{"id":2241,"date":"2026-09-02T23:52:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T23:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/09\/02\/rb-is-rb-ing-again-eric-bellinger-talks-growth-grief-and-greatness-2\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T23:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T23:52:00","slug":"rb-is-rb-ing-again-eric-bellinger-talks-growth-grief-and-greatness-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/09\/02\/rb-is-rb-ing-again-eric-bellinger-talks-growth-grief-and-greatness-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cR&amp;B Is R&amp;B-ing Again\u201d: Eric Bellinger Talks Growth, Grief, and Greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<aside class=\"ione-video\">\n<div class=\"ione-video__player\">\n<div class=\"zype-shortcode\" data-videoid=\"6a979b41a9b11be24f41ded9\" data-url=\"https:\/\/player.zype.com\/embed\/6a979b41a9b11be24f41ded9.js?api_key=7Y41xOu32BVdSqiGMF3j9FA7adrxz2RikG54rf7jiMoKhMlH9lQOznwUdBc4QPbP&amp;autoplay=true&amp;controls=true&amp;audio=false\" data-is-playlist=\"false\" data-adoberequired=\"0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ione-video__contents ione-video__contents--no-show\">\n<header class=\"ione-video__header\">\n<h5 class=\"ione-video__video-title\"><\/h5>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"ione-video__close-button\">\u2715<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/header>\n<\/div><\/div><\/aside><\/p>\n\n<div><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ericbellinger\/?hl=en\">Eric Bellinger<\/a><\/strong> is back, and host KG Smooth of Loving R&amp;B couldn\u2019t contain his enthusiasm. \u201cI have not stopped playing this,\u201d KG declared, heaping praise on the singer\u2019s new self-titled album from start to finish. \u201cYou are singing your ass off. I never heard you sing like this before. Where has this Eric been?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer, it turns out, is layered and deeply personal.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stepping Into His Full Sound<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For years, Bellinger kept his sound radio-ready and commercial on purpose. But hearing artists like Victoria Mon\u00e9t and PJ Morton shifted something in him. \u201cI said, oh, we singing,\u201d he recalled. That spark pushed him to finally lean into the runs, harmonies, bridges, and key changes he\u2019d been holding back. \u201cR&amp;B is R&amp;B-ing again,\u201d he said with a grin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project didn\u2019t come from a light place. Bellinger poured his real life into every track. He spent time traveling back and forth to Africa, falling in love with the culture and the Afrobeat sound. He also walked through profound loss. \u201cI lost my mom. I was grieving my mom. I was trying to figure out life,\u201d he shared. That journey of self-healing became the foundation of the album.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His manager challenged him to dig deeper. \u201cYou\u2019ve never talked about your past. You never talked about the grieving,\u201d she told him. That conversation birthed \u201cClosure,\u201d a raw apology to someone from before he met his wife of nearly 12 years. \u201cWe both knew it was over, but there was no closure,\u201d Eric explained. KG Smooth called the songwriting undeniable: \u201cThe pen was pinning.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"load-later load-later-vendor-wwwinstagramcom\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DcScAGzNkSi\/\" 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class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The album opens cold with \u201cI Need Help,\u201d no intro, just honesty. \u201cI still feel I need help every single day,\u201d Bellinger admitted. And when the weight gets heavy, \u201cEverything\u2019s in Order\u201d brings the celebration. \u201cThat one is too swaggy,\u201d KG laughed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both men praised the sequencing, noting how the track order carries listeners through the full emotional arc. Working with producers like Troy Taylor, Harmony Samuels, and Antonio Dixon, Bellinger built each song from live instruments rather than pre-made beats. \u201cIt\u2019s an interweaving marriage musically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><\/strong><strong>From Independent Hustle to Major Label: A New Chapter on the Road<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This release also marks his move from independent artist to a major label. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot more relaxing,\u201d he said, though he still double-checks every detail. On tour with Chris Brown and Usher, he\u2019s found peace in a simple mission: \u201cI\u2019m in the booth telling my story, or on stage telling a story. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The self-titled album <em>Eric Bellinger<\/em> is out now<strong>Trending Article: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blackamericaweb.com\/2026\/08\/27\/i-do-i-did-im-done-kandi-burruss-gets-raw\/\">I Do. I Did. I\u2019m Done: Kandi Burruss Gets Raw <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Trending Article: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blackamericaweb.com\/2026\/08\/18\/goapele-marks-25-years-of-closer-and-new-music\/\">Goapele Marks 25 Years of \u201cCloser\u201d With Wisdom, Warmth, and New Music<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"load-later load-later-vendor-youtube\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/-kfgnLQ7_-M\" data-content=\"%3Ciframe%20class%3D%22youtube-player%22%20width%3D%22640%22%20height%3D%22360%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F-kfgnLQ7_-M%3Fversion%3D3%26amp%3Brel%3D1%26amp%3Bshowsearch%3D0%26amp%3Bshowinfo%3D1%26amp%3Biv_load_policy%3D1%26amp%3Bfs%3D1%26amp%3Bhl%3Den-US%26amp%3Bautohide%3D2%26amp%3Bwmode%3Dtransparent%22%20allowfullscreen%3D%22true%22%20style%3D%22border%3A0%3B%22%20sandbox%3D%22allow-scripts%20allow-same-origin%20allow-popups%20allow-presentation%20allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox%22%20title%3D%22Embedded%20video%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>READ MORE STORIES<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2715 Eric Bellinger is back, and host KG Smooth of Loving R&amp;B couldn\u2019t contain his enthusiasm. \u201cI have not stopped playing this,\u201d KG declared, heaping praise on the singer\u2019s new self-titled album from start to finish. \u201cYou are singing your ass off. I never heard you sing like this before. Where has this Eric been?\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"buzzeditor_post_format":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u201cR&amp;B Is R&amp;B-ing Again\u201d: Eric Bellinger Talks Growth, Grief, and Greatness - Convo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/09\/02\/rb-is-rb-ing-again-eric-bellinger-talks-growth-grief-and-greatness-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cR&amp;B Is R&amp;B-ing Again\u201d: Eric Bellinger Talks Growth, Grief, and Greatness - Convo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2715 Eric Bellinger is back, and host KG Smooth of Loving R&amp;B couldn\u2019t contain his enthusiasm. \u201cI have not stopped playing this,\u201d KG declared, heaping praise on the singer\u2019s new self-titled album from start to finish. \u201cYou are singing your ass off. 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