much widsom

Chris Brown

Graycap23 said:

Agreed x2. Back in the early '90s, there may have been some classic albums that melded hip-hop and R&B, but now the lines between the two genres have blurred so much that it's sucked the creativity right out of both, as far as the mainstream goes. All commercial R&B, in particular, is now is minimalist hip-hop production, sampling, and guest stars. Just pure shit.

There's plenty of water out there. The horses ain't drinking it.

Chris Brown

Graycap23 said:

Does R&B really need a saviour? Or are most of the so-called R&B fans not seeing the proverbial forest for the trees? There's been some excellent R&B music put out this decade by the above artists mentioned, and I would add Heather Headley and Kem to that list as well, but the mainstream is too busy trying to get their crunk on to notice the difference.

I was reading an article in Harper's Weekly today about the success of "Blue Collar" comedy over the last few years and why it is making Hollywood squirm. It was in particular reference to the Blue Collar TV tour of Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy and how they are selling out arenas and selling near platinum status with their CD sales (which is unheard of for a comedy album), yet they feel that they are not getting the respect they deserve because their audience are a bunch of hicks and Southerners. I mention this because I see a parallel between that and the whole crunk phenomenon of the last few years, which is also based in the South. Crunk hip-hop has sold like crazy over the last few years; yet the production is mediocre at best, the tempos are really slow, and the lyrical content is all about partying, grills, "lean wit it, rock wit it" and "wait til ya see my dick." Even hip-hop purists see this music as not being substantive. The likes of Jay-Z, Nas and Snopp Dogg are being pushed aside for this, and it makes me wonder if the mainstream sees artists like Jay-Z, Nas or Dr. Dre as elitists.

Well anyway, I was sort of getting off topic there for a moment, but I think that R&B is waiting for its "grunge" moment. Not that I think that R&B artists need to start wearing flannel, but just that moment when people get sick of what the record companies have shoved down their throats and start looking for really good music. It happened in rock 'n roll twice; first, when punk came on the scene to push aside the bloated dinosaur rock of the 1970's, and second, when grunge did away with hair metal. Both R&B and hip-hop are due for this type of change.

Whoever the savior will be, they will come from the Neo Soul genre, trust me.

Chris Brown

StoneCrib said:

No Pharell and Kanye and Jamie FOXXX the saviour!

ccollin88 said:

hey!...you're knocking Pharrell in here but defending him in the other thread?

GhostX said:

I'm not knocking he is the saviour along with jamie foxxx who got robbed by prince at the BET awards

StoneCrib said:

No Pharell and Kanye and Jamie FOXXX the saviour!

StoneCrib said:

No Pharell and Kanye and Jamie FOXXX the saviour!

ccollin88 said:

Damn, these 15-year-olds here are starting to urk me. Isn't Barney on or somethin'?

ccollin88 said:

Damn, these 15-year-olds here are starting to urk me. Isn't Barney on or somethin'?

StoneCrib said:

name me 1 R&B album better than Jammie Foxxxx's this past year?

ccollin88 said:

Are u being serious or u just forgot your meds?

StoneCrib said:

Someone left the little room fence open.

StoneCrib said:

name me 1 R&B album better than Jammie Foxxxx's this past year?

How about Ne-yo.

GhostX said:

StoneCrib said:

Someone left the little room fence open.

GhostX said:

You all make valid points. But I think my question was misunderstood.

Yes, R&B is alive and kicking. True lovers of R&B know where to find the good stuff.

What I wanna know is, who do you think has the power to flip the script on the Hip Hop world and put R&B on the front burner again?

Justin Timberlake
Joss Stone
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Gwen Stefani

Draw your own conclusions.