It was R&B radio that felt the “Pressure” applied by Ari Lennox’s breakout hit towards the end of 2021, when it was already clear from its rapturous fan reception that the song deserved to be a much bigger hit than it was. Luckily, the format relented in 2022, making the song a top 5 R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay hit and eventually a crossover Hot 100 success — well-deserved, if overdue, recognition for one of R&B’s brightest rising talents and possibly her most irresistible single to date. “Keep your eyes on me,” Lennox insists over a sweet, hip-swaying Shirley Brown groove; she’s got ’em now, for sure. — A.U.
