Lucky Daye - Table For Two (2021) Hi-Res

“R&B itself is never going to die, and I wanted to shine a light on women because I feel it’s time,” Lucky Daye tells Apple Music of Table for Two, which arrived just in time for Valentine’s Day. The EP is brief, but it packs a punch both vocally and emotionally as it explores the ins and outs of romance. For each track, the singer is paired with a female counterpart—Yebba, Tiana Major9, Mahalia, Ari Lennox, Queen Naija and Joyce Wrice. Together, these women offer a striking snapshot of contemporary R&B’s multitude of voices and tones, and inject a feminine energy into the dialogic nature of the music. Lucky, who says the project was born out of a desire to honour them as well as his love for collaboration in general, brings a balance to the songs that is modern even as it calls up tradition. It’s part of what he sees as a push to restore the genre back to its rightful place as the centre. “At the end of the day, everything comes from R&B,” he says. “It can't be forgotten, and that's my job.” Here, he talks us through how each of the project's tracks came about.