This week, we have one of those bows on the Billboard 200 albums chart, courtesy of rising R&B singer-songwriter Brent Faiyaz. Why is Faiyaz having such a big week? And which R&B not-quite-star ...

The billboards belonged to 26-year-old singer-songwriter Brent Faiyaz; the album in question was “Wasteland,” a cautionary, R&B-trap opera deriding fame in a time of social and political upheaval.

On wax, Brent Faiyaz often comes off as laconic and over it, qualities that have made his moody brand of so-called “toxic” R&B one of the genre’s most exciting prospects in years.

New releases from Brent Faiyaz and Muni Long show how the genre has evolved in recent years. By Jon Caramanica There’s a beautiful, crabby song in the middle of “Wasteland,” the new album by ...

The great Maryland R&B singer Brent Faiyaz has been on the brink of something big ever since he showed up on GoldLink’s perfect summer jam “Crew” five years ago, and he may have finally arrived.

Christopher Brent Wood’s ­metamorphosis into indie disruptor Brent Faiyaz began. As he collected CDs by D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Joe, among other R&B/hip-hop artists, the youngster would ...