Remember when Ashanti was like... IT? Remember when Amerie mattered? How about when Keyshia Cole was like, the next Mary J. Blige? What happened to all of these people? As a matter of fact, what happened to R&B music as a whole?
When my computer crashed, I lost all of my music. Luckily, I stocked an external hard drive with about 40GBs of high quality music last summer and all of my new music is stored in a digital cloud somewhere.
As the marquee that detailed what was being restored quickly scrolled through the files, I realized that none of my new purchases consisted of R&B music. Where did all the R&B princess go? Ashanti's first album was certified gold in the first week and went triple platinum in the US. There was a time when Amerie's hit "1 Thing" was completely inescapable. Keyshia Cole has gained such a huge following that her family was able to garner success with a TV show about how ghetto they where...
I don't know what happened from over the course of time to cause them all to seemingly crumble from the spotlight, but countless R&B singers seem to be completely ignored by pop culture now. Some people blame Beyoncè (*looks at Keri Hilson*). Others blame their rejection of the idea to move with mainstream and start recording more pop-geared music.
Let's look at the facts:
Ciara's album Fantasy Ride lost a tire and crashed at the bottom of Billboard. I didn't even know she released an album after fact. Basic Impact or something.
Amerie went all weirdo, dyed her hair this dry-grass blond color and added an extra letter to her name. Music wise, her last album was certified cardboard box by the RIAA and she's been promoting some other illuminati sounding album, something about Cinemathematics or something crazy. Basically, no one understands or is checking for her.
Ashanti has been working on an album since 2009. Apparently the first single came out back in December, but none of the blogs I read wrote about it. Billboard and iTunes sure as hell didn't see it.
Keyshia Cole had every black woman in the country sharing her hatred for black men... then she was just kinda gone.
Keri Hilson bashed Beyoncè and hasn't been able to show her face in the daylight ever since...
Cassie set the record for the world's longest album pushback.
The list goes on...
...but what's the problem here? Why is it that pop artists can, at the very least, become consistent singles artists and break records, but these ladies of R&B couldn't find their songs on Billboard with a magnifying glass?
I wanna know your thoughts. Do you think Beyoncè is to blame? Rihanna? Can we blame it on the fact that most of R&B's still-popular acts have infused a pop sound into their music? Is the illuminati a real thing that is chart-blocking?
I agree with this and now that you mention it, realized that the interest in R&B has dropped. I don't think it's Beyonce or Rihanna's fault. I just think its the general publics interest in dance music, pop music or rap now a days. /: I do miss Ashanti though.
ReplyDeleteI moreso blame their refusal or inability to evolve. I just check Ashanti's new song ... and ... well... it's shit.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame the artist for an inability to change because different genres don't suit all artist. Mary J Blige doing pop is about as wrong as Cher doing rap. It just isn't realistic or fits. I think R&B disappeared with the rise of the digital age of music along with the rise of reality television etc. In today's day and age, partying and sex are glorified so much that it needs music to fit it and R&B doesn't fit that mold to attrack and younger generation audience.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that R&B can make a comeback because that's where the best singers are.
TO be honest i think it all dates back to late 07 when Blackout was released. Up until then nobody was doing dance music and when Britney went insane and released gimme more and introduced the new wave of dance music that set the stage for the gagas, the keshas, katy perry, and more R&B kinda died. Before blackout Beyonce was doing Bday, Jlo released the 70s disco & R&B influenced brave, and there was diversity in music. Since Blackout came out and ppl saw how commercially successful Britney was just by eating cheetos and making killer music, things changed. NOT to mention thats when all the major artists started getting darker, symbolic, and all the illuminati propaganda/symbolism started becoming the norm (believe it or not, there's some weird symbolism and every video now, *looks at RiRi & Gaga)
ReplyDeleteI don't think you can blame Britney Spears' meltdown for the fall of the R&B empire. Though I do agree that Britney helped herd a the top 40 sound to a more dance-induced tone, that's not the point. The point is, why haven't these R&B artist been able to hold on to their fame. Monica & Mary J seem to be doing fine for artist who have been around for over a decade. Ashanti's song we virtually unheard.
ReplyDeleteyou can blame Flo rider and David guetta
ReplyDeletejumping on the bandwagon and fusing dance elements basically phased out the rnb genre all together
I concur with Martian! I don't think any particular artist is to blame for these artists' lack of success. I think their unwillingness to evolve into a new found sound of R&B, promoted their failure. Music evolves tremendously and I feel you have to be willing to change it up, so that your music will be recognized as "IN".
ReplyDeleteAshanti: Lack of vocal range, demands to write her own music based off her teen years.
ReplyDeleteAmerie: She's always pushed pop into the mainstream but her albums ALWAYS have just one or two nice songs. That's it. I only listened to whatever the CD case proposed the singles would be.
Keyshia Cole: Keyshia Cole felt the need to stop singing about heartbreak because on tour she felt her show never showed any love. Well, whoever wrote 'Heaven Sent' needs to come back because these last two albums have hit the ground harder than a pair of fake Louboutins.
Ciara: She's stuck between R&B pop like Amerie. Her albums bring more "good on the CD songs" but no real hits. We thought going back to her roots would work...but it didn't. She recently signed to Epic Records with L.A. Reid. I hope he has a good plan.
Keri Hilson: Originally couldn't be successful because she openly admitted she hates Beyonce. Now, she resents The Queen even more because she's fucked up her money. Keri Hilson's last album was AMAZING. Nobody bought it though. 'Buyou' should have been the lead single.
Cassie: Umm..just because she did 'Me & U' and 'Long Way to Go' don't make her a household name. Plus, this new song that she's releasing a new 5 second clip of every 45 days.... I'm not here for it SIMPLY because she is playing games.
I want REAL singers like Tamia and Donnell Jones to come back. The game is missing a good group like 112 (Day26 is not cutting it)... and a new male singer to have the impact Ginuwine used to give in the '90's or like Usher in the early 2000's.
i don't think britney's the blame for it, but she did help the dance sound become the norm. Yet The dance pop sound is still far more relevant than what monica & mary j are doing. Mary and Monica are still relevant, but not as much as before. Personally, I think Monica is a breath away from falling off for sure. Whereas Mary J. is still relevant because she is a staple of the R&B scene, who just so happens to work with current hot artists, like Drake. Yet still when I think of relevancy and 2011, Mary isn't at the top of my list.
ReplyDeletePS that Ashanti song was beyond boring. Idk who the hell told her that was a good idea.
@ Ronald - Not this extensive list of reasons. You're supposed to look at the scene as a whole. Not try and dissect every artist's mistakes.
ReplyDelete@ Anon above - But Monica had a pretty big hit less than a year ago. In the digital era, it's more important to have hit singles than albums.
I honestly think it has to do with society and the natural progression of music as a whole. When you think about where R&B came from and what it actually stands for 'Rhythm and Blues'. R&B came about as an evolution of jazz and blues which historically was used to express pain, struggle, and real life issues surrounding the african-american community (yes, real life issues include love, sex, and heartbreak as well...think Motown)
ReplyDeleteAs time went on into the 70s, 80s, 90s R&B has continued to evolved and combine elements from other genres...like how in the 70s there was a heavy influence of soul/funk, or in the 80s how R&B began to incorporate more of the aggressive sounds and lyrical content from the 80s hip-hop which evolved through the 90s where R&B became what most of us today consider 'Real R&B'...which has a much more progressive sound than what it originally came to be...
The 90s is when R&B was REALLY thriving...but it was also the time period where african-american culture was becoming more and more mainstream (think about all of the 90s television shows, hip-hop culture, brands like Sean John and Rocawear, and Fubu were beginning to show up everywhere. Black artists and athletes were getting MAJOR endorsements...etc)......and we all know that once something becomes 'in', existing mainstream culture will start to incorporate it in every aspect.
Which, in turn, is why towards the late 90s and early 2000s pop music (re: white music) began shifting. The styles that used to be unique to R&B, the same styles that brought R&B to the forefront of the industry, began showing up in pop music (Britney, Christina, N'Sync, Backstreet)...which, if mainstream pop artists are doing the same thing...what do we need an entire genre of dedicated R&B for?
Over time....as these elements of music made their way into other, more widespread genres, the need and desire for pure R&B music has dwindled. Everything these days has a 'hint' of R&B.
I applaud those who stick to making traditional R&B music....but I personally think that period of music is done. Just like 80s break-beat hip-hop. Just like Beatles' era pop/rock. It has involved.
*insert after third paragraph*
ReplyDeleteAs african-american struggles and issues began to change...so did the cultural impact and meaning of R&B. as the african-american lifestyle became more 'accepted', so did their music. The songs of 'the struggle' from the 60s, 70s, 80s, began to shift towards songs of 'the empowered'.
So do you think that, like fashion, R&B music will make a triumphant return to mainstream pop culture?
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said, by the way. My reasoning is that as pop culture shifted more to a sex & shock industry and stopped being about the art, the need for R&B music fell greatly. This is especially true because of social media causing the focus to shift onto celebrity culture. Now you have these artists interacting directly with fans, and fans are becoming bigger and bigger parts of their careers. If you look at the charts, there aren't too many "singers" that have hard-hitting chart smashes. We, as a culture, don't care about vocals as much anymore... and a big part of R&B is being a vocalist. Expressing your art through song, no matter what your voice sounds like.
A good love song is no more! True talent is no more! Its all about sex in a dirty way! The industry has control of what people hear! RnB is dead! Hip hop is dead! People in the industry sold us out!etc... This music today sucks really bad!!
ReplyDeleteI blame the record companies, its easier to sale an artist with a pretty face and no talent than an artist with talent. Most R&B singers are natural singers no computer, no auto tune needed, but natural singers have to go through extensive work with their voice and development. The record companies are looking for a quick fix. The record companies can take a beautiful girl off the streets, no singing talent add auto tune/ computer, dress her up and boom we have an artist, no vocal coach needed. It's all a gimmick. I really wish R&B would make a comeback. I miss the sounds of Jodeci, Faith Evans, Shai, and Silk (real R&B). Pop music has really taken over. I don't even hear anything about alternative rock groups like Limp Biscuit anymore. I really hope R&B will comeback.
ReplyDeleteithink the problem has to do with the people who run the industry. I think our identity is
ReplyDeletesteadily being chipped away. Racism, like the pres they want to eleminate at any cost I feel that those in charge want to eliminated all people of color and they start with culture. it is more complicated than blaming an artist it is those powerful people with money who call the shots.