2008 Woodie Awards
The resurgence of R&B
Ryan Burns '08
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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I set my iTunes on shuffle the other day and was taken aback by a song that I hadn't heard in quite a while. It brought me back to those middle school dances where you waited for one of the four slow songs to come on so you could ask that girl from Spanish class to dance. The song was "Cupid" by 112. As I listened to it, I was surprised by how fresh it sounded. In spite of its simple rhythm and teardrop snares, it was a nice break from the Cassies and Akons of today.
Similarly to hip-hop music, mainstream R&B has been watered down since the turn of the millennium in favor of a more visually appealing brand of music. I bet a lot more people will remember the back flip that Chris Brown did at the Grammy's more than they will his vocal performance.
A major difference between the R&B of yesterday and today is the extinction of the R&B group. No more are the days of Jodeci, Jagged Edge, and Dru Hill. Instead there is a much larger desire for a solo act. In the '90s, there was a massive amount of R&B groups that would always fit the famous stereotype of five guys singing about how fine a girl was. Thank you, Pablo Francisco.
Other groups such as Wreckx-N-Effect, BBD, and Guy were part of the new East Coast "New Jack Swing" genre of R&B. Males weren't the only ones releasing quality music, however, as female artists such as SWV, Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, and TLC were major players in the early '90s R&B world, lending their amazing vocals to solid production. There were also artists like D'angelo and Erykah Badu who stretched the boundaries of R&B by injecting some modern soul and unconventional song structures into their music.
Once the new millennium came, a significant switch came with the music. More and more soulful artists were starting to emerge, challenging the popular R&B stereotype and making soul music rival what it was in the '70s. D'angelo released the classic album Voodoo in 2000 and has yet to return to the music world.
Similarly to hip-hop music, mainstream R&B has been watered down since the turn of the millennium in favor of a more visually appealing brand of music. I bet a lot more people will remember the back flip that Chris Brown did at the Grammy's more than they will his vocal performance.
A major difference between the R&B of yesterday and today is the extinction of the R&B group. No more are the days of Jodeci, Jagged Edge, and Dru Hill. Instead there is a much larger desire for a solo act. In the '90s, there was a massive amount of R&B groups that would always fit the famous stereotype of five guys singing about how fine a girl was. Thank you, Pablo Francisco.
Other groups such as Wreckx-N-Effect, BBD, and Guy were part of the new East Coast "New Jack Swing" genre of R&B. Males weren't the only ones releasing quality music, however, as female artists such as SWV, Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, and TLC were major players in the early '90s R&B world, lending their amazing vocals to solid production. There were also artists like D'angelo and Erykah Badu who stretched the boundaries of R&B by injecting some modern soul and unconventional song structures into their music.
Once the new millennium came, a significant switch came with the music. More and more soulful artists were starting to emerge, challenging the popular R&B stereotype and making soul music rival what it was in the '70s. D'angelo released the classic album Voodoo in 2000 and has yet to return to the music world.