By now, you’re probably aware of my love for the documentary series UnSung. The show, which airs on the TVOne cable network, profiles R&B and hip-hop stars of the ’80s and ’90s who, true to the show’s title, didn’t get their just due.

The last few episodes snuck up on me. I don’t know if I missed the announcements or if they were just rolled out in disorganized fashion. But I will say that the profiles of Al B. Sure! and The Force M.D.’s were well put together (although the former episode seemed to go through the last 20 years of Al B.’s life in 30 seconds.) At any rate, a new season of the show has been formally announced, with seven exciting episodes profiling acts that (for the most part) remain unknown or ignored by the music community at large.

Chante Moore: The gorgeous Miss Moore debuted in the early ’90s with a sound that pitched her as a slightly hipper version of Anita Baker. She scored an immediate hit with “Love’s Taken Over”, but struggled a bit subsequently, as R&B became more hip-hop saturated. Pop success briefly came calling with “Chante’s Got A Man” (which interpolated the melody from The Osmonds’ “One Bad Apple”), but further crossover hits were not in the cards, despite overtures to the hip-hop generation aided by Jermaine Dupri. Although she still records today, Chante is also well known for her marriages to “A Different World”‘s Kadeem Hardison (AKA Dwayne Wayne) and fellow underappreciated R&B vet Kenny Lattimore.

H-Town: This R&B trio put Houston, Texas on the map a half decade before Destiny’s Child showed up on the scene. Proteges of 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell, H-Town scored an immediate smash in the summer of 1993 with “Knockin’ Da Boots”. They never equaled that single’s success, and tragedy struck when lead singer “Dino” Conner was killed in a car accident.

Jennifer Holiday: Best known for playing Effie White in the Broadway play Dreamgirls (a role that Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for), Miss Holiday’s dynamic voice thrilled music listeners, sending Dreamgirls’ signature song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” to the top of the R&B charts and winning her a Grammy. Despite working with a who’s who of pop music from Maurice White to Michael Jackson, Holiday was unable to keep a foothold at the top of the charts. A key factor may have been timing: Holiday emerged at the beginning of the video era and her plus-size frame wasn’t exactly considered videogenic. By the time a svelte Holiday emerged in the early ’90s (signed to Arista Records), record buying audiences had moved on, although she underwent a successful run as a guest performer on the hit FOX series Ally McBeal.

Kashif: A successful songwriter/producer; Kashif was one of the architects of early ’80s R&B. Partial to divas, Kashif (born Michael Jones) was the man behind a slew of hits for Melba Moore, Evelyn King (including the #1 smashes “I’m In Love” and “Love Come Down”) and Whitney Houston (“Thinking About You”). He was also instrumental (pardon the pun) in the early success of Kenny G. Kashif put on his artist’s hat starting with his 1983 self-titled effort, spawning hits with “Help Yourself To My Love” and “I’ve Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)”. In more recent years, Kashif’s become well-known as an author (writing a successful book on how to survive in the music industry) and is currently working on a documentary about the history of R&B music.

KC & The Sunshine Band: Disco-era legends, KC & The Sunshine Band may stretch the meaning of the term “unsung” slightly. The Florida-based group was a fixture at the top of the charts in the ’70s, with smashes like “That’s The Way (I Like It)”, “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” and “I’m Your Boogie Man”. The “death of disco” pretty much ended the band’s career at the dawn of the Eighties, and there’s certainly enough personal tragedy in the band’s history to fill up an episode. Lead singer KC almost died in a car accident in the early ’80s, and co-founder Richard Finch is currently imprisoned.

Lakeside: Each season, there’s one episode that makes me scratch my head and wonder “why these guys?” Lakeside is the band that fills that role this season. The Solar Records-signed band were a chart mainstay through most of the ’80s, and are best known for the #1 smash “Fantastic Voyage” (later turned into a pop smash by Coolio). I hope there’s some interesting backstory here, although something tells me their bio won’t be as interesting or juicy as the stories of label-mates Shalamar, Midnight Star and The Whispers.

Nate Dogg: Nate Dogg’s funky monotone made him hip-hop’s go-to guy for hooks. The California legend came up alongside Warren G and Snoop Dogg, and was a key cog in the “G-Funk” sound. As the ’90s progressed, Nate broadened his reach and teamed up with everyone from 50 Cent to Mariah Carey. He recorded several solo albums as well, but was best known as the guy on the other side of the “featuring” credit on a series of rap hits.  Tragically, Nate passed away in 2011 at the too-young age of 41.

If you’re not already hip to the awesomeness that is UnSung, let this season’s episodes give you religion, starting next week.