Dalvin

I may be in the minority here, but when I was in high school, all the guys would court the ladies with Boyz II Men, Shai, Portrait, IV Xample, Jodeci, groups that were extremly talented, but also sang extremly well. I loved all of that heavy ballad music, with the 4 part harmonies. It was just so nice to hear real music, with real artist who could REALLY sing. Now it seems like music is just all about Fing girls, and the R@B music nowadays I can't even tell apart from Rap music. Other than a few songs here and there(Ne Yo's "So Sick" comes to mind). I can't even stand the genre that I use to love with such a passion. Maybe I am just getting older....but I just miss that stuff so badly.

Will the record companies ever go back to the sweet syrupy lyrics and melodies R@B use to have?


I want to see more R@B like this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oClzwzOGlGM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EeKlxiQY-HA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=I_4AvUnC_qU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EwQb2SnvVFg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8giTjtNX3qk



Anyone else feel me on this. What aren't we getting stuff like this anymore? R@B back when it use to be fun, and not dripping with bling bling, and heavy egos. Just guys singing great songs to the ladies. Bring it back!!!!

mickey65

Actually MY idea of GOOD R&B music is the stuff from the 70's & 80s. I never thought that Boys to Men type of stuff in the 90's was any good. And I can't stand (c)rap music either!

antennaball

Yep, loved me some old Rhythm At Blues.

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

bring it back to the 60's for me. although I do like John Legend

Dalvin

I like the 70's and 80's music too, but I grew up with all of those groups in high school, and I remember slow dancing and at the end of my Prom to "On Bended Knee", and how everyone was enjoying themselves. Fast forward 12 years later. I was at a freshman dance where I teach at, and all these guys and girls thought Akon and Chris Brown were the best R@B singers around. WOW...its amazing what can happen in so little time.

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

isn't Akon the guy that was dry humping a 14 year old on stage?

antennaball

I just don't really see the problem. In the 90's, people could say the exact same thing about groups that you liked when comparing them to, say The Commodores and The Chi-Lites. Every generation has a new set of artists and styles, especially in a genre that's rather...generic...like "syrupy love songs".

Dalvin

I don't know....its just sad if that is indeed true. I do know that guy has been to jail a number of times though(speaking of Akon). Its sad when guys at the high school think "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, or Pretty Ricky is considered a nice romantic song(the only reasons I even know these groups is because my students harp on them all day in class).

Dalvin

The problem is that people now in the industry have little to no talent. The people in the 60's(Motown) and 70's(Commadores) and even 80's with artists like Brenda Russell and Terence Trent D'Arby were artists who actually had songs with a medlody. Most of the crappy R@B music today has no melody. Its just a repetative beat with sub-par vocals.

Brain Stew

Dalvin,

Seriously, it's R&B. Rhythm and Blues. It's R ampersand B, not R at sign B.

Dalvin

Sorry.....R&B

The Cow

Yeah, but those don't have "medlody".

Michael Corvin

I'd say the best of what's out there now is Alicia Keys and even her albums are over produced. I'd just like to have an album of just her and the piano. Her Unplugged album is top notch though and probably as close as we will get to that.

Dalvin

Micheal- Your sentiments mirror those of mine. I love Alicia Keys...but totally agrred her albums are way overproduced. I totally agree that if she did less, she could get more out of the albums.

whaaat

Van Hunt
Lewis Taylor
Dwele

Dalvin

Van Hunt is amazing...haven't heard of the other two

cranberries fan

What about Joe were is he at these days?
And I think with luther vandross gone R&B soul went with him.

vili

There probably is quite a number of artists putting out "syrupy love songs" in the R&B genre, it's just that you don't get to hear about them since the general public's interest has shifted towards more beat-based music. I would suggest trying some R&B radio stations and/or music shops.

As for contemporary R&B in general, I think Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo and India.Arie all have kept to the melodic roots of R&B, while incorporating the current more beat-driven sounds quite well in their music. Then there is Nikka Costa, who is more in the funk/blues category, but I think should also be mentioned.

The Beninese singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo is also someone to check out -- throughout the years she has been flirting with R&B, while keeping her sound distinctly West African. I am really looking forward to her new album, in which she collaborates with people like Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Peter Gabriel, Amadou and Mariam, Ziggy Marley, and Branford Marsalis. Tony Visconti, who has produced David Bowie among others, is the producer. Will definitely be interesting.

If you are into the more "syrupy" music, then check out Maxwell, if you haven't already. Sheer brilliance.

My favourite R&B album from the recent years, however, has got to be Remy Shand's The Way I Feel, which is highly melodic (although not really all that "syrupy"). It is definitely worth getting hold of, especially if you are into music like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

Finally, Terence Trent D'Arby, who is nowadays known as Sananda Maitreya, has also kept to his melodic roots in his latest works, although he has also started to incorporate more blues and acoustic rock into his music.

nothingfails

I think a major problem is that r&b and hip hop suddenly started mixing too much, and nobody cares because both are viewed as Urban genres, instead of letting them be separate. There's a huge difference, when rock artists start getting too "poppy", the fans will actually attack the direction they're going and 9 out of 10 times, they'll snap out of it. But yet in recent years, there's been this unholy marriage between rap and r&b which IMO, has hurt both genres.

I think this is a reason why neo-soul is so celebrated by a lot of critics, because it's r&b music that is stripped to the core, without the aid of guest rappers or producers, the artists actually are trying to bring r&b back in it's purest form, but of course, while critics and many fans embrace these artists, you're never going to hear them on the radio.

nothingfails

I love me some Gwen but she is so totally out of place in this catagory. Gwen, IMO, is 100% pop who just happens to work with urban producers. Plus, even tho she has some Pharrell productions on the album, there are still songs off the latest album that are truly pop. Even "The Sweet Escape" IMO is a pop song, even if it's produced by Akon. I think she's more of a throwback to 1980's Madonna than contemporary r&b, because I have a lot of "pop" friends who hate r&b but love Gwen, minus a few of the tracks like Wind It Up, Breakin' Up, Luxurious, etc.

Dalvin

Couldn't agree more with the above statement

whaaat

If you dig VH, LT will blow your mind. Start with Lewis II or Stoned.

The Bus

I have to say R&B is probably one of my least favorite genres, and not because I don't like it, it's just that the style that is very popular right now is almost inconcievably bland. There are exceptions of course, but they are exceptions, not the rule. Plus, we need to stop mentioning D'Angelo. Voodoo came out over seven years ago. Jay-Z has put out five albums since then, not counting stuff like Collission Course.

If you expand yourself to include stuff like neo-soul, then you've got stuff of what I like to call the "Starbucks" genre, which can go from the insipid (Corinne Bailey Rae) to the talented (Madeleine Peyroux).

All the "Hip-Hop to Bebop" bands you're mentioning came out during a very short time period in the mid-90s. Asking for that type of R&B to come back is like asking for hair metal to come back, or Fatboy Slim, or ska. It's not, at least not to that level.

My real problem is that I don't like "synth R&B"... electronic production works best in the context of someone like Emiliana Torrini. I want real instruments. I personally blame Babyface.

By the way, can anyone recommend a great summer/party R&B song, akin to R. Kelly's "Iginition (Remix)"?

atlantamoi

Corinne is one of the few R&B singers of late whom I actually like. I can't stand vocal gymnastics where one syllable goes through four octaves. That's why I always go back to the early 70's and 60's for prime soul music.

big whoppa

I think Hip Hop happened to R&B. Old school R&B has a problem getting airplay on the radio.