Cuffing Season 3

There are workaholics, and then there’s Eric Bellinger. The songwriter to the stars (Usher, Chris Brown, Brandy, and Justin Bieber among them) and R&B maestro with no off switch is constantly releasing his own albums and mixtapes. His *Cuffing Season* franchise coincides with the chilly months, when getting boo’d up is a necessity. Its third edition, which comes just two months after his *Saved by the Bellinger* LP, surges with the singer’s passionate mid-range, extolling the virtues of flirtation (“Epic,” “Surprise Me”) and consummation (“Omw,” “Up In It”) over trap beats. And despite the mixtape’s seasonal theme, “Spice” has more to do with peaches and eggplants than pumpkins and cinnamon.