The latest revival of RnB - Sensitive seduction and crotch thrusts
Junior
4,853 Posts
Maybe it's just where my attention has shifted the last few months but, as the established stars seem to travel ever further into the world of euro pop shite, there seems to me to be a recent revival in top drawer commercial RnB from other male vocalists. The revival isn't limited to one specific area and seems to encompass everything from hip (Frank Ocean) to the stellar production with generic vocals (Jeremih) to the more intimate sound/throwback (Miguel). And I am loving it.
Looking for any additional artists people may be checking out in this field and wanted to separate this from the Frank Ocean thread as that seemed to have got swamped in some tasty reflections on the ability to appreciate music made by men about men.
Some examples for those who may not yet know but do so want to:
So, what else is out there that should be more widely know (and isn't The-Weeknd)? Also, any recommendations on female artists that are also worth checking out so we can get a few more ladies up in this mix?
Also, please feel free to let me know how off the mark I am.
Looking for any additional artists people may be checking out in this field and wanted to separate this from the Frank Ocean thread as that seemed to have got swamped in some tasty reflections on the ability to appreciate music made by men about men.
Some examples for those who may not yet know but do so want to:
So, what else is out there that should be more widely know (and isn't The-Weeknd)? Also, any recommendations on female artists that are also worth checking out so we can get a few more ladies up in this mix?
Also, please feel free to let me know how off the mark I am.
Comments
As for female artists, I've heard a couple of good Ester Dean solo joints lately but the titles escape me. There's something of a buzz right now on Dawn Richard, who was in Danity Kane and Diddy Dirty Money, but I haven't really investigated her either.
Just checked out some Dawn Richard and most of it is a little too straight down the line for me (for whatever reason I can accept more generic stuff from dudes but prefer the female vocal laced stuff to have a bit more quirk attached) though there's one track called Black Lipstick which seems ok. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Janelle Monae?
I guess my issue is that I don't even know where to check for this kind of stuff - unless one of the rap sites I visit highlights it, it gets some promotion on datpiff or it features artists I know it'll totally pass me by.
I don't really understand why Common's involvement with Cocaine 80s has been emphasised the way it has. Of the shit I've heard, which isn't everything that's out there, he guests on a couple of cuts and that's it. He's certainly not a key component as far as I can establish.
I think there's going to be a new Janelle Monae album next year, possibly two.
Do you know any Black peoples
I know it never left, but it fell off in whitey's eyes( I guess). Plaese to inform the disconnected, Mr. Lucious Fox.
I ride for Kem, but he hasn't done anything in awhile.
Emeli Sande may not make the cut.
I was specifically hoping for your assistance with this topic batmon.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received.
But a "Revival" is the wrong word IMO.
Im still listening to R.Kelly's latest.
How about "shift"?
I might be way off because my r&b love and knowledge is very limited.
It feels like the emphasis on the singer belting out about sex, love and pain has expanded to the whole production and sketches of a lifestyle, arguably on the darker side.
I guess The Dream kick-started it, but the atmospheric, electronic crossover (which is probably part of the larger trend) is a fresh sound imo.
When we were talking about The Weeknd, someone posted it was r&b for people who didn't like r&b, I thought that was spot on.
I feel there's a move to r&b casting a wider net, and I am not talking about that earnest neo-soul business either.
Perhaps not only sensitive seduction and crotch thrusts, but crotch seduction and sensitive thrusts, too.
...with a bunch of drugs thrown in.
Wow - Miguel's "Do You" is SO GOOD.
(EDIT)
Before The-Dream, R&B was one dimensional? Electronica R&B is new?
There have been plenty of social commentary, personal commentary, lifestyle commentary songs in the last 5 years.
These issues never leave the genre. Some go deeper than others.
When it's a little more skewed, it's a different matter - that Solange tune from her last album which sampled Boards Of Canada may have been a case where the idea was better than the execution, but it was still an interesting idea. Right now, it's rappers and rap producers who seem to have run further with that idea than r&b performers, but eventually all that shit bleeds into r&b anyway, so maybe it's just a matter of sitting tight and seeing what happens.
As for the more traditional kind of performers - Kells, Mary, Anthony H, Raphael S, etc. - I'm still checking for them, although some of 'em seem content with having settled into their lane and aren't making any plans to leave it anytime soon, by the looks. That's fair enough, so long as they're not committing the cardinal sin of being boring. I mean, I love Monica's voice, for example, but that last record of hers was about as exciting as watching dust settle.
Huh? I never said one-dimensional.
I never said electronica r&b is new.
I never said no one talked about any of these things.
When something expands to include additional elements, it's not the elements are new, just that they are more on the inside than out.
5 - 7 years is about the timeframe I'm talking about.
In its most familiar modern form, the covers album is almost always the last refuge of the artistically barren. If I have to choose between that kind of desperate, lazy conservatism and, say, the Knowles sister with the legs doing Hype Machine-compliant covers of the Dirty Projectors over old Dre beats, I can tell you right now which card I'm going to pick.
School me - what sounds like Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Jeremih and a track like Miguel's "Do You" from 2000?
Why this is turning into some personal challenge conversation, I am not sure. I said right up there that I am not a huge r&b fan. What I refer to is what is out there for the masses. And what is out there for the masses sounds different than it did 10 years ago, just like every other genre. And you damn well know I know black people.
I just dont agree with the idea that its a revival or a shift, when ive see this happen with R&B every now and then.
From T.O.N.T.O to Prince to Full Force to Teddy Riley to Timbaland to The Neptunes to latter Erykah Badu to The-Dream.
Is it a whole GENRE change or a subset of cats doin their thang?
And "outside" of R&B there was a gang of singing over Electronica a little over 10 years ago.
Its more of a Snowball than some revival/shift ...to me. Expansion - ill take that.
Most of the stuff I've found note worthy has already been posted, but here's a few others.
Zodiac, the guy who did the original production for TheWeeknd & some of The Jealous Guys stuff, has a new ep out. It's mostly instrumental work though, appart from this track ft. Jesse Boykins III.
bit more Jesse
Jhen?? Aiko is occasionally interesting, especially her work with Miguel's producer Fisticuffs
this isn't re-inventing the wheel or a paradigm shifting contribution to the genre, but it is a decidedly good look. hopefully this gets some play on the merits of it's goodness, and dude gets his.
Pretty soulless. The coolest thing about the vocals in that Miguel "Do You" is the effects they put on them.
BAT, Ignoring any non-US product, would I be correct in thinking there are still distinct demographics vis-a-vis Youngins & Grown-N-Sexy in the current R&B landscape? Like, Ne-Yo for the kids, Jill for the G&S?
BITD of trenchcoat, this did not seem to exist. R&B was R&B.
Generally speaking, this is the single most tedious point that's raised whenever modern r&b is discussed. You don't have to wait very long before someone chimes in with something to the effect of; "Oh, I thought r&b meant 'rhythm & blues'. Someone had better tell the Rolling Stones they're not r&b." Yeah, let's tell that bunch of ageing white economics graduates and former choirboys from an English suburb that they're not the authentic voice of African-American roots music. I'm sure it'll come as quite a shock to them.
R&B was a marketing term conceived to function as shorthand for the black pop music of the time, as well as whatever that's happened to be at any given time since. If there's not enough "blues" in it for you, there's still plenty of Big Joe Turner records out there.
Good question. Ill blah blah...
There was a Black owned restaurant in my building for about three years. It closed earlier this year.
I hung out there all the fuckin time. I also got to rock my laptop many times.
The Bronx crowd was usually older folks but on the weekends the younger set would take over. The younger was usually the working late 20s/30s somethings. No 21 year olds really.
Most of the guest DJ would rock the classics and everyone was cool. They had one night for a wanna-be post-collegiate/Harlem Heights and those kids held me hostage and me me play Woka Flocka and shit. Along w/ familiar Trey Songz, Keshia Coles,The -Dream, Jill Scott, etc.
I think certain artist get love from both sets and some just dont get beyond their set.
The latest El DeBarge isnt being seen by the kids. They know his old shit but would be like wtf to the latest.
And Frank Ocean wouldnt be on the radar w/ the old set or the hood set.
Both sets can identify bangers but wouldnt invest in entire albums. The older Black women would surprise me with some younger artist requests. But it would be young Retro dudes like Raheem DeVaughn, Anthony Hamilton, and Eric Benet. Smooth shit.
But yeah BITD my mom could escort my sister and her friends to a New Edition concert and enjoy the show.
I wonder if 40 somethin mommas are lining up to see The-Dream or Billy The Frankfruter Ocean.
J.COLE has taken over this role
U think J.Cole has R.Kelly's crowd?
Btw, thank you bassie for redefining this as a shift - it's more what I was originally getting at. In my own limited experience of social outings and the internet, the influence of Prince seems to be the guiding light for this wave of artists in a more pronounced way than previoulsy (Dream excepted). Most importantly I just wanted to share my excitement about this group of artists.
Btw 2: I'm saving this:
Ha! I thought I might be in a minority of one regarding hearing Mr Taylor in the mix (think the vibes were particularly strong on the title track and fun in forever though there may be more). I thought about mentioning nu-soul in my original misguided post and then decided I was being provocative enough already.
I think it's been mentioned before on here but if ever Lewis Taylor wanted to make a comeback, now would be the perfect time. Though any time would be good with me.
I'd probably rate the album as one of my best unexpected musical pleasures so far this year - seems like there's a bit of something for every mood. Miguel's three art dealer chic EPs are worth downloading as well. More chaotic and less focused but some great stuff in there if you're fiending or more.