R&B Is Alive And Well

One of my favorite things to witness in the music industry is the resurgence of R&B. Now granted, R&B never truly died, but it was overshadowed by other music styles like trap and electronic dance/pop music. R&B waited quietly in the background until it found the right time to make its way back into the spotlight. I think that time is now.

I often hear criticisms of the music of today with many lamenting "it doesn't give me the same feeling as music did back in the day" or "I just prefer to listen to throwbacks." There are several issues with these types of comments that only act as a disservice to R&B as a genre.

R&B is not a monolith.

R&B means so many different things to so many different people. To some, it takes them back to the era of gendered groups like Boyz II Men, Jodeci, SWV, and TLC. For others, its about the soulful sound of Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass, and The Isley Brothers. From love songs to timeless party jams, R&B truly runs the gamut. Before you diss the music of today, maybe be a little more specific about the sound you're searching for.

Looking for a soulful sound? Explore the catalogs of people like Thee Sacred Souls, KIRBY, and Mac Ayres. Looking for a great love song? Have a listen to Alex Isley (THEE Ronald Isley's daughter) or Daniel Caesar (who already had no problem taking over wedding season circa 2017-18). Looking for a party jam? Listen to people like Lucky Daye, Victoria Monet, VanJess, or Kaash Paige who have expansive catalogs of sounds to keep your hips moving and head nodding.

Music evolves with the times, so of course, it's going to sound different.

Like everything, music is constantly changing. The audience is constantly changing, and artists adapt to what their audience wants to hear. R&B has become more experimental in nature, as a result. Older music follows a formula, and that's kind of why it's easy to place a song in an era of music at the sound of a single instrumental. Modern artists tend to reject formulas.

6LACK began as a battle rapper and made his evolution into R&B with his grainy vocals. However, his ability to effortlessly switch from rapper to singer keeps his audience on their toes. SZA is the first lady of TopDawgEnt, a label centered around mostly rappers. SZA takes advantage of this by using hip hop producers and lots of collaborations with rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad who can easily mold themselves to fit her unique sound. Up and coming singer Mamii has a heavy disco and funk influence that isn't super common to hear today. The guitars and keyboards and basslines in her music are super pluck-y and her vocals are drawn out and animated. It's what makes her music so addictive.

The music of today can give you that back in the day sound because the R&B of today is influenced by that exact sound that so many people search for.

A large part of R&B is the nostalgia and memories that come with the song. R&B is all about emotion. When you look at the artists of today, they're very open about their influences and even have collaborations with some or use samples to pay homage to that "Back In The Day" sound.

For example, on Drake's Scorpion album, he uses unheard vocals from the late Static Major and a sample from The Suite Theme on "After Dark" to give the song an added dose of date night pre-hook up nostalgia. Lucky Daye samples "Pony" by Ginuwine on his track "Karma" to let the listener know exactly what kind of song this is: it's giving sex appeal. Bryson Tiller uses a sample from Xscape's Waiting to Exhale track (technically, a sample of Dpat's "Exhale" which samples Xscape) on "Inhale Exhale." He lets the sample fill in the beginning of the song because he knows how recognizable the sound is and wants the listener to ride out to it for a bit. Tiller actually does this quite often.

At the end of the day, R&B is here to stay. It's not dying like so many believe it is; it is simply evolving. It's beautiful to witness, and more people need to embrace this evolution or remain knowingly stuck in the past.