. Zyah sits in that neo-soul/R&B pocket, but there’s enough modern production around her that it doesn’t feel like she’s desperately trying to recreate 1998.

Her catalog includes “LYIN,” “1-800 Heartbreak,” “About Time,” “My Life,” the project Are You Still Listening?, and the LYIN: Remix Pack. And “LYIN” is exactly where I’d tell y’all to start.

Because everybody has dealt with somebody who thought they were slicker than they actually were. You know that relationship where the other person is lying and you’re sitting there listening like: Okay. Keep going. Let’s see how fucked up you got me. That’s the energy.

But Zyah isn’t a one-note artist. “1-800 Heartbreak” goes in a more retro-soul direction, and the broader catalog shows that she knows how to move between different shades of R&B without sounding like she’s throwing random shit against the wall. Her own platform showcases her neo-soul work, while her releases show that she’s continued developing that sound rather than abandoning it for whatever happens to be charting.

TAY SAYS:
Zyah might be the person on this list where some of y’all listen and immediately ask: “How the hell have I not heard her before?”
Exactly. That’s why we’re here.
She already sounds developed. She already sounds comfortable. She isn’t giving me “new artist still trying on personalities.” The wider audience just needs to catch the fuck up. If you like R&B with vocals, soul, personality and a little relationship bullshit sprinkled on top, go listen.

3. AVENOIR

Somebody Turn the Lights Down Because This Nigga Came to Set a Mood

• THE SOUND: Alternative R&B / Neo-soul / Dark R&B

• CURRENT PROJECT: Mirage

• TAY SAYS START HERE: Mirage

• THEN PLAY: Alone, Art of War, Lady, and Shameless

Now this nigga right here. Avenoir had me interested because there’s an actual world around his music. It’s moody. It’s dark. It’s sexy without screaming, LOOK EVERYBODY, I’M MAKING SEX MUSIC. And that’s an important difference.

This is the kind of R&B that sounds like somebody is about to make a decision they absolutely know they shouldn’t make and they already took their damn clothes off anyway.
Avenoir’s Mirage album arrived via LISTEN TO THE KIDS, building on atmospheric cuts like “Alone,” “Art of War,” “Lady,” and breakout tracks like “Shameless”. And I’d actually tell somebody discovering him for the first time to go into the Mirage material first. That’s where you start understanding the artist instead of just hearing a song.

The singer-songwriter builds his records around lush instrumentation, soulful chords, and a sharp emphasis on vocal melody. He’s talked about consistency and authenticity as central to the direction he’s building. And I can hear why.

There are artists where you hear a record and think, That’s a nice song. Avenoir makes me think: Okay…I know what room this shit belongs in. Low lights. Nighttime. Probably shouldn’t text that person. Definitely texted that person. Now you’re staring at those three little dots waiting for them to type back.

TAY SAYS:
Out of these five, Avenoir has one of the strongest identities. That’s what I’m paying attention to.
Because a pretty voice is nice. A good beat is nice. But when I can hear somebody and start recognizing the world their music lives in, that’s when I’m interested in the artist instead of just the song. Avenoir has that.
I’m keeping this nigga on my radar.

4. DaVIONNE

This Is the Kind of Voice That Makes You Shut the Fuck Up for a MinuteTHE SOUND: R&B / Soul

• LATEST RELEASE: All On My Own

• TAY SAYS START HERE: All On My Own

• THEN PLAY: Puzzle Piece and dig backward through her catalog

DaVionne is where we’re going to slow this shit down. Because there are singers who perform emotion. And then there are singers where you listen and feel like: Damn…was I supposed to hear this? DaVionne gives me the second one.

Her latest single is “All On My Own,” released through DaVionneMusic, LLC. Her catalog also includes “Puzzle Piece” alongside standout collaborations and features.
What caught me isn’t some giant gimmick. It’s the texture. There’s vulnerability in her sound without it becoming pathetic. Because baby, there is a difference.

I like sad R&B. I like heartbreak R&B. I like “this relationship fucked me up a little bit” R&B. But at some point, stand the fuck up. DaVionne’s music can live inside the emotion without making me feel like I need to personally call the artist and make sure she’s okay. And that’s a hard balance.

TAY SAYS:
This is 1:37-in-the-morning R&B. You’ve already told your friends you’re over the relationship. Blocked the number. Deleted the pictures. Changed the sheets. Took the dramatic shower. Posted the thirst trap. Got 173 likes. You’re doing GREAT.
Then one song comes on and your dumb ass starts remembering that one Tuesday when everything was perfect. That’s DaVionne territory.
She isn’t the artist I’d put on when I’m trying to turn the function up. She’s the artist I’d put on when I actually want to listen. And sometimes that’s exactly what R&B is supposed to do.

5. DANI OFFLINE

The Artsy Black Girl Has Entered the Chat and She Brought Actual Instruments

• THE SOUND: R&B / Neo-soul / Jazz / Psychedelic Soul

• LATEST RELEASE: reasons

• COMING NEXT: Lover’s Discourse

• TAY SAYS START HERE: reasons

• THEN PLAY: Angel, weary soul, and desire (say you want me)

Okay. Dani Offline is for the people who like their music a little… weird. And I mean that in the best possible way. Because everybody does not need to make the same damn song.
Dani is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist working in this really interesting space between R&B, jazz, neo-soul and psychedelic soul. Her live sound is described as analog R&B mixed with jazz and retro warmth, approaching this shit from the musician side, not just the vocalist side.

Her latest single is “reasons”. And baby, this shit breathes. There’s warmth in it. There’s space. There’s instrumentation. Nobody sounds like they’re panicking because the TikTok attention span clock is running.

Recent coverage describes “reasons” as mixing R&B, neo-soul, jazz informed musicianship and softer ’70s/’80s influences. Dani herself has characterized the direction as a new age “cookout classic”. Now THAT description made me pay attention. Because Black people know exactly what it means for something to survive.

You can manufacture streams. You can buy promotion. You can get an influencer to shake their ass to your chorus. But getting played while somebody’s uncle is burning chicken on the grill and your auntie is yelling that somebody needs to close the screen door? That’s longevity, bitch.
Her debut album Lover’s Discourse features tracks including “Angel,” “weary soul,” “reasons,” and “desire (say you want me)”.

TAY SAYS:
Dani Offline is probably the most musician ass musician on this Tay-List. And she’s probably going to be the acquired taste.
If you need every song to smack you upside the head eight seconds after you press play, she might not immediately be your girl. But if you like D’Angelo type patience… If you like jazz… If you like neo-soul… If you like hearing instruments actually talk to each other inside a record…
Give sis some headphones and a little bit of your damn time. There’s something here. And I want to hear that album.

👀 HONORABLE MENTION: NECTAR WOODE
Oh, I Heard You. I Just Need a Little More Time.

• THE SOUND: R&B / Soul / Jazz-influenced singer-songwriter

• LATEST PROJECT: Rooftop Session EP

• TAY SAYS TRY: Naturally, Roses In The Dark, and Wine into Water

Nectar Woode almost got one of those five spots. Almost. And I’m not saying that like something is wrong with her music. Actually, it’s the opposite. I heard enough interesting shit that I specifically didn’t want to leave her out.

Nectar is a Ghanaian English singer songwriter and producer based in London, and her music pulls together soul vocals, jazz guitar harmony and a warmer singer-songwriter sensibility. And she’s been moving.

Her releases include “Roses In The Dark,” “Naturally,” the Naturally project, and the Rooftop Session EP. She’s also got a record with Elton John, “Wine into Water,” sitting on Naturally. So sis ain’t exactly sitting in the bedroom waiting for somebody to discover her. There’s movement happening.
What I like is that her sound isn’t trying to beat you into submission. It’s warmer. It’s musical. It’s the kind of artist where I want to sit with a full project instead of making a judgment after 45 seconds.

TAY SAYS:
Nectar is in my “hold the fuck on, let me listen to you some more” category. And that’s a compliment.
Some artists tell you everything they’re capable of on the first song. I don’t think she does. I think there’s more shit hiding in there. So she didn’t crack my five this time, but she damn sure made me remember her name.
I’m watching.

👀 HONORABLE MENTION: PIPER PAGE
I Like You…Now Give Me the Record That Makes Me Shut Up

• THE SOUND: Contemporary R&B / Pop / Singer-songwriter

• TAY SAYS TRY: Risk and Breadcrumbs

And then we have Piper Page. Piper is interesting because she’s sitting closer to the R&B/pop line than some of the other artists here.

She’s a New York-based vocalist and songwriter whose sound evolved from acoustic singer-songwriter music toward contemporary R&B/pop. Her writing leans heavily into dating, relationships, growing up and navigating life in New York. Her catalog features songs like “Risk,” “Breadcrumbs,” and the album Based On True Events.

And here’s exactly where I’m at with Piper: I like her. I ain’t obsessed yet. And that’s okay.
Because everybody I feature does not need me standing on the table screaming that they’re the second coming of music. That’s fake as hell. I hear an artist with a clear pop sensibility, a voice that works for the material and enough R&B influence to make me interested in where she’s going.

But I’m waiting for that record. You know what record I’m talking about. That one where you’re halfway through it and suddenly: Oh bitch. THERE you are.

TAY SAYS:
Piper has my attention. Now I need the song that makes me stop evaluating her potential and just become a damn fan.
Until then? I’m checking. And that’s exactly why she’s an honorable mention.

THE TAY-LIST VERDICT 🎧
Here’s why I’m doing this series. Black music is entirely too fucking big for us to keep recycling conversations about the same 10 or 15 artists.

Somewhere right now there’s a Black girl recording a song in her bedroom that might be on everybody’s playlist two years from now. There’s some Black dude making an R&B record with 8,000 streams that might eventually have 80 million. There’s somebody playing jazz. Somebody making neo-soul. Somebody making alternative R&B. Somebody making some weird shit that doesn’t even have a proper genre yet.
I want to hear THEM too.

The Tay-List isn’t about me predicting who’s going to become famous. Fuck fame. It’s about finding good Black music worth putting somebody onto.
And for this edition, my five are:

• GIGI.

• ZYAH BELLE.

• AVENOIR.

• DaVIONNE.

• DANI OFFLINE.

With NECTAR WOODE and PIPER PAGE getting my honorable mentions because neither one of them let me scroll past without wanting to hear more.
That’s the list. Go listen for yourself. Agree with me. Disagree with me. Tell me somebody was fire. Tell me somebody wasn’t your cup of tea. But most importantly, actually go listen.
Because if six months from now one of these artists blows the fuck up, don’t come running over here talking about:
Tay, have you heard of—
Yes. Yes the fuck I have. And apparently… you should’ve been reading The Tay-List.
— TAY

THE TAY-LIST | ONLY TAY BOOKS
The Tay-List is the curated music-discovery arm of the Only Tay Books blog network, built around putting readers onto music worth adding to their rotation.