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.

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 ...

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 ...