I take offense cuz I’m under 30 for another 3 years…and “Reasons” is my favorite EW&F song!

*Hmph*

Everyone is angry about Hip-Hop sampling R&B songs, but as Stetsasonic said, if they did not, people could have forgot (and generally did)…and at least a good majority of Hip-Hop’s sampling practitioners had clever arrangements. Why is it R&B then started sampling Hip-Hop beats whole hog (in most cases a sample of a sample, basically playing the 12″s instrumental), throwing a couple of pretty keys over it, then having some random female sing over it and call it a day?

They ditch the soul and the funk they could pull out of mostly-organic instruments and got too reliant on the all purpose keyboard (possessed most often by ppl who couldn’t play in a funky or soulful way). So cats who couldn’t play began emulating cats who couldn’t play.

R&B complained about Hip-Hop stealing its thunder and its money, but then they turn right around and emulate the worst aspects of it. The ghettoness, the vulgarity, and worst of all, being all extra blunt. The song that talked about “making my nature rise” in ’87 became the song that talked about “getting my d*ck hard” in ’07. The euphemism is dead in music at a time when ironically enough the juvenile sexual innuendo is out of control in popular language.

R&B also lost (or ceded) two other things to Hip-Hop:
-social commentaries and calls to action. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On was an album for the ages. MJ would try to keep that alive with songs like “Man In The Mirror” and “Heal The World” at a time when the rest of R&B wasn’t interested. R&B didn’t wanna get out of the bedroom for two seconds to observe the rest of the world. The game became love love love and Hip-Hop saw the opening and went for it.
-GUYS! How many of you know a billion chicks who claim they can sing yet not a single dude who can for real? Dudes are barely even writing the stuff. R&B stopped including the guys in the conversation a long time ago (probably in the middle of new jack swing’s time). It’s been all for, by, and about females for as long as a good amount of people who read this blog can remember. The guys ran to Hip-Hop in droves and as such a generation of cats who probably could have done R&B some good focused on Hip-Hop. Not saying they would been good, but R&B could have used that focus that improved the breed (e.g. competition that says they can do it better)

For True! I’m too weary to go in like I wanna but the first point about the lack of critics… Folks are HYPERSENSITIVE these days and it’s a crime to tell em the truth about the level (or lack) of talent. Look at American Idol. It’s not all for ratings, because how do they make it that far in the first place? Cuz their mamas nem, cousins nem, best friends nem didn’t tell them the cold, hard truth. There’s nothing wrong with an unbiased critique but it’ll never be well received if people don’t learn how to deal with disappointments early on. Find your true strength and go with that…

Yeah, I was being facetious. I know you know. You throw him out there so often and randomly, I thought I’d acknowledge it. Besides, I knew him as a hater before I knew his face w/ his name. But I give him more leeway after he broke down on 106th & Park on World AIDS Day a couple years ago. It’s mostly coming from a place of hurt…

I wanted to cry lol… really, bust it baby puts you in that studying mode. This is what you consider quality music?? I just couldn’t that day… my heart sank! That was her and her classmates idea of a love song. I would one of my favorite groups is Con funk shun they’re a classic in my house! Can’t go wrong with straight from the heart (mom kept this on repeat alllll the time lol) Now thats music.