Rhythmless & Blues and Fistpump Soul

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The future of Black music.

Happy Black History Month.

And since we’re talking about Black history, you ever notice how disposable R&B is nowadays? It’s no secret that one of my favorite songs of like for-f*ckin-ever is Rihanna’s “We Found Love”, a song about absolutely nothing and everything at the same time. It’s like there’s a party in my mouth and everyone’s invited…but then the police show up. Aww.

Well I haven’t heard this song in probably two weeks now and I don’t miss it at all. You know what I do miss? That snake playing the bongos I saw down by the riverside. And this is a song that is still a Top 5 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. And yet, it’s completely disposable. So is Rihanna for that matter. In fact, you could take every song that Rihanna has made and put somebody else on them and there’s a good chance the song would be as good if not better. Would they be as successful? Probably not. When you’ve got a trainwreck wrapped in a pretty package leading the charge people are going to lineup to contribute to her downfall. Hell, I bought two copies of Loud for that reason. I’m convinced she’s a lesbian skydiving future rehab recidivist waiting to happen. America, f*ck yeah.

What’s my point again? Ah.

Ever since R&B gave way to this merger between pop and club music artists have been making more and more music that sounds good for a week in the club and then pretty much loses all steam once it fades from the charts, and by default, pop radio. Two of my favorite songs of last year were Chris Brown’s “Beautiful People” and Black Eyed Peas “Just Can’t Get Enough”. Do you know that I had to look up the name of the B.E.P. song?

Think about that, I couldn’t remember the name of my favorite song from last year and the group performing it features a white woman, a Black man who dresses like a white woman who dresses like a gay astronaut, a Mexican and something called Apl.de.Ap. At best, ONE of them actually eats black eyed peas. If that’s not memorable I don’t know what is. But it isn’t. Hold me. Pop music has long been moment music and short-term fix sh*t. But now that every damn R&B song has the same format and features a random assortment of various artists, nobody will be caring about this music years from now. Or weeks for that matter.

Now, I know I sound like an old grandpa complaining that music has lost its way blah blah blah. So what, f*ck your couch. Eat the pound cake n*gga. But I do kind of wonder what the hell folks will be listening to a few years from now. Granted music tends to be cyclical, but it really has been a while since any artist made a contribution to R&B that might actually be listenable a few years from now.

Nope. Now I’ve got nothing but fistpump soul. You know what that is. You ever been to a party with a bunch of white people and everybody just keeps jumping up and down and pumping their fists in the air. Real spit, white people are some real athletes. They do that sh*t for hours on end. It’s actually pretty impressive if you think about it. Black folks get it in for a minute then we all take breaks so the guys can regain their composure and the women can do the weave-pat.

And since “neo-soul” tends to suck as a rule – including Jill Scott’s later output, yeah I said it – its no wonder Black people keep losing our stronghold on all of our music. Let me be clear though, I love most pop music and listen to it with reckless abandon in my car. I’m the Black guy in the d-boy car that’s confusing you at the light because he looks like he may rob you but he’s singing what sounds like a Taylor Swift song.

Oh who am I kidding, its totally a Taylor Swift song.

But pop music is not R&B, and its not soul. But when all of your R&B artist and “soul” artists abandon ship in order to attempt to keep up with the Jones who are making songs at 185 BPP with the exact same drum pattern but a different melody, then the entire genre is going to lose itself like Eminem in a movie with Mekhi Phifer wearing a mop.

So what’s the point of all this randomness that you just read? Glad you asked. It’s this, what the f*ck happened to R&B? When D’Angelo lost his sh*t did the entire genre lose it? Usher’s Confessions is the last album that I can remember that was both a blockbuster AND was a really good R&B album. And that was in 2004.

So I ask you the same thing that Kanye asks himself after he lifts weights: does anybody make real sh*t anymore? Or is mainstream R&B a thing of the past? Is anybody making music that we’ll be listening to a few years from now?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

Poor Freddie Jackson. RIP Don Cornelius.

-VSB P aka THE ARSONST aka MR. OLD FOGEY MOTHERF*CKER aka GIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3

558 thoughts on “Rhythmless & Blues and Fistpump Soul”

  1. “Real spit, white people are some real athletes. They do that sh*t for hours on end. It’s actually pretty impressive if you think about it. Black folks get it in for a minute then we all take breaks so the guys can regain their composure and the women can do the weave-pat.”. Thank you for a great laugh before I head to bed. :-)

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  2. Mainstream R&B is just hip-hop production + pop sensibilities + Black sanging. That’s it. Well to be honest all mainstream music is really just pop music with whatever ethnic/cultural twist (ex. country music being pop music with a southern twang and maybe a fiddle every couple of songs) added on. Everything is so manufactured about it meh. Granted I don’t hate pop music in the slightest because I bump Britney Spears’ later albums, but it contemporary R&B lacks pretty much everything that make Black music the greatest music in the world.

    I wouldn’t call our Goddess RiRi and R&B singer.

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    • i love pop music. i stay listening to it. but i do realize that its the most disposable sh*t ever. like i LOVE LMFAO “party rock”

      but i haven’t heard it in a while. and i’m okay with that.

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    • There is still awesome music out there that’s not entirely homogenized, but the issue is, it lacks CUSTOMERS. There is a SURPLUS of grinding musicians, doing live shows you wouldn’t believe, but people don’t buy their music because they’ve never heard of them, so they eventually make themselves sound like the people whose music is selling so people will someday know who THEY are and buy THEIR music. It’s a vicious cycle.

      I’d suggest going out to some live shows and seeing all the ridiculous talent out there. Some is raw, and some isn’t going to go beyond that dive bar, but for everyone one person starving for real music, there are 800 starving artists that can feed that hunger. Try doing a search through CD Baby, or listening to Jango.com instead of Pandora.com, which promotes indie artists more heavily.

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  3. Maxwell’s early shit. Jill Scott is still bringing it (contrary to what you say). Marsha A (cannot spell her last name to save my life).

    Honestly, every other artist I was gonna add is someone from the past (much like my first entry Maxwell). The only person I can seriously think of right now who is committed to r&b is Miguel. Trey Songz is the worst…even Usher is doing that pop crap that I hate so much.

    Most r&b songs on my Ipod are old school. And it’s sad. I don’t know when folks making music decided r&b was something we could all do without, but I beg to differ. Classic groups like the Isley Brothers, O’Jays and others to old school Mary J, Jodeci, and Erykah represented a wide range of what was classically good music.

    I weep for the kids now days because if their old school is mess like “just the tip” and their idea of r&b is rihanna (doesn’t deserve caps in her name at all…that’s how unimportant she and her music are to me) and chris brown…well, that’s just a f-king shame.

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    • I hate to admit that I listen to a couple of Frank Ocean songs hard. When I first heard “Novacane”, I swore I would never let another FO track darken my playlist. But I now find “Nature Feels” and “Lovecrimes” on repeat. I feel like a traitor.

      There is a lot of great R&B music out there…the problem is, only 3 people have heard it. Good artists get no push now.

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      • @lotusflower1- I see what you did there lol. Yeah Frank Ocean is lookin like a promising young prospect, but you’re right R&B died when the 90s did with a few exceptions. Ppl realized that pop with a melody (autotunes half the time) and hip hop production and it’ll be a hit regardless of the voice or words it has over the beat. It’s not music anymore as much as it is melodic marketing of different characters and outlooks on life. Same for commercial rap. Everybody’s gettin lazy and their music sounds contrived. Does Kem still make music? Love Calls was like an all time classic imo

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        • JMG

          A lot of salient points in this post. I found myself nodding my head with everything you said (except for the implication that Kem might be the savior of R&B, on that I have to say negative. Everything else 1000% agree)

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      • SS, you are correct. Eric Roberson’s “Mr. Nice Guy” is decent, and Anthony Hamilton’s new release has some gems on it, too. Even Lalah Hathaway’s last was nice, even if a bit moody.

        I think the problem is that there is no more funk (except E. Badu, occasionally), and no musicians in the studio playing real instruments (hella ‘spensive). Everything is programmed, sequenced, or looped.

        Plus, so many R&B artists make “Quiet Storm”, slow-down-your-metabolism music now: Jill Scott, Dwele, Lalah Hathaway, Kem, Maxwell, Joe. You would think that all we do is b0ne… I guess that’s where their bread is buttered.

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        • I’ve been a Lalah fan since “Baby Don’t Cry” but even her last offering was laced with some of that soul-less electronic stuff that makes my skin crawl. I was not pleased. She had some good stuff, but I was disappointed to have to skip a couple of tracks. But folks gotta eat so they do what they have to do to get their albums made.

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      • I don’t know Frank Ocean but I hate that “Novacane” song. If that’s his vibe, I’ll pass. I’ve got a lot of stuff to look up this weekend.

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      • Frank Ocean is DOPE. I don’t feel like he’s a complete pop/R&B hybrid though. He’s on some other stuff. Plus his lyrics go hard in the paint.

        I been listening to Emily King’s Seven EP alot lately. It’s pretty decent. Plus D’Angelo back from the dead, so we’ll see how that goes.

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    • Yeah, reading this post Frank Ocean was the first one that came to mind, which is a shame because he’s so much more than that. To me R&B is girls like Olivia, Amerie, making one single for the summer. I will say that the song Bulletproof by raheem devaughn was a really good song.

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    • i want to like Frank Ocean. I really do. Just like I want to like The-Dream.

      they each have songs that i like, but as a whole, I’m cool on both. House of Balloons had a few joints but short of “the party and the after party” i dont listen to anything else. but Frank Ocean can sing. ill give him that. i just aint moved by the brotha’s music.

      OFWGKTA

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      • “House of Balloons” is The Weeknd not Frank Ocean and it’s actually my favorite of the three albums he released. I can listen to that whole album back to back. I really like The Birds part 1 & 2 and The Zone on the “Thursday” album but it’s def not as good as HOB and “Echoes of Silence” is only ok. His remake of Dirty Diana was worth listening to but it was a bit flawed lyrically in my opinion. *enters back into lurktown*

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      • House of Ballons is by The Weeknd :) Who I think could be a good candidate. I love his mixtapes, but I’m not sure if he would be fully R&B. Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia/Ultra is a little closer to what were used to in terms of R&B, but I remember reading somewhere that he didn’t want to be labeled as such which is why his album is labeled under Bluegrass in iTunes.

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  5. PJ…..I could go on and on about the state of both current hip hop and R&B, but I won’t. Most of the music today is produced by European DJ’s. The European sound is once again dominating the airwaves like it did in the 1960′s. Plus add the to music industry willing to pimp out the kids at any cost along with younger but more established singers not staying true to their craft and you have a perfect storm of a generation of crappy music. Also add to that mainstream radio stations refusing to play really good music that really is out there. Well except one radio station….which will be up and running real soon.

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    • I remember a producer telling me in ’08 that R&B would be stuck on the European sound for the next few years because if artists sold more in Europe then they would be winning because at that time Euro>U.S. Dollar… So maybe SOMETHING good will come out of the economic collapse of the E.U.

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      • @Jay hit the nail on the head…

        Sadly, while RnB and rap music was BIG in The States…it bombed worldwide. Europeans have no idea who Wacka Wacka is or Trey Songz…that music just does not get airplay anywhere outside of America. This is why rappers/RnB singers don’t ever release “Greatest Hits” albums…because the record companies know dis shit won’t sell overseas, so they don’t produce these albums for Black Artists…and that is where over 50% of the market lies…so now Black Artists are peddling out this DancePop sound which the EuroTrash love!

        Sometimes, I think our community is very insular. We live in black communities, have black neighbors, go to black schools, go to black churches, listen to black music…but we forget there is a whole, big world out there of people who don’t look like us…and they don’t wanna buy our creativity no more!

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      • The Europop sound is the biggest in the world right now. That’s the sound you want if you’re looking for a global smash.

        Europe is a great place for artists to get their money up. If you have even moderate success you could probably tour in at least one city in over 30 countries.

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      • Has anybody here heard Nadia Ali, of the now-disbanded duo iio? She is a perfect example, or so I believe, of an R&B type (in terms of lyrics) who has European DJs and instead of making R&B songs she makes electronica music. They dominate the scene and she’s one of the greatest even though the lyrics in her songs would be more geared towards R&B.

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      • I agree and I think we have Beyonce to blame. Follow me on this one…

        Thundergoat has been numero uno untouchable and no other artist could usurp the throne and Kelly (Clarkson!!!) Rowland couldn’t have any shine so she went for the Euro-pop Donna Summer route and when Love Takes Over came out she finally “crossed over”. A bunch of other dames and dudes followed suit on that formula, even Thundergoat’s sister Solange and now every brown-skin artist drops a track with Diplo and a Euro-pop beat. Even Beyonce caught on to it and then it really went into turbo.

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    • Bloody hell, no wonder I can’t go out without hearing some techno-euro rubbish around these parts…but I am in Ireland, so that may explain a lot.

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        • Saadiq is always brilliant. ALWAYS.

          @Rog

          I like Hawthrone’s covers more than any of his original material that he’s put out. I’m waiting on an album before I jump in as a hardcore fan.

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          • The problem is white executives think having a commercial on BET as an artist spotlight will reach a significant amount of the population. When will someone tell them that BET sucks and the targeted age demographics stopped watching BET years ago! Yeah I said it.

            *drops mic and continues eating breakfast

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            • I agree. BET is basically washed up nobodies nowadays. Back in the day, BET was the place for everything Black and innovative and once Free and AJ left 106 in 2005, then the sale to Viacom in 2007-2008 (please correct my dates), it has become the “black” version of MTV minus Jersey Shore and True Life (which before about 2005 was pretty dope). Black music’s center used to be BET and now, it is crummy YouTube stars who wanna sound like YMCMB and the like. It sucks that all you have to do is pass the paper bag test and have a million views on a video to get some air-time on BET and be appropriate for 10-15 year olds (even though they cater the rest of their programs for a plethora of people who don’t watch) . Yesterday, the first day of Black history month instead of playing an important clip like they used to, all they did was show facts for thirty seconds and went on break. It just seems like now the community is defined by the music and not vice versa like it used to be. And because of this mostly, our music has become more and more abhorrent and not in-touch with us as a FULL people. In the 90s, East Coast and West Coast may have had a deeply manufactured beef and the media did capitalize on it but the East and the West’s distinct sounds were what was important NOT the way that their hair was, or how great they sounded repping a set they probably didn’t even have an affliation with except on wax, and they didn’t tell you that you had to wear women’s clothes and 80s snapbacks, jackets, skateboard shorts (and shoes) and look androgynous to be somebody. Now, we have dudes running around with their fingers twisted, with a white cup, singing like L’il Wayne and T-Pain about ish they have never even gone through and to make it worse, people buy into it. And then what about how many of these people are really who they say they are? Like seriously. where has our music went? We now base ourselves around it instead of letting our music be a reflection of us. And that is why our music sounds bad and why we can no longer tolerate it because our experience is no longer present and therefore, it loses its reputability. I can honestly admit that “The Motto” is still one of my favorite songs despite my discontent with the music industry. It is mainstream so…. it is what we choose to be played.

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              • @E.Jones- Ok tell us how you really feel now tho…lol. You’re right tho. I wouldn’t be able to pick the diamonds in the rough because I can’t stomach BET long enough to find the real talent that’s packaged in awkward or cheesy ways. I’ll leave that to yall. Off to listen to the 12 artists and 30 songs other commenters have recommended. I’ll start off with Foreign Exchange.

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            • I found out about him because my brother in law has I need a dollar as a ringtone for one of his boys that always asks for money. Had it not been for that moment, I would have lost out on hearing some quality music.

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              • Haha! Only reason I know that I Need a Dollar song is because I watched the first season of How to Make It in America (even tho I wish I didn’t spend my time waitin for it become watchable smdh). Glad I heard the song tho. I gotta look for more Aloe Blacc songs

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      • Lee Fields and The Expressions is the truth!!! They got a gold soul sound that can’t be match and it’s a breath a fresh air in the room fa sho! Two artists y’all need to look out for: My boy Kendrick Lamar comin straight outta Compton! Gary Clark Jr. outta Austin, Texas! You want some good blues? There you go right there!

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    • Aloe Blacc’s always been one of those artists that i think has flashes of brilliance but i never really loved. “i need a dollar” was f*cking gangbusters though.

      plus, i can’t get over the fact that his name sounds like a gangsta rapper’s name. a crip to be exact.

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  7. The Weeknd gives me hope for R and B, he’s already gotten Drake on a single so its only a matter of time before he’s even more popular.

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  8. “Now, I know I sound like an old grandpa complaining that music has lost its way blah blah blah. So what, f*ck your couch. Eat the pound cake n*gga. But I do kind of wonder what the hell folks will be listening to a few years from now. Granted music tends to be cyclical, but it really has been a while since any artist made a contribution to R&B that might actually be listenable a few years from now.”

    I’m glad that I’m an old soul when it comes to music. mainstream R&B artists are sellouts and thinking about making lots of paper and not about making good protest songs (Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f39Zs0gB87c&feature=fvst);

    nowadays, they’re thinking about getting caked up w/ dolla dolla bills instead of proclaiming issues and raising socially conscious issues (Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDckI2P_DPA)

    And no one makes love songs like this:
    James Ingram’s One Hundred Ways- (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBY4o26fCt8)

    or Luther Vandross’s If only for one night- (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Er74vU2I9c&feature=related)

    or Boyz II Men (First Love- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFKcpc27xPk)

    And had to end this comment w/ some Isley Bros. “Groove w/ you” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrIa3szE3w&feature=related)

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  9. I could come on here and say the obvious, “yes, there are great soul artists, you just have to search for them, for example, SoulBounce.com usually introduces a few.” But the fact of the matter is, this is just not R&B’s generation.

    Take the 2000s for example: when Brandy, Monica, Usher, Nsync, and Britney Spears were all pretty popular. You notice that even then, those artists were more R&B than today. Even Britney and Nsync were more R&B-esque. That was a R&B decade. Even obvious ‘pop’ groups like Diddy’s one-no-hit-wonder group Dream sang more R&B. Hell, even Pink was R&B. This is just the pop decade.

    As depressing as it is, R&B don’t live her anymore.

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    • Yep this is the crux. The latter half of the 00′s and this decade thus far has had a synth heavy Europop sound. It’s just how it is. In the last decade you had, Aguilera and N*Sync making RnB and hip-hop songs. People moaned then how RnB was sounding like hip-hop like how “Yeah!” was basically a rap beat. But at the very least the sound, the drum patterns where black.

      Now Usher is riding the Europop sound and caking off it. There hasn’t been a legit RnB album that has gone platinum in awhile sans the comeback kids (Maxwell, Sade).

      You have to blame Timbaland for all of this btw. FutureSex/LoveSounds, Furtado’s album and Shock Value changed the game.

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    • I complelely co-sign but that was also because Hip-Hop and R&B producers were producing them and not Europop-esque people. The distinct teen sound from the 90s came from the wave of producers who created the backdrop for the decade.

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  10. “including Jill Scott’s later output, yeah I said it”
    I’m glad someone said it!!! Except for a few of the ‘sex” songs I don’t really listen to the album! ;) lol

    Actually, I might be late on this, but I was introduced to Miguel’s cd late last year. He is really great…kind of reminds me of Price. I can listen to his whole album without changing (trust me that says a lot!!!) and it hasn’t gotten “old” to me yet!

    Here P enjoy:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lv1RXFpV8c&feature=related

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  11. Just to joke with Panama based on his comments from a previous post:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NirueQsVjeo&ob=av2e

    ^Really though, I’m glad he’s back with more tunes :D

    I’m an optimist and there is beautiful music still out there…beautiful representations in every genre. I think the thing is it is easier for wack, catchy, bullsh!t, no talent stuff to get proper backing, marketing and attention. It’s sellable.

    Tha packaging of even wack ‘ish is sellable and if it’s sellable, it’s prevalent and makes it seem like the market is flooded with wackness. Truth is, the market is bigger and more accessible in some ways. That accessibility allows great talent with “a less marketable” image, like Susan Boyle, get on, Independent artists get on, internet sensations get on, etc. Folks can have a huge base and following on the internet without being signed, and that’s just a very small example of how things are different. I can argue that most of the Radio stations are probably owned by 2-3 companies, and you gotta pay for radio (and even with that, XM and Sirius are now one company, so where is the competition there?) to hear DJ’s actually break records or it serve the listener. Yet, at the same time it is more. There are more options with public, satellite, high density, pirate, internet radio….etc. There is more with various markets.

    This question of music is the same question many ask when they question television programing? Why so much reality TV? Why you have to have cable to see some “different” shows? Why tv was 3-12 channels and now we got 700+. Why with 700+ channels there are times that it still seems nothing is on tv to watch?

    Things seemed more potent because it was a pool of great artists. Now it’s an ocean, so you think it’s more diluted. The pool didn’t shrink. It’s just in a more expansive area. There might even be more great artists than ever before that are more difficult to find because of the expansive area.

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  12. I seriously can’t tolerate this new wave euro trash R&B garbage that’s being allowed to pollute airspace. Just cause some ish is “different” doesn’t make it good. I don’t do radio. Rhianna is garbage. Frank Ocean is ehhh. The Weekend needs to take a vacation.

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  13. But don’t you think that kids 10 to 20 years from now will talk about how great music was when they had Chris Brown, Rihanna, Trey, and Ne-Yo and the BEPs. It happens with every single generation. It’s just that we are getting older and more conservative in our musical taste. We want to hear about making love, losing love, finding the one. I mean, everytime I hear Blackstreet’s “Don’t Leave” or H-Town’s “emotions” or Jodeci’s “stay” I get the same look on my face that my mom gets when she hears Marvin Gaye or my sister gets when she hears OLD school Janet. Music evolves. Each generation just doesn’t evolve with it and that’s ok in my book. My mom isn’t too gungho about my sister’s R&B and my sister doesn’t really give too much thought into mine.

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    • @Mena- Yeah, I mean we all get that. That’s a solid logical theory that certainly explains some of it. It’s just that I actually feel like the 60s and 70s R&B was better than my generation’s music. I also feel like the 90s R&B was better than the 80s (admittedly I don’t know as much 80s r&b) so it’s not just like every generation likes their music only and hates everything after (or before) it.

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      • However- music is not just sound. It’s the feeling you have when you hear the sound and that songs tie to your life. For some “Here and Now” by Luther is the ultimate love song but I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the sheer greatness of that song because I was a kid who had never experienced what the song was talking about but talk to my older siblings and that song is historic. Play that song for someone in their 20′s and they’ll probably yawn in your face.

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      • @Just: Definitely not saying that the next generation hates the music before or after their own. Just saying that that music isn’t made for them. The music of the 90s was made specifically for me and the folks that are now in their late 20s and early 30s. It had the feel and sound of what we were “conditioned” to like. I listen to music today and can still jam to it but it doesn’t resonate with me. My generation wasnt going through all of the sexual in your face stuff (granted it was definitely starting and we are excluding rap) that this generation is going through now. Our music had sex in it but it wasn’t so blatant. The sound was also different. Remember how Timbaland and Missy changed the sound of music from like 95-2000. I am sure my sister was like, why is a baby crying in this dang song. But that was our sound and when I hear one of those tracks my face lights up.

        Also, it is hard to compare the 60s and 70s to the music today. I get what you are saying but that was the era of the Motown machine. And it was just that, a machine. Barry manufactured the sound that he wanted and his artist followed. Also, the 60s and 70s was all political so the music reflected that. That era was better bc Barry laid the blueprint to what we have today–an industry/machine set on making music for that certain generation. You can only copy the original and it is hard to beat it.

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        • @ Mena

          I’ll agree and add Master P killed R&B……

          The whole independent, bring your soundscan numbers with you tactic has allowed for rappers to take more control while also letting record companies off the hook for artist development but has killed R&B acts.

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          • “The whole independent, bring your soundscan numbers with you tactic has allowed for rappers to take more control while also letting record companies off the hook for artist development but has killed R&B acts.” Rap has now dominated R&B and someone mentioned in the thread and I agree, as long as you look good and can carry a note, you are good to go. Do you remember how Jodeci looked? How about the Temptations, Donny Hathaway, or the Jackson 5? These weren’t dudes that were fine by any means (Jackson 5 were cute but they weren’t HOT) but give them a mic and see what notes came out. I mean seriously, Motown lucked out on Marvin Gaye b/c good LAWD JESUS!! He was fine from the moment he came out to the moment he passed away.

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            • Many of the folks you mentioned in your thread had the opportunity to write and compose their stuff. The physical package was created for the times in which the music was made.

              I feel like a music snob because I find that I like artists more the further they are away from the mainstream; their music seems to be more organic and they take more risks. Often when they get “discovered”, the suits begin tweaking things that made us love the music and the artist often doesn’t have a leg to stand on because the record sales don’t justify holding true to the underground blueprint.

              How many side b gems have your listened to in your lifetime that never saw the radio or had a video made? I can think of countless fan favorites that the suits missed.

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              • “I feel like a music snob because I find that I like artists more the further they are away from the mainstream” Yep, you are :-) But we all get that way the older we get.

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              • Yeah, they were cute but KCi and JoJo were just a mess. I have never seen two black men look so darn dry. Like not “they need lotion” dry but “they need to drink water” dry. But they could sing a song and wouldn’t get off the record until the next song came on. JoJo would carry that note till the very end.

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                  • Mary wasn’t that polished back in the day either; that’s why many of the ladies of my generation felt her. Look ugly people need love too but you can’t deny when they sang that verse”

                    “Do you love me?”
                    “I will love you”
                    “Will you please me”
                    “I will please you”

                    You felt something in your gut. Today’s music doesn’t move me in the same manner.

                    Reply ↓

                    • @Sigma: You are feeling some type of way today–quoting lyrics and EVERYTHING. Go and hug your wife and put on some Jodeci, H-Town, and New Edition and just reminisce!!! :-) :-)

        • Our music had sex in it but it wasn’t so blatant

          I don’t know about that one. Sex was very in your face in the 90′s. Most stuff by R. Kelly like Bump N’ Grind and Feeling on Your Booty. There was knockin the Boots and Let Me Lick You Up and Down(what was that one called again?) Stuff by Lil’ Kim. This is the stuff I could think of off the top of my head. I think every generation says that today’s music isn’t as rauncy.

          Reply ↓

          • Not saying that we didn’t have it but you could also find artists that just insinuated it. Like Ginuwine’s pony. If that song were made today the title would “Pole Ridin and Grindin so the Neighbors Can Hear.” And you can’t include Kim b/c this is a post about R&B. Play by the rules :-)

            Reply ↓

          • Most of the music had a balance; artists balanced out artists and songs balanced out songs. For every Jodeci there was a Boys to Men and for every Freakin’ you there was a I’m still waiting, Let’s get it on / Distant lover.

            The suits push more of the BAM! in your face music and call it ballads. Maybe this is why our chexual relations are so jacked up; I would never use any of today’s mainstream R&B music for my G.T.D mix.

            Reply ↓

      • It’s just that I actually feel like the 60s and 70s R&B was better than my generation’s music.

        I gotta admit that I def. enjoy plenty of music from the 70′s too. Something I would have never told my parents.

        Reply ↓

    • I have to disagree with you. I’m young, 21 and I don’t find most of this music out now, hot. I will not be talking about Rihanna or any of the rest of them as the greats from our time.Me and my friends always talk about how lackluster and sad music is today. When we talk about good music or reminisce about songs we love its usually from the 90′s and early 00′s. I tell people all the time I think its a shame what happened to Black music and I hope it changes because I sure as hell won’t be listening to Big Sean, Lil Wayne, etc 15-20 years from now. I can’t stand listening to most of that now.

      Reply ↓

      • If you are 21 now, that would mean that the music you listened to was from the LATE 90s (Timbaland, Missy, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, maybe some Blackstreet, SWV) to the EARLY 00s (this is when Neo Soul really took off). So you were coming of age during a different time than the music we have now. You were hitting your teens when the dirty south rap took off. But for the 10-14 year olds right now, they will be saying this about Chris, Rhianna, etc.

        Reply ↓

      • Bruno Mars does an excellent job of holding down R&B. Good lyrics, good voice, good production. He manages to pull off the Euro sound while still injecting soul into his music and he gives a good live show……Beyonce also manages to do this as well.

        Reply ↓

        • I dont consider Bruno to be R&B though. I mean, he has the potential to be it but he is definitely pop with a soulful voice. Beyonce…meh…not R&B either. But i dont know where to put her. Besides Resentment and her days with Destiny’s Children, has she written and sang about love lost? All of her songs are about empowerment which is awesome but there comes a point where everyone is “weak” in their relationships. Don’t get me wrong, her voice is extremely strong but R&B…not the category i would stick her in.

          Reply ↓

          • If Trey Songz is being classified as R&B in this dialouge, then Bruno and Beyonce are definitely R&B.

            They make Black music with a pop appeal, it is not the other way around.

            And for the sake of argument, what is pop music exactly? It is a psuedo genre of music when you think about it.

            It is the popular music of the time. It can be rock, rap, soul, jazz, whatever is selling at the time.

            I mean, we okay with pop music long as it is music that we are feeling, then we turn into music snobs, ir wannabe music snobs, when it becomes music that dosent cater to our tastes.

            Why is that?

            Reply ↓

            • When i said that “i guess Trey is R&B” what i really meant was “meh.” When i think of R&B i think of love, pain, soul, heart, tears, smiles, etc. I don’t get the pain and soul from Beyonce. Now again, the girl can sing and don’t catch me at a concert b/c i will be dancing my a$$ off singing every word but i just dont the actual SOUL from her. As for Bruno, i have only heard his pop songs on the radio so that is why he doesn’t come off as R&B to me but he definitely has a soulful voice. Extremely strong.

              Reply ↓

      • Trey Songz sounds like an un-mentored R.Kelly. What I mean by that is if there were some more seasoned cats out making solid R&B music, he would be forced to be as good as he was when his first single came out. When “Gotta Go” dropped, I thought he was gonna be dope. He’s not though. I think he has potential, but what’s out there to make him grind and try to be great. Lack of competition makes cats rest on their laurels and put out sub par work, IMO.

        Reply ↓

    • thing is…i actually like the music. i just wish there was actual R&B out there too. its to the point that the same songs i hear on the pop stations are the ones i hear on the urban stations.

      Reply ↓

      • B/c the urban and pop stations are the same. Everything is blended. Urban music is popular so it gets played on the pop station. Pop artists now feature rap and hip hop beats so they get played on the urban stations. You need an ipod connection and satellite radio.

        Reply ↓

  15. To me, the best soul music as made in the 60′s…Todays’ music doesnt have that “struggle” in it that made it
    authentic.

    Curtis Mayfield’s catalogue(even before the Superfly sdtk) of the 60′s and 70s can still trump anything made today. (see “dead presidents” sdtk)

    The invention of music videos also contributed to the decline of soul…some of the best sangers werent very attractive.

    Reply ↓

    • That’s my main beef…lack of authenticity.

      If you haven’t been through the stuff you’re singing about you’re completely eliminating the “Blues” part of R&B. That’s why these young’ns aren’t a mainstay. No struggle. They don’t even have to do the Chitlin’ Circuit to get a deal nowadays. Like Panama said their disposable goods because they lack quality and craftsmanship. Major record labels are like Walmart: constantly bombarding us with cheap, trendy music.

      But artists like D’Angelo, Bilal, Alice Smith, or Van Hunt, are always gonna have a cult following, albeit small, because the quality is there even if the quantity isn’t. That’s why when they come to town they can charge $50-60 /ticket for a tiny venue and shows will still sell out quick.

      Reply ↓

    • Lordy lordy lordy, I love me some Curtis Mayfield. I gotta admit, I’ve kinda given up on so-called “black” music. For modern music I mostly listen to what would probably be considered “white” music. (But I swear to God, Adele is channeling some black angel in heaven. That girl has SOUL.) Other than that I listen to stuff from the late 60s, the 70s and the 80s, cuz that’s what my parents listened to so that’s what I was raised listening to. I listen to 90s stuff when I wanna feel nostalgic.

      For the 2000s… they’re kind of a blur. Not to say there wasn’t memorable music made then, but I still think 1990 was ten years ago! (@_@)

      Reply ↓

  16. RnB is in the same place every other music genre on the planet is in. Repetitiveness. No matter what you rap about, it’s not original. Scores of people have rapped about it before. No matter what you sing about, it’s not original. Scores of people have sung about it before. RnB, is trying to do something difference to maintain its airplay/relevance. I guess the reason why I don’t mind is because I love pop music so RnB taking a more “club scene” approach is actually a breath of fresh air.

    I do have some favorite RnB guys that I absolutely adore. Yep, I’m comfortable enough with my sexuality to confidently use “adore” in a sentence not tailor made for a heterosexual male. But uh, just in case, as a failsafe….No Homo. Anyway:

    1. The Weeknd
    2. Trey Songz
    3. Frank Ocean
    4. Miguel

    I currently have these artists on repeat, especially The Weeknd.

    Reply ↓

    • Well d*mn. I have artists I enjoy listening to, but I never would’ve thought of the term adore…glad you could achieve those feelings while listenin to them man…i guess…lol
      I never heard of this Weekend fellow tho. Any recommendations for me to catch up on his most relevant tunes?

      Reply ↓

      • As others have said, House of Balloons is feakin INCREDIBLE! Thursday is a bit iffy. I do like “Life Of The Party” and “The Zone” from that mixtape. And his last mixtape Echoes of Silence is brilliant as well.

        Basically, House of Balloons and Echoes of Silence MUST get downloaded. Thursday isn’t bad at all, it just gets outshined by HoB and EoS so badly that it is weak by comparison. But yea have at it.

        Reply ↓

          • Lol you should. HoB was great upon the very first listen. With EoS the first playthrough probably won’t get you. Sure you’ll vibe to a few songs, but you don’t really come to appreciate them until after you just listen to it a second time. At least that’s how it was for me. Now I love it.

            But my favorite song from The Weeknd came off of HoB. It’s called “Loft Music”. If that doesn’t get you mellow and relaxed, I don’t know what will.

            You can also check out some of his unreleased material. Songs like “Superhero” and “The Appointment” are pretty good.

            Reply ↓

  17. that black-eye peas paragraph is the hardest i’ve laughed all week. lmbo. so stupid.

    i say this about R&B all the time. i like Frank Ocean and neo soul DOES NOT SUCK jerk. but other than that, i think my kids will grow up with Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and older groups like that just like i did. i don’t see any classic music being made. it’s sad, really.

    there’s a song that they used to play in the clubs here all the time. i have no idea of the artist or song title… but it sounded like Rihanna… i think… except it’s not any Rihanna song i’ve ever heard. it annoys me to no end that i can’t find the song and can’t remember the melody. i know it when i hear it though. i LOVE that friggin song.

    …but it’s still forgettable obviously.

    Reply ↓

  18. I would comment seriously but about an hour ago I was in 7/11 and Wiz Khalifa and Snoop’s “Young and Free” or whatever it’s called, was playing and I was thinking about how much I hate Wiz and all his “Music” but the ninja standing in front of me (about 20 years younger) was like “That’s my jam” and started singin the hook-Crooning** To be young and wild and freeeeee” That’s when I realised that I no longer no what’s hip or live anymore. Thus, anything I say may make me sound like an old foggy.

    Reply ↓

    • LOL, I know I’m getting old when I listen to the radio on the way home. I have to turn it to the old-school rush hour mix. The station playing today “rap” music just kills my spirit.

      Reply ↓

    • yeah, that song is hilariously good and bad at the same time. for one, wiz khalifa isn’t a good rapper. he sounds like a worse DJ Quik. but really…the song just reminds me htat…

      Snoop has never been a good rapper.

      yeah. i said it. i LOVE doggystyle. and i like snoop. but he and wiz…same sh*t different decade.

      Reply ↓

      • You trippin P. Snoop been a beast for a long time. I just think he’s had some trouble adjusting to a non gansta, I’m a rich dad now type lifestyle and doesn’t know how to consistently reconcile that in his music.

        Reply ↓

        • please go back and listen to Tha Shiznit. dope song. tell me snoop was a good rapper on that song. Snoop is good at what he did. and it depends on how you define good rapper. i like Snoop. but snoop the person is much more interesting than snoop the rapper.

          Reply ↓

  19. You mention that neo-soul tends to suck as a rule, yet you’re a fan of D’Angelo…. #imjussayin I think most people would place him in the neo-soul category.

    But, no sarcasm intended, props to you for being man enough to admit your affinity for tunes that typically attract prepubescent, melanin-deprived and vapid fans. I too have been known to hum a Spice girls song.

    ….And belt out all the lyrics by heart.

    I can’t get with Lady Gaga though. She’s talented but the music just…. sucks.

    Anyway, to address your first point, I definitely agree that there needs to be a resurrection of good R&B. Amidst all the Soulja Boy and Katy Perry songs that flood the airwaves, we need some new jams.

    Reply ↓

  20. If you’re gonna add a Euro bend to black music at least do it right… Have yall heard about this chick Azaelia Banks. I dig her. She’s from Harlem, went to the same performing arts school as Minaj, and sounds like a Timbo-era Missy Elliot. She can spit, plus she sings. She’s got a euro sound but its still street. Listen for yourself….

    212
    http://youtu.be/i3Jv9fNPjgk

    Liquorice
    http://youtu.be/lCR97Ox9-fs

    Reply ↓

  21. Some of today’s R&B is coming from England. A lot of what Adele does is R&B with a popish feel. Everything Amy Winehouse did was R&B. Otherwise I think rap killed R&B. Every time I hear, on the radio, what I think is going to be a good R&B song some rapper starts to flow all over it, like Elle Varner (Only Wanna Give It To You) featuring J.Cole.

    Otherwise there are a few artists still doing R&B like Goapele and Ledisi.

    Reply ↓

      • Lost me at Alicia Keys. While she does have a few classics, I think she may be the most overrated human being on the entire planet. If she wasn’t drop dead gorgeous she wouldn’t receive half of the attention she has IMHO.

        Reply ↓

        • But how can Alicia be overrated if she has a few classic songs? Diary, Fallin’, Superwoman are all songs that people will be listening to 20 years from now.

          I happen to think she’s a true talent. How many other artists write lyrics, compose music, play an instrument and sing? Not many. And she’s sold over 30 million records. Billboard named her the R&B artist of the last decade. She’s def not overrated.

          Reply ↓

          • If we are going to talk overrated then we have to talk about Beyonce. No one is more overrated than she. But I digress.

            As for Alicia; I just don’t get why she should be considered overrated. You may not like her music but she makes quality music. Music that will stand the test of time.

            But you know as I think about it a lot of people think (or thought) Sade is overrated too. Back in the 90′s a lot of people expressed that. I think now that she’s been around for so long people say that less about her.

            So maybe in 10 years people will stop saying that about Alicia?

            Reply ↓

            • you really think Alicia Keys music will stand the test of time? her albums aren’t even that good.

              beyonce would only be overrated b/c she’s oversaturated the market. but i dont understand what part of her is overrated at least she makes decent music.

              alicia keys has had some songs i liked. but every song she’s had that ive liked had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the production. and on those particular songs, she wasnt handling the production.

              Reply ↓

              • I understand that everyone isn’t an Alicia fan, that’s cool. But I would expect her to at least be given respect for making real R&B. You may not like her brand but it’s hard to deny that she has talent and has had a lot of success.

                And yes, I think a lot of her music will stand the test of time. The songs I listed above will be in heavy rotation on retro stations 20 years from now.

                Beyonce, on the other hand, is a glorified burlesque dancer. Her dancing in videos is usually what gets her the attention, never her singing, which is mediocre at best. But I know there are millions of Bey stans out there who adore her and would strongly disagree.

                Reply ↓

          • Agreed. She’s cleaned up a lot, but she’s merely progressed to “fairly attractive” from “is she trying to look like a dude”?

            In terms of her talent, Alicia Keys is probably the most polarizing artist in R&B today. A lot of people love her, a lot of people think she’s a talentless hack, but no one thinks she’s just alright. I guess bad press is better than no press.

            Reply ↓

  22. Seriously though- I heard one of the black actresses saying how Robin Thicke “Brought back R&B.” Really? I didn’t know Beyonce, Musiq, R. Kelly, Jilly, Ginuwine, Erykah Badu, Dream, India Arie, Usher, Mariah, Kelly Rowland, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Monica, Melanie Fiona, Trey Songz, Mary J., Sade, Jaheem, Fantasia, Kem, Raheem Devaughn, John Legend, Chrisette Michelle, Janelle Monae, Keyshia Cole, Jamie Foxx, Anthony Hamilton, Keri Hilson, Charlie Wilson, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Jeremih, Avant, Bobby V, Raphael Saadiq, all hung it up. I understand the fascination with “the next” thing but we’re all thinking too hard about this one.

    Reply ↓

    • i could go name by name with you there and point out why they either aren’t mainstream or very relevant right now at all. or are chasing that quick buck and making disposable music too.

      with the exception of Beyonce, R Kelly and Trey Songz. most of those artists aren’t exactly makign a blip on teh radar past the actual release of their singles if they last that long. i will say that Janelle Monae is doing her damn thing though.

      Reply ↓

      • Jackson- I do not agree. At least 5 of the names on my list are among the biggest artists in the world. THE WORLD- Beyonce, Legend, Mariah, Usher, Sade. Here’s Billboard’s artist of the decade list for 2000-2010 #2- Usher, #4 Beyonce, #5 Alicia Keyes. And Sade (I dare anyone to argue) and John Legend just did an Arena tour that was sold the fcuk out in every city. I was going to get a ticket and the cheapest ticket was $195- and I live in Kansas City. Imagine what the ticket price was in LA, Las Vegas, and New York.

        Reply ↓

        • being the biggest artst in the world negates the fact that you’re chasing a quick buck and making disposable music?

          See Mariah, Usher, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys. Sade has managed to withstand that but she’s also much more of an artist than the rest and not worried about billboard. she’s been around so long her fans have grandkids. my point isn’t that they irrelevant, its that they’re making music that aint really impacting much of crap either. i’ll hold out on john legend though his first album was wacksauce but got muchos credit bc of “ordinary people” which was a dope song, granted.

          btw, those ninjas being the biggest artists in the world also could have very little to do with their output. at this point, they’re all actual superstars who dont have to put out another album to still be big stars in the world.

          Reply ↓

  24. Right now, the only two artist that I can think of that I KNOW (fo’ sho) I’ll be listening to years from now is Eric Roberson and Jesse Boykins III. I’m sure there are other artist but Mister Sandman is luring me to my bed.

    SN: Soul Train is jammin tonight!! Con Funk Shun AND Angela Bofil <~~ love her.

    Reply ↓

  25. But seriously…this Techno/ Euro trash sh!t needs to go and if you’re dancing to it or playing it in your ride, you should be ashamed of yourself. That is all.

    Reply ↓

        • cant lie, i loved “magnificent” tho.

          thing is, john legend seems like a ni**a to me. he just knows how to make white people invite him to places most n*ggas dont’ go. lol. so he plays music like “heaven only knows” for the masses then bumps “b*tch betta have my money” on Sundays on his way to church to direct the choir.

          Reply ↓

          • You’ve been killing me today Panama. I think it’s the suits he wears that convinces people he’s not a n*GGA His first album was VERY good…my aunt stole it from me.

            Reply ↓

          • Bwahahahahaha I’m not a fan either. I hated Ordinary people for sooooooooo damn long! However, him and Alicia Keys have something in common to me. They have some nice songs but just aren’t that great.

            Reply ↓

          • thing is, john legend seems like a ni**a to me. he just knows how to make white people invite him to places most n*ggas dont’ go. lol.

            This sent me under my desk!

            Reply ↓

    • I LUH me some John Legend. I know folks hate how he does the “uhhhh” sound after every lyric but I dig it. Gives him character. In fact, lemme go listen to the song that he REALLY hams that thing up: So High.

      My. SHAT.

      Reply ↓

  28. Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat have good albums out right now. I knd of miss The Alexander O’ Neal, Donell Jones, Dwele days. I think I need to dust some of those off again.

    Reply ↓

  29. The current crop of “R&B” crooners is all about bringing the urban dictionary to life, especially the male singers-Lloyd and Trey Songz(I STANZ for this boi right hurr), is all about beating and pounding the pussy into fine ground porridge like the one I used to have back in my village. SMH! Lawwwwd hammmmercy.

    By the way, how is it that Rihanna has amassed quite a fewGrammy’s for bleating like a kiddy goat when Brandy and Monica who SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG, have one or two! That don’t make no damn sense…

    Reply ↓

      • Only one, knock on wood. Though if you pay attention, she’s really a soca singer who went pop because they offered her a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY…playa, before she started randomly dancing to Flo Rida’s “Get Low”. Listen to her albums. The closer she gets to what she really wants to sing, the better she sounds.

        Reply ↓

        • Yep! & shoot me but purchased my 1st Rihanna album last year. Talk that Talk goes hard on the ones where she sounds like herself (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, &10)….yes, I know the numbers! lol

          Reply ↓

        • @ Todd,

          Isn’t she categorized as rnb with a pop feeling. I swear I’ve read reviews that have made my eyeballs almost fall from their socket. Initially she was soca?! Aiiiiiii…..i reject that…that was not soca…well, atleast the traditional one…Iunno. That chick bleats!

          Reply ↓

          • Listen to her first album. It isn’t the traditional stuff, but it’s closer to that than even dancehall, let alone R&B. She took her sound WAAAY to the left for that paper.

            Reply ↓

  30. *peeks outta lurkerdom*

    I’ve noticed that whenever R&B is mentioned, Fantasia is nowhere near there.
    Why?! Her personal life aside, her last album was nice #shrug

    And Jill Scott’s last album had some solid tracks. My personal favourites “I imagine(Until then)” and “Making you wait”<—at least I think that's the title of, will check.

    And Anthony Hamilton's latest offering is not bad either. Check out "Pray for me", Woo and that track he did with Keri Hilson (don't pelt me with tomatoes, I,,,,like that song) :-)

    Reply ↓

    • I forgot about Fantasia (but maybe that’s the point of the post, LOL). Her last album was pretty good. Pieces of the last Anthony Hamilton record were good; I also like Pray for Me.

      Reply ↓

    • Fantasia is mad forgettable though. She does have song that i really like. but so do any number of singers. they’re the new age cheryl pepsi rileys. we’ll forget them until unsung does a special on their producers.

      Reply ↓

    • Tasia voice is the definition of Rhythm and Blues. That’s why I mentioned her in my post downthread. She and Jennifer Hudson. They should both hang it up and just sing gospel so that they can truly be appreciated.

      Reply ↓

  31. R&B music and Soul music faces the same challenges as Black cinema etc… Basically we need a Black Cultural Renaissance to fight all these pollutions.

    Reply ↓

  33. Here’s the facts people. This is NOT your era. I repeat, this is NOT your era. Maybe it’s because I’m the baby in my family, but every older generation looks at the music of the youth and says it’s all disposable. Regardless, over time, the cream rises to the top and becomes the new classic stuff. Also, let’s keep it 100. There was a LOT of bullsh1t music in our youth. We just managed to forget the foolishness and remembered the killer stuff, especially since it took place during the years we were forming our identities. The past was never as good as we think it was. Also, there’s a reason the industry says that the music we listen to from 18-25 is essentially the same music we’ll listen to all of our lives.

    My problem with music today is that so much of it tries too hard to hew to the classics. People are afraid to take changes. I don’t mind Chris Brown’s “Beautiful People” or Rihanna’s “Love in a Hopeless Place”. At least they’re managing to try stuff and see if it sticks. Because of the way the music industry is with shrinking margins, people in the industry are afraid to stick their neck out. Thankfully, Frank Ocean and The Weeknd are pushing the limits of R&B. Who knows what will come out, but I’ll always give credit to an artist that tries to be creative.

    Nothing released today will be the soundtrack of our youth. Nothing. All I ask is that the next generation does something out of the box to write their own soundtrack. Heck, it’s all I asked from my era. They deserve the same.

    Reply ↓

    • +1

      I look at the litmus test young artists must be equivalent to in order to gain rotation in the ipod:

      Mint Condition
      Tony, Tony, Tonie
      New Edition
      Guy
      Jodeci
      Boys II Men
      early Mary J Blige
      Freddie Jackson

      It’s a hard rotation to crack

      Reply ↓

    • Agreed. I’m looking for the new generation to take it forward and explore new sounds and advance on old ones. I love Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings but really that’s just living yesteryear. I’m more interested in whose going to be the new Kanye, Timbaland, Devante, Jimmy Jam & Terry etc.

      I’m loving some of this lo-fi ethereal stuff that’s coming out today.

      Reply ↓

      • Yeah, that is a legit classic though. They’re high up on the list of Talented Artists That Never Blew Up(tm). Sadly, a lot of it is because of record industry politics as opposed to lack of ability, but that’s life.

        Reply ↓

  34. I really need to re-up on some of these new artists. I’ve never heard of the Weekend. Must YouTube later……

    I just had this conservation the other day. True R&B is missing. There aren’t any love songs anymore.

    I’m obsessed with Jill Scott but I must admit, her last album was a little disappointing. There are a few artists on constant rotation over here, and that’s Dwele, Jesse Boykins III, Foreign Exchange, old Jill Scott, Darien Brockington (sp?), Muhsinah, Goapele, Crisette Michele, and Sy Smith.

    Reply ↓

  35. Thank you (@Eric McD)!!!! I was wondering if EVERYONE had lost it today.

    Now I totally dig The Weekend and did before Drakes last album when really not a lot of folks I knew were was buzzing about who he was, but I would NOT list The Weekend as r&b!!!!

    Paused…thought about it…still wouldn’t. Its some poppy hybrid. idk.

    But if u like The Weekend like I do, check out Tiara Thomas too (her song “Nikki” is HOTT imho : http://youtu.be/Z2Viz4IOKFs). She needs a vid.

    And you might like Jhene Aiko (Growing apart too: http://youtu.be/qrIUxTepdKU). She needs a vid.

    Or The Internet (Cocaine: http://youtu.be/3xaYNCBaUPQ). I dig this vid.

    Now I lubs this and all but its new-aged “R&B” at best.

    As far as “real” R&B or the styles we grew up with, I love Raheem Devaughn (“She’s Single” http://youtu.be/njkvkD-L6WA “Breathe” http://youtu.be/oeje3eXvARI, “Customer” http://youtu.be/2Wq4uab4_9U) and him and Jaheim (Find my way back: http://youtu.be/rEpfuzjHvxU) ARE so underrated but they make real r&b for sure! Like many others @Eric McB lists…. Melanie/Jazmine/Elle Varner.

    Some of my favs are newbies or up and comings. Good music / Little press.

    Reply ↓

    • see. i agree to a point. but y’all are naming songs. when was the last time you copped an album you loved all the way through? been a while right? or heard something that absolutely changed your life?

      can’t lie, “we found love” f*cked up my whole life b/c its so perfect to me. i listened to it on repeat for DAYS. and yet, if i never hear it again, i think i’ll be okay. that hurts me soul. no lupe.

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    • Jhene Aiko’s album wasn’t bad at all but I’m all about The Internet right now. When I catch myself humming a song it is usually one of theirs. Very good music that sounds a lot more mature than their ages would suggest.

      Reply ↓

      • Jhene Aiko’s Album changed my life so to speak – haven’t heard something like that in a long time REALLY looking forward to what’s next from her
        Jessie J’s album is NICE although her singles put her in the pop category.
        A lot of these so called R&B artist have pop singles but if u get to the Album cuts that’s where the true R&B is but if you’re not a fan of a particular artist & their single doesn’t draw u in to actually listen to the whole album then u miss out

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  37. Thank you (@Eric McD)!!!! I was wondering if EVERYONE had lost it today.

    Now I totally dig The Weekend and did before Drakes last album when really not a lot of folks I knew were was buzzing about who he was, but I would NOT list The Weekend as r&b!!!!

    Paused…thought about it…still wouldn’t. Its some poppy hybrid. idk.

    But if u like The Weekend like I do, check out Tiara Thomas too (her song “Nikki” is HOTT imho : http://youtu.be/Z2Viz4IOKFs). She needs a vid.

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  41. Real music began to die in the early 90s. Music companies stopped putting real dollars into artist development and at the same time they began to drop artists they felt matured past the cd purchasing demographics.

    I’m a diehard Mint Condition fan and it seems like I only find out the have an album out by looking at random cloud formations on rainy days. All the true R&B acts are signed to these obsure labels that don’t advertise releases, and the cd selection at your local Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart sucks.

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  42. Fistpump soul. Hmmm, good term. Sounds about right. I’ve fistpumped with you before actually. To Lady Gaga. Fun times. (That’s not a euphemism, folks.)

    Well, you know how much I also love(d?) Rihanna’s “We Found Love” (and the video is amongst my favorites of all times), but your post was totally “things that make me go hmmmm.” Hmmm. <– see???

    Heck, I was JUST cleaning off my old school nano that can't hold that many songs (I need a new one basically) and I found myself deleting a lot of songs that I SWORE not even a couple months ago that I could listen to forever. WOMP. Poignant moment, there, now that I think about it. Shoulda poured a little likka out.

    Anyway, I also wonder how music will be once I become that "this music nowadays" age. Wow, at times I already am. Well, to be fair I shake my head at the music WHILST shaking my cheeks at the club which makes me either a dichotomy or a hypocrite.

    All I know is, I'm still holding you to that "We Found Love" karaoke session, Sir Petey Jakes.

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  43. I’ve not listened to R&B for some years but I also assumed that pop music assassinated it.

    I’ve been bumping Rose Murphy’s version of “Pennies from Heaven” (I thank the film The Artist for that gem) on a regular especially since that piece is about two minutes long.

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  44. I think there’s one really good reason why R&B changed.

    People stopped paying to lyrical content and just wanted to dance more. By people, I mean women because seriously….when do men buy music anymore?

    Any female I know today has a steady playlist of all sorts of music, but their main focus is shaking their behinds to a good beat and forgetting all their cares in the world. Ergo, pop music crept in and took stuff over. It’s fun, and gives artists more range because those white kids always wanted to dance to our stuff, but used to feel weird about it. NO MORE. It was always happening, us black people were never paying attention. (think of all the great R&B songs of late 90s-late 2000s that were then made with dance remixes).

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  45. If you want to understand why R&B has fallen, you need to look at the Zeitgeist. The music of the 60′s reflected the trends of the era: Revolution and Rebellion. This applies to white music and black music and this continued into the 70′s up until Disco. Disco was the transition into the 80′s – an era of greed and corruption, which triggered the birth of hip-hop, which wasn’t a rebellion as much as it was simply a reaction to the trends of that time – black people were getting screwed by Reaganomics.

    Then the 90′s came along, and the 90′s was an extension of the 80′s. It was an era of American arrogance, in addition to an era of sex…lots and lots of “direct” sex. Up until the 90′s, sex was displayed in a comedic or goofy way, sort of like Prince; however in the 90′s sex was no longer goofy, it was real; Britney Spears was real, R.Kelly was real, Uncle Luke was real. Hip-hop which had been born as an enemy of the 80′s trend, became the driving force for the music trends in the 90′s that’s why it extended across the world and became the most listened to genre of music.

    The 2000′s, the post-9/11 era is an era of being lost and finding yourself: the growth of yoga, eastern philosophy, self-help authors and programs, lack of direction and certainty of the future – these have all magnified into our music. Music that encourages you to be loose and free of stress or music that tells you ignore everything going around you and just party are what sells i.e. If you have a bad relationship, who cares, you’re single and you’re independent: just party! If you’re a dude, and you’re in the hood and you’re broke, who gives a f*ck, just party and tear sh*t up – everyone is scared of you anyways.

    The general ideas that drive a generation are what sell at any time period and it’s no different today. We currently live in a rather confused era of music, where people are either saying: “I’m lost and I don’t know where I’m going, but it’s ok” or “Eff it all, let’s party” and any music that displays the idea in a creative way (whether they suck or not) is most likely to sell today (Adele is a great example of this, great singer but lost as well.)

    That’s why Rihanna blew up after the whole Chris Brown incident; after the women collective (Oprah, The View, Girls on Twitter) banned her from going back to CB, the chick went crazy and started making all this music that fit perfectly with the times we live in (she’s kinda of f*cked up without Chris Brown, and the music shows it, yet we all applaud her for being this directionless girl producing directionless music that we all love and we shudder at what would happen to her if she actually got back with him), now she’s the face of modern R&B and Pop music.

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    • Word. Lost is the perfect description.

      Though I do wonder if its unique to us. As a cynical old man in a 23 year old body, I tend to think every generation has an overriding sense of doubt and underwhelming sense of direction that they try to bottle up. It is a lot more open nowadays, though.

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    • I agree, most music today is about fantasies and partying away your troubles. You become surprised when a song with an actual topic becomes big. People are so emotionally repressed these days that they force the music to be repressed with them, and thats why most popular music today makes no sense.

      And if no one one believes me, then explain why my chubby a$$$ stays bumping LMFAO – Sexy and I know it.

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  46. Maybe it’s because I’m always reading soulbounce and similar sites, but I’m not too concerned about the state of music. I just load up a USB drive and listen to whatever I want in the car. The death of radio is a semi sad phenomenon, but the upside is that everyone easily finds their niche. And I think it’s ok when that niche includes a lot from the past. This reminds me of some cat I heard on kojo saying our generation has no culture, it simply repackages the past. I don’t know if this is true, there are plenty of innovators (Robert Glasper’s new album is gonna be bonkers), but even if “the best” creative output has slowed, is it that tragic? It ain’t like you don’t have access to 50 years of dope material. For ejemplo, Stevie wonders prime wasn’t in my lifetime (’88 childrenses, hello), but the music of that time has had an indelible impact. And that’s a powerful, intergenerational experience that I’ve been able to share with my parents.

    Even if I could only share the music from 1970-2000 with my kids, I wouldn’t be that upset. Do I hope for progress and an end to the stagnation of most of what you hear on the radio? Absolutely. But there are so many avenues to get dope music (of past and present) that I can’t be too mad at today’s state.

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      • And hip hop too. Hell samples in hip hop are starting to become like fossil fuels, we’re gonna run out of songs to use if we don’t come up with an alternative reusable fuel source.

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    • you know…honestly, and this is no shot to soul bounce b/c i love that site and butta is the homey (though her hifives need work…lol), but i feel like a lot of soul music gets credit for being soul. it aint that great, its just not the crap thats out there. i like to call it the Alicia Keys Effect. It addition by subtraction or positive by not being negative and gets love for that reason. most of the music i hear isnt bad but it aint that great either. it just exists. and there’s something to be said about that b/c it is necessary to further the art.

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  47. Not sure if this has already been said, but a lot of new artists of color who have released music in the last few years are straying away from genre compartmentalization. They don’t want to be classified as ‘R&B’ or ‘Soul’ because they believe their music pushes the envelope and offers something unique to the ear, something that 90s New Jack and new millennial ballads didn’t necessarily do because there was always some sort of ‘formula’ invoked with the production of the final package. So when we hear an artist like Janelle Monae or Ledisi or Nneka or Frank Ocean or even the Weeknd, we’re quick to put them in a box either because they’re Black, they sing, they’re Black singers, or they have some affiliation with ‘Black’ music producers or engineers. Looking at the evolution of R&B, it has never really had a consistent identity. The R&B of the 80s was not the R&B of the 90s which was not the R&B of the turn of the century. An R&B has always flirted with pop once it becomes driven by sales and brand identity (which leads to tours, endorsements, etc.), so once you’ve made it big, be prepared to sell your soul. Now, I’m not a music maven, but as an 80s baby this is what I’ve borne witness to. I think now, because of the quick pace at the music industry and technology is changing, we should just be prepared to ride the wave of change. Now, if I ever want to listen to what I have termed R&B, please trust and believe I have my Jodeci, New Edition, PM Dawn et al on deck! I’ll never get tired of them!

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  48. Marcia Ambrosia. I think is a good R&B album. Emancipation of Mimi. I consider most of the songs on it to be R&B and it is a great album. I can relate to your post in that I like Mariah so much because many of her songs are not disposable. Many (not all) have original lyrics that you haven’t heard recited 50’11 times. I’m not sure if that will continue in the future, but that’s part of the appeal for me.

    I feel you on the weird pop vibe though. These out-of-place Jersey Shore fist-pump songs are popping up everywhere. I was previewing the Charlie Wilson album…WTF, is this a techno song?

    Most songs, to me, do feel disposable, recycled, manufactured, and living on the strength of their beats. But I think that means there’s room for some unknowns to come in and shake sh*t up.

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    • im with you on Mariah though that album came out 7 years ago. its a whole different game now (partially thanks to the internet).

      I like a few Marsha Ambrosius songs. I love “late nights and early mornings”.

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    • I feel like I’m 150 years old when I make this comment, but I agree! Hubby and I mourn the loss of good R&B on a continual basis. Although I enjoy some of the new stuff, I’m growing sick of the techno-driven rhythms of modern “R&B”. This is why the musical choices are stuck in the 70′s-90′s.

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    • Agreed… and so is the Thundergoat… I meant Beyonce.

      *Feels angry eyes looking at him*

      Hey, what are you mad at me for, I didn’t make up the nickname, I just thought it was funny, and you would too if you weren’t a stan. LOL

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        • Beyonce needs more blues to be R&B. She sings beautifully but she doesn’t come across as authentic in her singing. It’s like her voice is acting.

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          • yeah, i agree with you there. i’ve been meaning to write a post about the fact that i wish beyonce had rihanna’s songs. they’d be the same songs except maybe big enough to end the world.

            the funny thing is, despite the fact that all of Rihanna’s songs are “add singer here” type joints, whatever talent she doesnt have is a huge addition to those songs. its weird.

            “we found love” wouldnt work so well with Beyonce b/c she’d over sing the f*ck out of it.

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            • I think it’s because Rihanna has that same knack that T-Boz had with TLC of knowing how to let the song breathe. It’s one of those things you don’t consciously notice but feel.

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          • ” It’s like her voice is acting. ”

            That is why it was a loss not to have Etta James sing at the Inaguration of President Obama.

            Beyonce wasn’t really sanging that song.

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      • Crazy as it sounds, I think Beyonce could make a HOT old school soul album if she wanted to. Heck, pay attention to her solo work. The ability is there. The desire, not so much. But good point bringing up the Thundergoat. She confused the f*ck out of me musically. One song, she’s trying to be Tina Turner, another she’s trying to be Britney Spears, another she’s trying to be Mary J. Blige and if you pay attention, you can actually get singles of her singing in Spanish. Does she has an artistic soul? You tell me.

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  52. No matter how things change they always stay the same. 30yrs this conversation was held about Jazz as it was going from Coltraine to Kenny G. Now its going from Aretha Franklin to Joss Stone.

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    • see im okay with Aretha to Joss Stone since my argument isn’t black to white so much as its r&b to straight pop….

      at least joss stone can sing and at the end fo the day, maybe the sales wont show it, but there will always be a black woman noticeably singing the f*ck out of any white woman. and they get the recognition. it just doesnt show up in sales.

      the fact that folks thought kenny g was both a NOTABLE artist AND bought his music was the annoying factor there.

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  53. Humming “Oooooh and I like it” by DeBarge as I read this. What’s missing for me is an emotional connection with current music. Everything I listen to is considered old school from the 60s – 80s. I get everything from those eras -classic Motown, the haunting voice of Donny Hathaway, a smile that only Stevie can bring, and the funk of EWF and Parliament. It seemed as if there were many facets to soul music then and now we are stuck with the same recycled sounds.

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  54. “Or is mainstream R&B a thing of the past? Is anybody making music that we’ll be listening to a few years from now?”

    I don’t really think it’s a thing of the past, it’s still being made. However, you now have to search for it. It’s definitely not being played on the radio or any of the music channels, save for VH1-Soul. (which I find hilarious, considering back in the day Black people weren’t even shown anywhere in the immediate vicinity of VH1, but that’s neither here nor there.)
    I don’t really trip because I like pretty much all genres of music. When techno started infiltrating “R&B” it was alright with me, because I was already a fan of the music. However, I do know many Black folks that aren’t down with it. I have a few friends that swear up & down that they don’t like “that techno sh*t”, but love the hell outta Kanye’s “Lost In the World” & Chris Brown’s “Beautiful People”. Ish is hilarious to me.
    R&B I’m feeling right now: Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne, Allen Stone.

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  55. So I ask you the same thing that Kanye asks himself after he lifts weights: does anybody make real sh*t anymore? Or is mainstream R&B a thing of the past? Is anybody making music that we’ll be listening to a few years from now?

    No. Yes. Maybe.

    I never listen to the radio anymore; I mostly listen to my collection of old school and I consider 2006 to be the last year of really listenable music. The most recent album that I love is by Adele. A twenty-something “pop” singer who has more soul in her music than the so-called R&B singers these days.

    I feel for the future generations that will only have the likes of Waka Flocka and Trey Songz to look back on and probably to look forward to as well.

    RIP Don. :(

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    • I don’t listen to the radio either… precisely because the music is disposable. It’s not the sexual overtones that bother me, it’s that there ARE no overtones. They are basically just singing a porn video. It’s like these dudes have never heard of the concept of a metaphor. I blame you R. Kelly

      You can be just as sexual, without being clumsy and obvious. Hell it was years before I figured out what Grace Jones’ “Pull Up to The Bumper” actually meant. Yeah… I know… I’m dating myself. Whatever. Point is, adults got it, kids just thought it was a song and e’rbody was happy.

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    • Turning Tables: “Close enough to start a war. All that i have is on the floor.” MAN!! You just knew that song was about to be something serious and deep. To me, she is straight soul. I would never place her in the pop category.

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  56. Don’t know if anyone’s said it yet, but you can pretty much listen to Dwele’s old catalog and listen to quality music for hours if you need to hear good music. He really does have some quality cuts, I’m mad that I slept on him this long.

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    • I said here once before that I’m glad Dwele never really caught on because I don’t want him to change. I want him to mature and evolve but I never want him to make check chasing songs.

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        • His whole freaking catalog is sick. And each song is different than the last. It’s like, not only does he not want to clone anyone else’s style, he doesn’t want to clone his own. Once he makes a song, he breaks the mold and makes a new one. You have GOT to appreciate that.

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          • Very true sir. Crazy thing is I stumbled across him on accident. I was looking for Dilla stuff and some Dwele character popped up. Hit play and……

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    • and also, i will ALWAYS contend that if Usher had bought The-Dream’s first album for say like $2Million and royalties on the back end, and Usher redid all of the vocals, Usher might have sold 20 million copies of that album.

      Usher TOTALLY could have pulled of Shawty Is The Sh*t back then. but nooooo, he tried to grow up and sh*t. then reverted back to making random club joints with Jeezy.

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  58. I’m very disturbed by all of these people referring to “The Weeknd” as R&B…really???

    I’m not trying to knock anyone’s tastes – I actually can enjoy his mixtapes on occasion (although his insistence on making every song at least 5 minutes long escapes me). Dude does some interesting things with sound production, but um….that’s about it. Have y’all listened to his lyrics at all? They’re all shock value and no content. His songwriting is as if Frank Ocean lost his storytelling ability. His beat are the only reason why he can get away with saying stupid ish like “first flight from Poland” over and over again in a song for no discernible reason. Regardless, I don’t think his music clarifies as R&B, at all…just my opinion.

    But anyways, with regards to present-day R&B, I think that mainstream/popular music in general has kind of debased itself to the lowest common denominator. Part of it is artists’ fault, but most of it is the industry. Major labels want the biggest bang for their buck, especially since sales are not bringing in the racks of years past…so they just strip popular styles down to the bare minimum and regurgitate it over and over again. And so you have dudes like Trey Songz who just prance around shirtless and slightly off-key while bragging about their secksual prowess (although I admit that when he first came on to the scene, he had some songwriting skills), and chicks like Rihanna who have been given such ridiculous PR revamps that they start to believe their own hype.

    I’m not hating on them, though – the industry at this point is divided between three camps – peeps that are really trying to stay true to artistic integrity but are constantly on the outside looking in ( aka getting most of their checks off songwriting credits), artists that acknowledge the game as what it is and are willing to come up in any way possible (see Wale/Rihanna), and artists that strive to be “alternative” just for oppositions sake under the guise of artistic originality (too much buffoonery to name here, but I’ll just use Kreayshawn for now). And at this point, you just get in where you fit in. And yes there are people that have risen above this, such as Adele, but they are the exception, no the rule. Case in point: Frank Ocean’s been running around the music biz for a decade trying to come up through songwriting and didnt get any looks til he latched on to a bunch of weird as f*ck 19 year olds (I will never for the life of me understand the appeal of OddFuture).

    Ultimately, until the music industry becomes consumer driven and not profit-driven, I’ll keep listening to my Mary J (of old, not when she got all happy and sh*t), Mariah, and Lauryn Hill. It is what it is.

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      • That dude is trrble (Barkley said it first). I got picked up from the airport and had to listen to his wack azz album on the way back. Not only does he suck, I felt kinda suicidal afterwards….

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    • “Ultimately, until the music industry becomes consumer driven and not profit-driven”

      I’m not sure how an industry could ever not be “profit driven” but I think consumer input is definitely on the rise now that people can pick and choose what songs they want to buy. To me that means large companies will tend to put money on sure things and take fewer chances. Consumers will have to put increased effort into find music that is outside the”pop” box.

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      • I don’t think the business is consumer driven at all. If it was, hipsters wouldnt exist. Labels put together jams that require the least effort and thats all that gets the exposure, the radio spins, the club airplay, and what not. The only reason its what we like, in my opinion, is its because it’s all we’re given. And ultimately, its the label that dictating our tastes, not the other way around. I mean, play me any song often enough, and I’ll learn to at least tolerate it, even if I think it’s trash.

        And I don’t think profit driven and consumer driven have to be mutually exclusive. But right now its 95% profit to 5% consumer (read: there are a few A&R reps that follow the music blogosphere, but even THAT is arguably profit driven – yes i took shots at peeps like 2dobeboyz) as opposed to taking the chance, that maybe, just MAYBE, taking risks might reap them greater, albeit more long-term, rewards. Its a big picture thing – execs want their paychecks now instead of attempting to make a serious investment into music.

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    • Everybody likes depressed Mary J. “My Life” was a phenomenal (if a bit melancholy) album.

      As for OFWKTA, their appeal, I would guess, is the “rebel appeal” – they’re kind of like a group of young black awkward Eminem’s. Lyrically inclined at times, completely and intentionally offensive at other times. They are hard to put in any one box, and maybe that’s what some folks like.

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      • I must be one of the few people who like Happy Mary J. Granted, it took a couple of albums for her to re-tool, but she’s back to cranking out heat now. I will agree that old Mary K and new Mary J effectively have to be looked at as separate artists though.

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  60. I hold out hope that old soul will come back (i mean since we seem to copy everything else). I grew up on on the old school/90s R&B. Neo soul holds me over is like ritz crackers but you’re still hungry.

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  63. Does Soul II Soul qualify as R&B?
    What about Teena Marie?
    Zhane’?
    Desiree? (You Gotta Be)
    NKOTB singing the old song “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time?” and “Please Don’t Go Girl” ?
    Soho (No Hippy Chick) ?
    I remember when Tracey Chapman’s music was called folk music by White people, but to me she’s R&B.

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  68. Hmmmm…this reminds me of the Bar-Keys Unsung and one of the dude’s was saying he hated when hip hop came onto the scene because it got rid of musical instruments and the need to learn how to play music. And he was like one day a white musician is gonna come up to a Black person and say, “let me teach you how to play the blues.”

    Reply ↓

    • Good point. Though maybe if a few ninjas would have showed up in various hoods in NYC with instruments and free lessons, street cats wouldn’t have had to make do.

      I’m jussayin’.

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    • ” he was like one day a white musician is gonna come up to a Black person and say, ‘let me teach you how to play the blues.’ ”

      Shame

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    • thats probably b/c Tyrese cant spell promotion.

      but he’s also signed to an indy. that’s what happens. he’s been hitting the ground running though. ill give Tyrese credit for that. he know show to turn out a good song. i can see why folks like “stay” so much.

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  71. ~ Laziness, greed, those are just a few that come to mind as to what happened to the real R&B. Easier to make a quick buck being an entertainer then it is be a true artist, rap included, I mean really how many times can you listen to basically the same things being said over and over just to a different beat..? Seems the new crossover country is starting to sound more and more like R&B used too.

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  72. I am so glad you posted this because I have been saying it for awhile. Even though I’m only 20 I know real soul music when I hear it and the shit my generation is coming up with is a joke. Hell it seems like you dont even have to have talent anymore. The only fistpump song I can listen to is I Get A Good Feeling by Flo Rida I listen to this song when I’m in the gym while I’m running on the treadmill. I can count how many artists still actually sing but want to keep up with the trends. But you know what made people like Marvin Gaye great was he didn’t care about going mainstream. He sang with passion and talent whether it was lovely duets with Tammi Terrell or solo jams. He stayed true to himself. I feel people don’t have the attention span to appreciate real vocals.

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  73. I’m sitting here reading this as I listen to R. Kelly’s “R.” from 1998. When I want to listen to R&B, I have to dig through the digital crates because it is tough to find anything current that speaks to my soul. The thing that comforts me is my belief that fistbump music is a fad right now and it will run it’s course after a while and then Mary can get back to making gut-wrenching R&B, Usher can get back to making music black folks can dance to and sweet slow jams, and Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson can make albums full of negro spirituals and power ballads. Until then, I thank God for my music collection and dig through my crates to satisfy my soul.

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  74. Here’s something for you’ll at VSB

    “Happy Black Mystery Month”

    Teach our People more about us!

    My Black History
    is nothing but
    a mystery to thee
    A school system
    who failed to try
    to even mention people
    who looked like me
    unless they were in chains
    now I know who to blame
    but at the same time
    it’s a just shame
    that my only claim
    to my history is
    stuff I learned on my own
    Even worse I had to wait
    til College to roam
    for a class that taught
    more than slavery
    more than Dr. King
    that taught me so much more than
    “I Have a Dream”
    Now I may sling arrows
    and throw rocks
    at Dr. King
    no disrespect
    but they use him as a flagship
    and don’t explain any other thing, person, or place
    what’s left to face with
    faith in my race
    when one man is
    our only thing to hold on?
    Rosa Parks wasn’t known
    til she became an Outkast song
    Huey Newton
    was confused for Sir Issac
    til I got my Black Panther on
    I don’t even know the lyrics to
    “Lift Ever Voice and Sing”
    or the rest of the anthem
    that African Americans used to sing
    I hate that Malcom X
    is seen as the radical
    just becuz he went
    at everything
    with an attitude
    Mr. Shakur brought the war
    and put it on front street
    “Instead of a war on poverty they got a war on drugs
    so the police can bother me”
    Tookie Williams was a gangsta
    who everyone knows he did wrong
    but they don’t know he made peace
    with the demons he brought on
    I can’t keep calm
    Everybody knows Mike Jack
    was done wrong
    yet everybody and they momma
    knows every lyric to all his song
    Ray Charles was blind
    but even that dude could see
    what the hell happened to beng taught about
    Black History
    I don’t believe in the Negro College Fund
    becuz all my college career
    it’s been ghost
    They only help those in
    The South and The East
    and never on the West Coast
    but I’m gon go for broke
    and say it loud
    I’m Black and I’m Proud
    I’ll still forever smile
    becuz everybody in this world
    still wants our
    style
    swagger
    and way we dress
    We ain’t scared to say
    We The Best
    and you heard it here first
    We are The Coolest People
    walking the Earth

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  75. No Keri Hilson mentions? I kid, I kid. I don’t know how she became so hated though.

    I have no idea why yall are acting like ninjas haven’t been using synths for a minute though. The Neptunes and Timbaland guys come one. Granted they’re actually good.

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    • Keri had a few good songs pre-Timbaland that were more R&B than anything she put out officially. Her album offering was really sad.

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    • Keri Hilson is talented, but her persona is so off-putting that you just want to take her down a notch. She needs to follow The Dream back to the songwriting-only bin.

      But you’re right about the synths. And the Neptunes are some underrated performers as well. They might not be the most polished stage act, but they have great feel for the craft of arranging a song and performing it.

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    • at least the Neptunes are actual musicians and artists first. Hell, how many peopel realize they wrote and produced SWV’s “Use Your Heart”. no Neptune’s sound back then. and hell, you can listen to NERD stuff and see actual musicality. them dudes are musicians.

      timbaland was using synths and what not…but he’s also a producer, and at least his sound was totally innovative. TOTALLY. and i suppose we can think DeVante Swing for that.

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  76. Today’s music is a facsimile of a facsimile. It’s so far removed from the Rhythm (musical instruments) and the Blues (heart and soul) it’s a just a faint echo of what most of think of when we think R&B. (If you’ve never heard vinyl before, I don’t think you’ve ever heard real music before. Call me a fuddyduddy if you want to, I’ll go get my cane and wag it at you.)

    The advent of digital music also means the market can afford to be flooded with any and everything because no one actually has to press a record anymore. Do you know how good you had to be to get a record made back in the day?! Nobody was taking a chance unless they know you were a sure thing. Now? Anyone can upload a song to iTunes/Soundcloud/Bandcamp with much less effort and if it doesn’t take off, what did they really lose? Nada. Especially when you don’t even have to be good anymore. (I could start naming names but we’d be here all day.)

    The worse part is, kids nowadays don’t even realize they’re listening to crap. It’s all they know for the most part unless someone’s teaching them otherwise. So it will continue to be more of the same. Luckily, we can now bypass the radio altogether and just listen to what we like. Everybody wins. ‘Cept people who think Nicki Minaj/Wayne are lyricists. They lose. Every time.

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    • yeah, i might write a post tomorrow about a recent experience i had involving this phenomenon of the newer artists and their view of what is dope. the convo i had more or less blew my mind. then i had to realize…times they are a changin’.

      Reply ↓

    • Gee, I didn’t know I was losing so often with Nicki and Li’l Wayne. But thank you.

      Seriously though, put down your damn cane and actually LISTEN to the music. Yeah, artists were much more polished when they put their first record out back in the day. But because someone is polished doesn’t necessarily mean good. I don’t get why cats knock artists today for being polished and studio creations when the same crap has been going on since the advent of recorded music. Just because it was bumping when you were in high school doesn’t make it good.

      Also, I think it’s easier for an artist to blow up now if they can find an audience. Say what you will about Souljah Boy or Justin Bieber, but they got put on the strength of what the public likes. Now, I won’t cop either of their albums, but now it’s so much easier for someone to get on without having to pay off some A&R dude to listen to your stuff. Yes, I know the A&R guy made the acts practice and get their act together, but that doesn’t mean they were good. Heck, I’ve listened to vinyl that made me wonder how many d*cks they sucked to put that on wax!

      Remember, children. Old does not equal good. Once again, old does not equal good. Thank you.

      Reply ↓

      • public backing doesn’t equal good either
        majority rules got us these gems
        Slavery
        Prohibition
        Reagan and the Bushes
        anyone feel free to list any bullsh!t album that went platinum. there are lots

        I’m one of those that believes at least 75% of people are feeble brained and don’t know what they are doing at any given time.

        Reply ↓

      • Neither Nicki nor Wayne commands enough knowledge of the English language to be considered a lyricist. Repeating a word at the end of three different sentences is not rhyming.

        I’m not talking about “polish” I’m talking about raw talent. Yes people manufactured groups back in the day but I’d argue they had better raw materials in most cases.

        Not once did I assert that I only listened to the finest quality audio in my youth but I do know what it sounds like, ’cause I was raised right. I can’t say the same for the youth of today. I also can’t help if your DNA donors had crappy taste in music. Mine did not.

        Reply ↓

      • I’m with RandomNimrod on that one. just b/c the public found instant gratification in Soulja Boy doesnt make him talented. it means he managed to be something different at the time when folks were looking for something different. if his talent really persisted, people would still give a damn about his existence. and nobody does.

        thing is, you’re right. just as there is disposable music today, there has always been crap. any walk through the vinyl stacks at a record store will prove that. but there was a difference. them cats were really trying to make it as musicians. these ninjas today are chasing trends they think will flip the career. everybody’s “not a rapper, but a hustler who raps” etc.

        even singing ass dudes saint singers, they’re thugs that sing, etc. you cant tell me some of that doesnt make it watered down and worse. now i happen to like almost all of it anyway, but i know where to find quality and you cant tell me that it lies in Wacka Flocka who has three hit singles b/c the people said so. (i like those singles though)

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  77. I’ve been telling people for quite sometime…they are selling R&B in the form of techno and everyone has caught the bug. I listen to a lot of stuff from Europe and today’s R&B is littered with Dubstep and techno to the point where it’s not really R&B anymore. We saw this happen with Jazz and Rock n Roll, so what can we really expect.

    Reply ↓

    • My “Daft Punk” Pandora station gets constant play at home. Passion Pit, Dubstep, Deadmau5, Benny Benassi, etc.

      In terms of new music, electronic comes closest to satisfying me as much as classic funk (Parlaiment). I like complex music with lots of contrasting layers & texture… n sh*t.

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  78. I hate to do a shameless plug, but it’s relevant to this topic.

    For some authentic R&B recorded entirely on analog for that warm, old school sound, with live musicians, check out http://www.katwebbmusic.com/. My debut album, “An Old Soul” is jazz standards and soul classics re-imagined for the modern listener.

    I’m even offering TWO FREE MP3s from the album, if you want to try before you buy. Seriously, the musicians on the album have worked with the likes of Kanye West, John Legend, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Blitz Ambassador, Talib Kweli and more. It’s definitely worth a listen, and you can find all my links there.

    Analog is totally coming back, and I disagree that R&B has completely become disposable. You just have to know where to find it. ;)

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  79. LAWD LAWD why don’t they make no more good spirituals..

    Oh LAWD why can’t they play none of that good blues music?

    WHERE oh WHERE is the good doowop??

    DAMN, where can a girl hear some soul?

    Whats up,lawd, can we get some funk?

    Damn,no R&B, whats goin on?

    Seasons change.

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  81. “then the entire genre is going to lose itself like Eminem in a movie with Mekhi Phifer wearing a mop.” Lmfao!! Seriously where do you guys come up with this stuff??!!! Seriously died of laughter (Nigerian accent) reading this! I just found out about this site and its def one of the best things i found this year!! The articles are so witty and ridiiculous! I am gonna mess around and spend more time on this site than studying for my medical board exams; at least i know who to blame!!! But in all seriousness R&B is on its way to extinction at this rate.

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  82. What really pisses me off about this whole thing is how black people are being pimped out of our sounds (like we always are). What do Adele, Mayer Hawthorne, Mark Ronson, and Amy Winehouse all have in common? They all reference 50/60′s era R&B and somehow rerelease it with white faces like it’s “new”. Of course the reason for its popularity is it sounds good (I’m not a fan of Adele, but I may have to make a spot for Hawthorne, the other two are on my ipod), but where are the black artists with that sound? They exist: remember Laura Ibizor? She even had a video where she was in the damn 60′s? Why don’t they get as much play as their white counterparts? The ish is real sinister as I’m sitting here watching that sound get appropriated while cats with “that new new” get put on for horrible disposable ish. Let me put it to you this way: Late 90′s and Naughty babies won’t associate Motown soul with black people. How ridiculous is that? I’m not saying black R&B singers are bad, there’s a good crop with interesting sounds, but why can’t my black Motown people get on? Where they at?

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  83. The R&B albums released last year that I really liked are:
    Back to Love-Anthony Hamilton
    Back for More-Ayah
    The Movie-Betty Wright
    4-Beyonce
    Break of Dawn-Goapele
    Sailing Souls-Jhene Aiko
    Kelly-Kelly Price
    Late Nights and Early Mornings-Marsha Ambrosious
    Love After War-Robin Thicke
    Luxurious Undergrind-Teedra Moses

    *These are all real R&B, no euro dance pop*

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  85. Do we need to bring back the group dynamic in order to have an R and B renaissance? There aren’t any Trios or groups of 4 anymore and those were my favorites in R and B: TLC, Jodeci, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, SWV, Shai….shoot, even Mokenstef and some of the less heavy hitting groups had jams that I still find myself fiending for every now and again.

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  87. Have to agree with this. Everyone was worried so much about hip-hop dying, R&B committed Hari Kari in someone’s discotech to Flo Rida in the background. Bring back actual VOCALS. Not Dream’s vox or Lloyd’s falsetto. Not Chris’s Bobby Brown impersonation or Trey’s orgasmic lamb. I want grown folks vocals that require actual breathing and range. And you right about Confessions. As soon as Usher made it with that fuck of a dance track with will.i.coon (yes he will), he told R&B bye like Chilli and settled in the cash valley that is fucking Justin Bieber.

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  88. Maxwell came out with a hell of an album in 2009 called BlackSummer’sNight. Remember that? I still listen to that joint till this day

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  90. Pingback: 10 MORE Underrated R&B/Soul Artists You Should Know « From Ashy to Classy

  91. Pingback: 10 MORE Underrated R&B/Soul Artists You Should Know « Curly Deviants

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