So Who Killed R&B?

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by LA KB24

idk who exactly to blame but trey songz i feel like all he does is talk about sex which he does. you rarely hear a song from him without saying the word sex..now all we hear is the word Sex or ppl using F*** you

but imo the best r&b artists are

avant
jagged edge
ginuwine
r kelly
dru hill

I rarely listen to R&B cause to me (at least recently) a lot of it is indistinguishable from one song/artist to the next, but Avant is that dude.
I don't mind Jahim either cause he sounds like Teddy Pendergrass.

 

[stillin729]

Originally Posted by Grey

Originally Posted by StillIn729

Originally Posted by DT43

Usher isn't R&B.. he made the shift to pop, like basically every other R&B artist these days

wrong
Hey Daddy

There Goes My Baby

Climax

three R&B singles right there

so you would line those "r&b" tracks up with the likes of "A Long Walk" or "Bad Habits?" really? 

oh I missed where I said that
Since when did Usher EVER do R&B like Maxwell?  I swear NTers just make the most invalid arguments 

please explain what the hell you even mean because I am pretty sure you can't 

 

[imstillmike]

trap in the closet series alone tells you r.kelly is a great without a doubt

 

[grey]

Originally Posted by StillIn729

Originally Posted by Grey

Originally Posted by StillIn729

wrong
Hey Daddy

There Goes My Baby

Climax

three R&B singles right there

so you would line those "r&b" tracks up with the likes of "A Long Walk" or "Bad Habits?" really? 

oh I missed where I said that
Since when did Usher EVER do R&B like Maxwell?  I swear NTers just make the most invalid arguments 

please explain what the hell you even mean because I am pretty sure you can't 

no, sir, my reasoning is sound. it isn't a matter of "doing r&b like maxwell," it's that you're calling usher's music r&b when it isn't because that's not even his genre, he's always been pop.

 

[stillin729]

Originally Posted by Grey

Originally Posted by StillIn729

Originally Posted by Grey


so you would line those "r&b" tracks up with the likes of "A Long Walk" or "Bad Habits?" really? 

oh I missed where I said that
Since when did Usher EVER do R&B like Maxwell?  I swear NTers just make the most invalid arguments 

please explain what the hell you even mean because I am pretty sure you can't 

no, sir, my reasoning is sound. it isn't a matter of "doing r&b like maxwell," it's that you're calling usher's music r&b when it isn't because that's not even his genre, he's always been pop.

Usher has always been pop 

go away you are clueless

 

[ruxxx]

Originally Posted by RavageBX

RNB singers trying to be rappers. Rappers moonlighting as RNB singers. Autotune. Death of the RNB group. Decline of strong voices. Decline in rnb sales causing rnb stars to go pop. Contemporary rnb sound isn't appealing to the masses like it once was. Few other reasons as well. It's a combination of things. RnB artists are lost right now.

^All of this.

@ "Jersey Shore fist pump ##@!".

 

[thejrob]

I'm still bumpin Miguel's album from 2010. R&B ain't dead

 

[AZwildcats]

Its not one person that killed traditional R&B, but the same thing that killed traditional rap. This movement towards electronic-infused pop music has dominated the traditional lyrical music a lot of us grew up listening to. R&B is probably the biggest casualty to the movement. Its nearly impossible to make traditional R&B and remain relevant while Trey Songz, Drake, Rihanna and others dominate the airwaves with their style of music.

On a side note, I'm pretty disappointed in whats happening with Lupe. The pop music seems to be getting to him too

 

[durtysoufpimp864]

what i dont understand is why you all cant just except that things change, sports, movies, cars, tv, etc nothing stays the same it either goes away to come back later or is forgotten forever. Same people that cry about rap music that mess urks me. BTW i dont listen to RNB 

 

[yaboydiddy]

Originally Posted by 51and3rd

Mario is the best young artist out there and he gets no love.

 

[ill steelo]

Originally Posted by LA KB24

idk who exactly to blame but trey songz i feel like all he does is talk about sex which he does. you rarely hear a song from him without saying the word sex..now all we hear is the word Sex or ppl using F*** you

He did that because his first album's sales didn't meet his expectations so he switched up his subject matter, which kinda goes back to solarius49's post at the top of this page.

Trey, like the industry, has simply adapted to what people support.

 

[dmv is rnb]

Originally Posted by RavageBX

RNB singers trying to be rappers. Rappers moonlighting as RNB singers. Autotune. Death of the RNB group. Decline of strong voices. Decline in rnb sales causing rnb stars to go pop. Contemporary rnb sound isn't appealing to the masses like it once was. Few other reasons as well. It's a combination of things. RnB artists are lost right now.

Facts.
*shameless plug*

But seriously, it's cats out there that are still doing it on the low, like myself...but no one pays attention until the rest of the world cosigns you.  That's just how it works...

 

[yaboydiddy]

I think it's a cycle...everything will eventually come back to actual talent.

Somebody just gotta buck the trend and put out whatever is true to them, and  not what u think is gonna sell.

U fall into sounding just like everybody else when u just trying to sell.

U gotta stand for your artistry

 

[yaboydiddy]

I like Miguel...true artist...he does him. Nobody is like him sound wise.

Luke James...truuuuuth! He might be the savior

He might bring vocals back as far as young singers (and well beyond - voice is that good). Looking forward to whatever he does musically.

I got faith in Mario til the wheels fall off. Voices like that gotta lead to success eventually.

He just gotta put out his best work and deliver it on time...they be doing him dirty 

And just to even it out and throw a female out there: Melanie Fiona I dig her

 

[ecruteakcityboy]

Miguel to me is so damn corny. His analogies in Sure thing ..

. R&B has been dead for a while for me. I think "singers" are pushing the boundries too far by being way too blunt in their lyrics about them just wanting sex. I know we had this in the 90's , i.e. Jodeci, but it seems like it has gotten out of control.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

It's really a combo of a lot of things, record companies & their market research, fans & their changing tastes, the fact that those of us posing these types of questions are getting older & don't like the new cats out there, etc. Also to blame if black radio (really radio in general), especially black owned black radio, like Radio One. These stations continue to pigeon hold people to the same formula based - crassly commercial music over & over. Listeners literally getting beat over the head with the same 20-30 songs every day & then have these "urban" DJs shucking & jiving all day long. For me, R&B died back in the 90s & it all just became pop music. For me, it doesn't matter because I find great music to listen to all the time.

 

[nocomment6]

It just doesn't get as much mainstream attention with R.Kelly and Usher dropping less frequently, plus I think the quality of their work has greatly declined. ALongside to that there are still many great artists, as a matter of fact last was pretty good regarding RnB:

- Joe
- Anthony Hamilton
. Jamie Woon
-Raphael Saadiq
- Frank Ocean
etc.

And lets not forget all the attention Weeknd i getting with his whole new approach...

 

[stillin729]

people acting like R&B you want isn't still made; it's all over the place just because you don't hear it on the radio

 

[sneaker champ]

when was it dead?

 

[krazyrodzilla]

No love for Tank?

 

[mytmouse76]

the fans...

they just started accepting anything they were given...

its not dead but this *$!+ shouldn't be so hard to find either...

 

[mytmouse76]

Originally Posted by solarius49

I copied and pasted this from my friend tiffany on facebook

"Hmm I truly think the death of romance is killing the art...
Our entire society is obsessed with sex. Everywhere you look sex is being exploited. EVERYTHING has been sexualized. Sex and sexuality have evolved into just another normal part of everyday life. You're abnormal if its not. It isnt special anymore. Its just how things are now. Obviously the art is going to reflect that. R&B has transitioned from being primarily about love and affection (with a few notable exceptions) to utter debauchery. How did we go from "Love & Happiness" by Al Green and "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder to "Say Ahh" and "Birthday Sex"? By taking on the personality and subject matter of rap music, the romance in much R&B music has been effectively killed. No sexual stone is left unturned, no secrets remain, and the playful stories of courtship are long gone....Sad"

i heart Tiffany

 

[dabottom305]

Melanie Fiona is pretty good. I like this 4am song.

The genre isn't dead. The fans are accepting that other stuff.

 

[lubu1]

u guys dont remember when R&B was black pop? To be # 1 on R&B charts used to be HUGE. Its all good though, like everything, it will turn around.

 

[lubu1]

Originally Posted by DMV is RNB

Originally Posted by RavageBX

RNB singers trying to be rappers. Rappers moonlighting as RNB singers. Autotune. Death of the RNB group. Decline of strong voices. Decline in rnb sales causing rnb stars to go pop. Contemporary rnb sound isn't appealing to the masses like it once was. Few other reasons as well. It's a combination of things. RnB artists are lost right now.

Facts.
*shameless plug*

But seriously, it's cats out there that are still doing it on the low, like myself...but no one pays attention until the rest of the world cosigns you. �That's just how it works...

Nah dude, that track was not pure R&B, first of all you have the sample driven sounding beat, second why is there rapping? I've heard your other stuff, but I wouldn't call you a full blown R&B dude.


I want full blown R&B music man. No hip hop, no rapping, no hip hop refs, give me full blown real R&B. Not no neo soul music, not no sample old school attempt to be retro.


60s R&B dont sound like 50s R&B, 70s R&B dont sound like 60s R&B, 80s R&B dont sound like 70s R&B, 90s R&B dont sound like 80s R&B. Each decade had its own sound. This generation has allowed hip hop to stunt R&B growth. The neo soul era is gone. The music needs to grow. Don't worry, I'm coming with that heat and will change R&B sound like Motown, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland, have done in the past.