Your Monday Reward

Together, we’ll get through this week-before-a-short-week with the power of lots of great new R&B from women. Here’s “Catch Me At the Light,” from Shanell; I also encourage you to give some time to Kelly Rowland’s new album, Talk a Good Game (Spotify, iTunes), and Ciara’s Ciara (Ci-a-ra!), which is due out July 5 but which is probably available for streaming with the right Google search. (Who can know, really?)

Also, a personal favorite due out tomorrow: Mela Machinko’s perfectly soulful Hov Said It Best, an album that “uses Jay-Z lyrics, concepts and even ad libs and cadences to craft entirely new songs that tell my stories. On the project, Hov Said It Best is a television show, sort of a This Is Your Life game show, but based on Jay Z, and I am the day’s contestant on the show.” A sampling, “What You Want Me To Do (I’m Sorry),” below. Spot the cameos.