Release Radar: February 2025

At the end of each month, Afterglow presents a staff-picked list of new albums and singles that left a lasting impression on our ears. For Black History Month, we are highlighting Black artists with glowing releases in February. 

Written by Afterglow Staffers

Photos courtesy of Kennedi Carter, Tyler Smith, and Atiba Jefferson

Here are our favorite albums and singles released during February 2026. For more reviews of recent releases, check out our album review page!

Shiny Singles We Loved This month

“You Went Away Too Long” by The Womack Sisters

“You Went Away Too Long” by the legendary trio, The Womack Sisters, is a soulful ballad that uses the group’s masterful vocals to tell a tale of regret and moving on. The sisters sing of someone who’s been “away too long,” chiming in that “Pages have a way of turning.” While the initial tone is of firm cold-shouldering, the lyrics slowly acquiesce, with “If I'd known you were really coming back to me…I would’ve held on.” The group guides the listener through the varying emotions throughout the song, using choral dissonance and climactic notes to signal distress or resolve. “You Went Away Too Long” is a rare gem displaying the uniquely powerful vocal range of the sisters while telling a story of classic emotional tug-of-war. — Veronica Martin

“miss u 2” by Ty Dolla $ign, Leon Thomas

Ty Dolla $ign and Leon Thomas’ newest single for the upcoming project, Girl Music vol. 1, featuring Leon Thomas, “miss u 2”, encapsulates the essence of getting ready for a night out while singing of a past lover. With a simple yet warm R&B beat, Ty Dolla $ign shows the lengths he would go for this person, singing “I’ll go the hardest ‘bout you / I’ll go to war about you”. The simple beat perfectly meshed with many lush synth pads in this song fits with their warm and smooth vocals, making this future project one to be on the lookout for. — Melanie Roman-Naciff  

“Eyes Lowered” by Shabaka

In “Eyes Lowered,” avant-garde jazz multi-instrumentalist Shabaka utilizes something he has not before — words. The British musician, who’s played with the likes of jazz greats like  Sun Ra Arkestra and Andre 3000, lays deep reverberating spoken words over a drifting sonic landscape dominated by flutes and a fractured beat. The result is psychedelic and immersive, the metaphysical power of his words melting their way into the subconscious. — Joseph Gonzalez

Glowing Albums & EPs We Loved This Month

To Whom This May Concern by Jill Scott

Image courtesy of Rated R&B

Jill Scott’s sixth studio album, To Whom This May Concern, is an R&B and neo-soul masterpiece that blends strong diction and smooth grooves. “Dope Shit (feat. Maha Adachi Earth)” is a fantastic opening track, setting the stage for the album with lyrics praising perseverance with funky slam poetry. “Offdaback” a few songs later is a three-and-a-half minute jewel that begins with angelic choral belting of “Off the back of my ancestors!” and then immediately blending into jazzy piano with overlaid lyrics. Scott makes a nest for what becomes an ode to humility, singing “Penthouse high in the sky, still fuck with basements” and “Rode the backwoods bus through imminent danger.” The dichotomy of the poignant lyrics and soothing beat is moving and thought-provoking, especially as the monologue invokes a compelling narrative. For example, “Ultimately (Billy), they did it for us” closes the track powerfully and personally. “Us” is left up to interpretation, but Scott makes it clear that she deeply values the struggles that allowed her to build her musical legacy “Offdaback” of her ancestors.

“Norf Side (feat. Tierra Whack)” is comparatively upbeat and pays tribute to her home city of Philadelphia, alongside fellow Philly artist Tierra Whack. The energizing hip-hop beat is infused with modern soul and rap influences that make this song a standout on the album. “The Math” is deeply contemplative, begging questions such as “Could it be we sabotage love ‘cause it hurt us in the past?” The artist repeats the phrase “You do the math, you do the math” as a way to encourage introspection in the listener, offering that perhaps they’re “adding,” “subtracting,” or “multiplying” the wrong things into their lives. This clever mathematical wordplay is both inspiring and pensive, further buttressing the uplifting yet ruminative mood of the album. “Àṣẹ” leans more optimistically, whereby Scott addresses listeners with “Hey loves” and goes on to vocalize positive affirmations on top of a jazzy rhythm. The track invokes religious elements as well, such as “For everything the Creator gave and still giving.” Scott uses the word “Àṣẹ” as a double entendre—it functions similarly to “Amen” from western culture, but also sounds similar to “I see,” which she also peppers throughout the song.

Scott’s album is a titan of modern soul and contemporary rap. The diverse moods and rhythms of each track allow the listener to oscillate between deep contemplation and inspiring optimism. Her nods to her heritage and city roots allow a vibrant depth to each track, and her tactful selection of artist features makes this a masterful album that tugs on the listener’s heartstrings from start to finish. — Veronica Martin

Support Jill Scott on Spotify and Apple Music

Heaven Ain’t Sold by Choker

Image courtesy of Tyler Smith

Christopher Lloyd, known professionally as Choker, blew up in 2018 for his alternative R&B album, Honeymoon. After a seven-year hiatus, Choker’s newest album, Heaven Ain’t Sold, paints a portrait of thick emotional turmoil with a warm piano that is played throughout the album, blended with melodic, soul, and R&B fused lyricism and vocals. Heaven Ain’t Sold opens up about the process of grieving your past lover. The opening track “Geppetto,” referencing the woodcarver who created Pinocchio in Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, expresses Lloyd’s need for control in his life as it starts crashing down, and compares himself to a puppet maker: “Even Geppetto ain’t plan the nose.” His warm piano trickles into “Uneven,” perfectly encapsulating the heartwrenching reality of seeing your lover move on without you. Choker grieves this relationship through initial anger: “I thought you didn’t want kids / Why you talking babies with him? / Fuck me, right?” Then, towards the song’s end, he agonizingly begs for this relationship to return: “Everything changed / But watch / You can still trust in us.” Lloyd switches the tempo through a 2000s production-style in “Good”, where his fast-paced lyrics coincide with his desperation for his lover to come back to him: “You’re the only one I want here / Moving too fast / I’m out of breath.” As the album goes on, Lloyd expresses his struggle to keep up with the pace of change, and ever so desperately trying to latch onto the comfort from people of his past. These tracks are small glimpses into what the reality of life is, and despite the control and stability one yearns for, change is inevitable. Heaven Ain’t Sold jumps between the shattered pieces of an ever-changing life, fusing a 2000s heartbreak and simplicity in pianism to show the true complexities of being a human. — Melanie Roman-Naciff

Support Choker on Spotify and Apple Music