I have some questions:

1.Why do so many R&B singers want 2 look like rappers? What happened 2 the days when being different was cool?

2.Why does 85% of current R&B HAVE to feature a guest rapper or have a rap remix?

3.What the fuck is up with all the sampling? Did Prince, Michael, Stevie, others take all the good melodies?

4.How in the blue hell did Pretty Ricky get popular?

5.What is up with parents letting their preteen kids listen to this crap so the cycle continues and the kids become fucked up(aka not knowing shit about music)

6.When these "songwriters" create a song, are they even thinking of writing a classic or an "at the moment" hit? It's to think of songs from the past 10 years that will make a lasting impression

7. Why is everybody "the next so and so"? Usher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Lloyd, and these other muthafuckers are "the next Michael Jackson" yet they probably won't last another decade(in the case of Lloyd and Chris Brown, another 4 or 5 years) somebody's always the next Prince, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye!

8.What happened to real instruments. I think it's cool to use Reason or Pro-Tools but never using the real thing?

9.Whatever happened to the R&B band???

I got a lot but these are some of the things I've been thinking about.....

I wont pretend to know the answers to half these questions but I died laughing while at the Barber shop yesterday, they had BET on and a song came on by Lloyd called "Get it Shawty"


ROTFL!



I had to stop to think if my 7 yr old son had wrote that song

Let me answer those AMAZING questions!! in my opinion of course.

1.I blame the RB artists and Rappers all looking the same, mainly on the demographic being promoted too. Second i would say the issue is GUEST RAPPERS on RB tracks, can i get a fucking RB cd without Lil Wayne or Jeezy or whoever is the hot thing at the moment

2. Well this is kind of the same as 1 in my answer, I dont really know, all I do know is that its caused others music, like Mariah and other great female RB artists to turn to shit. Dont get me wrong i dont mind Mariah doing a Rap remix, but do it with LL not freaking TI or Snoop.

3. Sampling is the thing that killed the LIVE RB sound. I always have said that RB music is the most diverse, however those days are long gone, with the advent of the PRODUCER, RB music turned its back on being creative.

4. Good Freaking question, these slimy bastards make me sick. I was waiting for a video the other day and i had to sit through one of theirs, and god they are possibly the worst thing, and they are horrible looking too.

5. Parents arent Parents anymore, they would rather "BE DOWN" with their kids rather than challenging them.

6. I would say NO. Its a money game now, writers today are just brought in too right something that will be easy to remember very quickly, kind of like a Soundbyte, a Ringtone if u will.

7. I really wish i knew. Back in the 80's i very rarely heard the term "the next so and so". I think today the talent pool has dropped so much, that its a cool way to draw someone in, its marketing.

8. Well this comes down to the music becoming so empty and plastic sounding. Its very easy to produce ANYONE can do it, and honestly ANYONE and EVERYONE is doing it, thats why there is so much going on now, with issues of theft of beats.

9. THE BEST QUESTION! I wish i knew where they went. I said this the other day to a someone and they were younger and they said, well theres Pretty Rick and Next, I was like, I SAID BAND!!!

It may seem to picking on RB, but for a form of music that always represented so many great things and was built on live music, its just not there anymore.

lastdecember said:

THANK YOU! I'm 19 and didn't become a fan of hiphop until I was 12. I grew up on MJ, Stevie, Prince, Rick James and others and just wasn't interested (The Neptunes' production made me a fan)

R&B has lost its way...and it's gonna take time for it to recover from the damage

bboy87 said:

Theres still some good out there, but its mainly the way labels promote and sign artists thats the issue. As i told someone awhile back an artist like Prince would be dropped today by a label. By todays standards, Prince didnt really catch on till his 5th album, there is no way a label would have stuck with Prince today with not being a commercial success for that long. There is too much focus on first week sales and making a quick buck, thats why there is such a high turnover rate with artists, especially in RB mainly whats considered mainstream.

In my honest opinion,it is all about the money.Nowadays,these moneyhungry record companies don't want a new r&b artist to be an original but instead they want them to be like everyone else because hip-hop is now the trend.Even if a new young r&b artist wants to do pure funk,they can't because the record companies won't allow them to do it.So the artist have no choice but to make this kind of r&b(or as they call it"hip-hop/soul").Unfortunely,even black gospel music has lost it's originality due to hip-hop as well.So it's not just r&b that lost it's "soul" so has black gospel music.

U asked all the questions that I have been thinking! I'm a Musician & it has come 2 a point where I'm not sure if I even wanna get signed 2 a Record Label. Because the state of R & B is so horrible that I would never let these Record Execs talk me in2 making these Lil Jon sounding trax.

bboy87 said:

It's called 'branding', it means that artists need to be categorised to push them onto a consumer's market in such a way they sell the most product.

I totally feel you on the sampling. I wish R&B artists would just get out and start playing/singing original stuff.

Also, why do most R&B artists/rappers represent women as ho's? Who are all these women in these clips that let these fools slap them on their ass while rapping the most horrid lyrics?

Bishop31 said:

Bishop31,don't give up hope.I was talking about the major record companies like Sony,A&M,Virgin,MCA,etc.that want to sign new young r&b artist or groups to that kind of "crap" r&b music. There are lots of other record companies that appreciate the value of classic soul and classic funk music but they usually independent record labels(or "indie music labels").For example,there is this record label called "Soul Street Records" that specializes in only classic soul,deep funk,and blues. Also there is Stax Records in Memphis,Tenn. There are probably a lot more but I don't remember off the top of my head. So don't give up.Plus go online for some information as well.

"Why do so many R&B singers want to look like rappers?"

I've been wondering the same thing! Whatever happened to uniqueness...being yourself? In the 80s,you had artists like Prince,Michael Jackson,Boy George,Madonna,Rick James,etc.coming up with their own cool look.Kids could be one of these people for Halloween and you would instantly know what artist they are trying to imitate.If a kid decided to be Chris Brown for Halloween,how would you know it? Chris Brown dresses just like every other rapper or male R&B singer! Nobody has a distinctive look nowadays.

90s R nB was way better then todays
todays music is alot of sampeling , and loony rap tunes
with very repetitive boring beats
cause thats all there's to it it seems.

i take 90s r & B like destinys child , brandy toni braxton whitney houston around 98 over any of todays boring music

like nas says hip hop and music is pretty much dead but if we love it enough it wil bounce back. dont know about that though if it wil bounce back

SoulAlive said:

I agree! I was watching an interview with New Edition about 2 years ago and they were saying that you can't tell the difference between the two artists anymore. Ralph Tresvant asked "What happened to wearing a suit?"
And if they look unique, they're rumored to be gay. Ironic, I was saw alot of these young R&B artists to be more homoerotic than Prince or MJ or alot of the 80's R&B cats. You remember B2K?

Pretty Ricky is no more than a group like Jagged Edge or Jodeci. I don't care for them but they aren't some new type of group. We had our ugly guy groups too.

Once again, I blame the industry, the companies, radio stations, etc.

No time for grooming artists today. Some artist though I think we are hard on because we had the same sucky type of singing a few years back as well. Ciara=Janet, Chris B=Bobby b, Pretty Ricky=Jodeci, etc.

The issue is, like I've argued p&r, there's no balance in music. Real singers can't get a deal or dont get promoted.

As far as parenting, well my daughter can sing most Ike and Tina songs and some Temps BUT I like her be 16. I listened to my mother rip Madonna a new a-hole after her performance on American Bandstand and yet some of ya'll think she is a legend today. Some of this is about sucky music and a messed up industry but some of this is generational. This isn't the 80's. Kids are copy cats.

You know hard it is to find your kid in the mall when all the girls had the same jeans, jackets, stupid hair and boots on. Lawd...This IS one thing I do complain about to my daughter who sometimes is a product of her generation but aren't we all in some way.

Bishop31 said:

Brotha, I feel you on that one. I'm starting a band but the sound is not exactly R&B and not exactly rock or hip hop. It's a mash of all three. My influences were all different when I was growing up. It would better going independent and doing my own thing OR try going overseas. I would love be a world renowned artist with something different to offer but will a label take that kind of chance? maybe...maybe not

My bad for not explaining. I'm not saying that ProTools or the others is a problem. I'm starting to use it also and see it as a great tool. My problem is that alot people seem to have forgotten the real instruments and don't appreciate the art of creating music. It's about making beats to some people, you know?

bk...I do agree with your comment about Usher....less about JT though. Usher actually has been around since his early teens.

I hate the rap that is on an r&b song and all it talks about is the rapper's issues or how many records he sold. nothing in his lyrics about what the singer is singing about. If I was a singer I would say to the guest rapper uhhh, you need to re-write that..

chewwsey said:

You really hit on something. There was a time when those rappers who ushered in mainstream success used to brag about their newfound wealth, which was fine, because folks know they paid dues. E.g., Biggie's "Juicy," a great rags-to-riches track by a cat who grew up in hip-hop. These days, we have cats who don't even give us any reason to appreciate their braggin' on what they have, because they have no skills and they're just providing background noise for beats.

And I co-sign most of what Blaque said. It's cheaper and more profitable to market hit-pop, so until the streets move on to something else, it will go on this way.

If I hear about this Lloyd person one more time... I only know of him through the Org. I finally looked him up and damn if he doesn't look like a younger verssion of Flavor Flav.

JackieBlue said:

Who the hell is Lloyd No don't tell me I thought Bboyy was talkin about Lloyd Banks.

SoulAlive said:

Here's my opinion. Record execs and pop radio force-feed us these no-talented artists and their music. You know somethings up when every 5 minutes you hear "This Is Why I'm Hot" or "Glamorous Life".

lilgish said:

One sings, one raps. They both suck.

HamsterHuey said:

I know .. it is so degrading. I can't stand watching those music clips. I want to beat those blokes up! The women do it for the money I guess and the rappers they think it's cool or something?? Who knows?
After reading the book "Diaries of a Video Vixen" (??), it gave me a good insight into the rap world and the "women".
I am appaled at the objectification of women in the "world of rap" and even R&B. WHHHHHYYYY???

JackieBlue said:

lloyd looks like Flavor flav?


omgosh....

I do think this is another generational thing though....ya'll truly forget all of the fly by singers that came through the 80's and 90's and are no where to be found.

Lloyd is an average singer but is a good young man. This is what I keep hearing through comments from ppl who've met him or have interviewed him. Not a thug. Just a lame singer.


and tonylover...metal did the same to women as well. So the question is why do MEN do this to women.

Lloyd looks more like a fake ass georgio than flava flav!

well I love beyonce, she's the shining light from all the r&b/hip hop artists today. Some may disagree with me, but the girl can saaang, she can dance and she works her behind off more than anyone in the music business at present

phunkdaddy said:

He looks more like Gerardo:

RRRRiiiCO.....Suavvvvveeee'