Brian McKnight is R&B royalty. His 2013 album is as tasteful and artfully constructed a collection as he’s ever produced, with low-key, effortless songwriting merging seamlessly with nods to late-‘70s soft rock and ‘80s R&B. “Get U 2 Stay” pays homage to Gaucho-era Steely Dan, while “Letsomebodyluvu” finds him letting loose his soaring, Michael McDonald-style vocals. But his lyrical class dominates here: “4th of July” celebrates the passion of monogamy, and “Don’t Stop,” with its funk-fueled slap-bass, welcomes the groove.