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Thread started 12/15/18 11:00am

thebanishedone

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Is New Jack Swing funky?

Lots of times i`ve have seen orgers saying that new jack swing is funky .

On the other hand i have seen some funk

fans complaining about their favorite bands

like Midnight Star,Bar Keys and many other funk

bands going new jack.

For me personally i do like some

of the new jack swing

and i do find some of itg funky like Remember The Time by Michael

but i do find new jack sound to be to clean

and sanitized and very limited.

seems like everybodythat went new jack swing lost their indentity except Cameo maybe.

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Reply #1 posted 12/15/18 9:46pm

MotownSubdivis
ion

I'd never describe new jack swing as "clean" sounding or sanitized.
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Reply #2 posted 12/15/18 10:53pm

SoulAlive

I never really liked New Jack Swing and most of those songs sound horribly dated now.

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Reply #3 posted 12/15/18 11:06pm

nextedition

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I think its funky, and clean at the same time. When i saw your post the first word that came up in my mind was "clean".
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Reply #4 posted 12/16/18 3:06pm

alphastreet

It’s definitely funky, the elements were born out of funk, soul and jazz with a modern twist
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Reply #5 posted 12/16/18 8:05pm

LittleBLUECorv
ette

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Yep.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #6 posted 12/17/18 6:36am

StrangeButTrue

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It is rooted in funk. Funk begat new jack swing.

if it was just a dream, call me a dreamer 2
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Reply #7 posted 12/17/18 12:32pm

LittleBLUECorv
ette

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SoulAlive said:

I never really liked New Jack Swing and most of those songs sound horribly dated now.


So does most late 80s Funk like Word Up, Struck By You.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #8 posted 12/17/18 1:03pm

daingermouz202
0

I liked some of the New Jack stuff but I wouldn't call it funky but I think there are different degrees of funky. When I think funk I think Ohio Players, BarKays,EW&F, Cameo, James Brown, Prince, and Most definitely George Clinton and Parliment.IMO George and his crew just seem a little more stank with their funk which is how I like it.
[Edited 12/17/18 13:04pm]
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Reply #9 posted 12/18/18 5:45pm

S2DG

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Is New Jack Swing funky?

No. Next question.

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Reply #10 posted 12/18/18 6:08pm

whitechocolate
brotha

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Funky...hmmm...It certainly WAS funky! The first example of NJS that I can recall off the top of my head was Johnny Kemp's anthemic, "Just Got Paid." I found NJS 2b a tad too tinny and noisy (at times;) Too much treble and not enuff bass. There were also elements of it that possessed crashy-sounding sonics if that makes sense; a good example of this would be Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" or Janet Jackson's "State Of The World" or "The Knowledge;" her output was mo' BETTA tho! Also, hit recordings from Teddy Riley/Gene Griffin, especially those of the band, Guy. One of my favorite NJS songs, however is "Ain't No Cookin' " by Stephanie Mills (written & produced by Gene Griffin.) Momma KILLED that jam with all her hyper-vocal riffs and adlibs! Otherwise, it was more like a "flavor of the day" kind of sound, as was Jam & Lewis' work with The S.O.S. Band (1983-1986). I can't really put my finger on it, but let it suffice 2 say that it was popular, busy, noisy and thin. If anyone got close to the NJS sound in the decades that followed, I'd say Rich Harrison, as a producer, was very warm. He turned up the percussion and gave it a more full-bodied sound. Correct me if I'm wrong or if anyone disagrees. Happy Holidays and much LUV! <3

[Edited 12/18/18 18:11pm]

Hungry? Just look in the mirror and get fed up.
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Reply #11 posted 12/18/18 10:26pm

MotownSubdivis
ion

S2DG said:


Is New Jack Swing funky?




No. Next question.

Next question: How is it not funky?
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Reply #12 posted 12/19/18 7:04am

Cinny

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I think swung notes have more in common with jazz. Funk was designed to hit on the one - that's what Papa's brand new bag was. I'm not sure that ALWAYS happens in New Jack Swing, especially where a perfect drum machine is in place, but it depends on the programmer.

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Reply #13 posted 12/19/18 7:05am

Cinny

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whitechocolatebrotha said:

Rich Harrison, as a producer, was very warm

he sampled funk

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Reply #14 posted 12/19/18 7:06am

Cinny

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New Jack Swing is supposed to be a mix of things anyway (gospel, funk, R&B, hip hop)

Source: inventor Teddy Riley

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Reply #15 posted 12/19/18 7:58pm

S2DG

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Cinny said:

New Jack Swing is supposed to be a mix of things anyway (gospel, funk, R&B, hip hop)

Source: inventor Teddy Riley



Sorry, I guess it is funk then...WTF do I know?

I don't know why I still care about categories of music any more.

I love music, either I feel it and I like it or I don't feel it so I don't like it. Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, Blues, Classical, all of it falls into this category for me.


With that said, I love New Jack Swing and listen to those bands on a regular basis.

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Reply #16 posted 12/20/18 6:33am

Rimshottbob

MotownSubdivision said:

I'd never describe new jack swing as "clean" sounding or sanitized.

Well, New Jack Swing was kind of the definition of sanitized... it's what happens when you mechanize and sanitize the elements of funk for a more pop audience. When you strip it of all the human elements that make funk great - the imperfections, the personality...

Not all New Jack Swing is awful, but a lot of it is/was soulless, mechanized and clean. Putting a crackle track on it or sampling a crackly track doesn't make something dirty.

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Reply #17 posted 12/20/18 3:10pm

Cinny

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S2DG said:

Cinny said:

New Jack Swing is supposed to be a mix of things anyway (gospel, funk, R&B, hip hop)

Source: inventor Teddy Riley



Sorry, I guess it is funk then...WTF do I know?

I don't know why I still care about categories of music any more.

I love music, either I feel it and I like it or I don't feel it so I don't like it. Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, Blues, Classical, all of it falls into this category for me.


With that said, I love New Jack Swing and listen to those bands on a regular basis.


Well what I mean is, it isn't the purest form of any of those genres. So hardline funkers might not find it funky enough, gospel listeners might find it too vulgar (soulful vocal be damned), too smooth for the hip hoppers, too hard for the quietstorm set.

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Reply #18 posted 12/20/18 7:14pm

whitechocolate
brotha

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Cinny said:

S2DG said:



Sorry, I guess it is funk then...WTF do I know?

I don't know why I still care about categories of music any more.

I love music, either I feel it and I like it or I don't feel it so I don't like it. Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, Blues, Classical, all of it falls into this category for me.


With that said, I love New Jack Swing and listen to those bands on a regular basis.


Well what I mean is, it isn't the purest form of any of those genres. So hardline funkers might not find it funky enough, gospel listeners might find it too vulgar (soulful vocal be damned), too smooth for the hip hoppers, too hard for the quietstorm set.

The categories are so ridiculously picked apart and reduced to bones, Cinny! OMG...I went on Amazon the other night just 2 have a peek at what might be coming out in Jan '19. I typed in R&B, but THEN, was met with all the effin' categories that didn't even make sense: Classic R&B, Classic Soul, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop Soul, etc...GOD! It was AGONIZING! Like Billboard back in the day; there was (when I was growin' up), Soul LP's. Then those became Black LP's and then Soul & R&B LP's, and then "Hip Hop & R&B" LP's. SO TIRED of the labels, and micro-labels of the same genre of music that was MUSIC!!! LOL! Happy HOLLA DAZE!!!! <3

Hungry? Just look in the mirror and get fed up.
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Reply #19 posted 12/21/18 6:01am

ReddBlitz

New Jack Swing was every bit funky. It bridged the gap between the young and old. It even dominated. Riley was so in demand at the time, his unique and groundbreaking sound led him to even work with such legends as Quincy Jones, the Rolling Stones, Debbie Harry, Boy George...etc etc.
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Reply #20 posted 12/21/18 7:51am

S2DG

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Cinny said:

S2DG said:



Sorry, I guess it is funk then...WTF do I know?

I don't know why I still care about categories of music any more.

I love music, either I feel it and I like it or I don't feel it so I don't like it. Country, Hip Hop, Jazz, Blues, Classical, all of it falls into this category for me.


With that said, I love New Jack Swing and listen to those bands on a regular basis.


Well what I mean is, it isn't the purest form of any of those genres. So hardline funkers might not find it funky enough, gospel listeners might find it too vulgar (soulful vocal be damned), too smooth for the hip hoppers, too hard for the quietstorm set.


After I thought about what you said I understood where you were coming from.

Guilty of being a hardline funker but then I came around to what I posted here.

Like human beings, art and everything else, music is a mixing pot of cultures, ideas and everything that has come before. That's what makes it so beautiful and is exactly why I love most music.

I'm done with titles and genres. It's a limiting mind set that has done more harm than good.

Thanks for helping me see that.

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Reply #21 posted 12/21/18 9:32am

kanamit

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I've always found new jack swing to be absolute shite. When I think of funk, I remember Chic, Earth Wind and Fire, The Blackbyrds, they were FUNK to the core. Now Teddy Riley, Johnny Gil and other acts cannot be compared to the real funksters. To each his own I suppose

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Reply #22 posted 12/22/18 2:05pm

mrwiggles

Well Teddy Riley had gone on record saying when they did I Want Her on Keith Sweaat (arguably the record that kicked off the whole genre), they were trying to update and recreate the grooves of Funkadelic's "(not just) Knee Deep.
So I think it was a pendulum swing back in that direction at that time in R&B music.
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Reply #23 posted 12/23/18 8:26am

NorthC

And you also had G-funk. The name alone says enough.
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Reply #24 posted 12/24/18 8:47am

SoulAlive

I wasn't really a fan of it,either biggrin There are a few New Jack Swing songs that I like ("Groove Me" by Guy,"Right And Hype" by Abstrac) but I found most of it to be boring and formulaic.This era (late 80s) had me longing for the "real R&B" from the early 80s.

kanamit said:

I've always found new jack swing to be absolute shit

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Reply #25 posted 12/24/18 12:37pm

HrdwcH

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Got some New Jack from 1972 4 ya!

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Reply #26 posted 12/25/18 10:53am

ReddBlitz

New Jack Swing was every bit funky and then some. It was music that fused R&B/Soul, Funk, Disco, House...practically almost all genres. It was the bridging of the gap between the young and the old. However, I find it somewhat unfair to compare the New Jack Swing era to that of the Funk era. Much has changed by the time NJS came along. Many have forgotten that during Funk's heyday, it was the birth of Disco that changed up quite a few things. Then, as Disco was simmering down, in comes a new genre called Rap. Funk, no doubt, was still alive thanks to Rick James, Zapp, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, S.O.S Band, to name a few, but the demand for a new overall sound was slowly coming to be and that was New Jack Swing. The likes of "I Want Her" (Keith Sweat), "Teddy's Jam" (Guy), "New Jack Swing" (Wreckx N' Effect), "Him Or Me" (Today), "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)" (Hi-Five), "Groove Me" (Guy), are just some of this genre's funky and memorable standouts that even still holds truth today.
[Edited 12/25/18 10:54am]
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Reply #27 posted 12/26/18 3:59pm

onlyforaminute

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Every time I think NJS I think of this song...


I absolutely adore this song makes me want to swing which is what I loved about NJS, it meant party and good times.
Time keeps on slipping into the future...


This moment is all there is...
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Reply #28 posted 12/26/18 4:13pm

trufunk

https://youtu.be/PyHyf0kKd24
Ima just leave this here. That keytar solo is funky!
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Reply #29 posted 12/26/18 4:17pm

onlyforaminute

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HrdwcH said:


Got some New Jack from 1972 4 ya!







Ha, my dad had this on his reel to reel. Loved it. Interesting video.
Time keeps on slipping into the future...


This moment is all there is...
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