So Who Killed R&B?

[futuristic]

Originally Posted by gatorad3

Originally Posted by K Town Trash

autotune

this.

T-Pain messed R&B up starting with the autotune where tons of artists started hopping on autotune and/or trying to sound futuristic. It carried over to now trying to sound like techno and +*%@.

I was going to make a post the other day about how all this new music is basically just disco and where it came from. I never thought it might have come from Autotune, but you could be onto something. 

 

[dt43]

Originally Posted by DaBottom305

Miguel is still singing.

Usher is cooking something up.

Usher isn't R&B.. he made the shift to pop, like basically every other R&B artist these days

 

[young dr0]

Dwele tho.

But yeah the genre is terrible. I think we were talking about Musiq the other night on twitter and I thought about it. Sad state personally.

 

[03silverbullet]

Originally Posted by illphillip

Originally Posted by 03silverbullet

i'm not in the industry, but i put my blame on the industry.

I love it when people say this.

So the listener/consumer is a just a helpless puppet to whatever the "industry" decides it wants to sell them?

absolutely!!!  i couldn't have said it better myself, thanks.

 

[Hahahaha]

I hate threads like these, people crying about R&B like it's not out there. It's out there, you just gotta find it.

Radio, ringtones, rappers trying to sing and singers trying to rap. Rap and R&B is very generic and catchy now, that's it. It's not dead, just not on the radio because pop stars are taking over.



SMH at people blaming R. Kelly

 

[metrokid26]

Dude made it cool to rap and sing, Now all of these artist are rapper-turned-singers, singers-turned-rappers, or just both.

But I don't think it's dead, I just think artist need to sing about stuff other than heartbreaks, love, and God.

 

[shaze804]

not really sure if the audience changed...theres just not as many r&b solo artists or groups getting push...and the remaining ones are probably being pushed to do pop/electronic infused records since the sound can be pushed worldwide with the market today...

 

[epidemik the great]

Ja Rule...seriously

 

[chitown4eva]

That new Ant Hamilton...

Great r&b is out there, but still lacking. 

 

[goldenchild9]

The audience has not changed....people from 16 - 60 are still looking for good R&B music, its just not as accessible.

 

[Peep Game]

Originally Posted by bigtimejerky

Originally Posted by K Town Trash

autotune

this + rappers on that soft +%+* trying to sing

 

[ravagebx]

RNB singers trying to be rappers. Rappers moonlighting as RNB singers. Autotune. Death of the RNB group. Decline of strong voices. Decline in rnb sales causing rnb stars to go pop. Contemporary rnb sound isn't appealing to the masses like it once was. Few other reasons as well. It's a combination of things. RnB artists are lost right now.

 

[stillin729]

Originally Posted by DT43

Originally Posted by DaBottom305

Miguel is still singing.

Usher is cooking something up.

Usher isn't R&B.. he made the shift to pop, like basically every other R&B artist these days

wrong
Hey Daddy

There Goes My Baby

Climax

three R&B singles right there

 

[alsdaman24]

There is a greater emphasis on pop music. Traditional R&B sales are even worse than hip hop sales. Labels just push their singers to do those upbeat radio friendly songs. Autotune also contributed to the demise of R&B.

 

[Maximus Meridius]

If Usher gets back to doing more RnB instead of that Jersey Shore fist pump #%!# RnB will be just fine. The only RnB I've really listened to for past year is Weend, Masspike Miles and some old Prince.

 

[SUSHI AND GRITS]

Puffy.... nah I'm kidding.

 

[solarius49]

I copied and pasted this from my friend tiffany on facebook

"Hmm I truly think the death of romance is killing the art...
Our entire society is obsessed with sex. Everywhere you look sex is being exploited. EVERYTHING has been sexualized. Sex and sexuality have evolved into just another normal part of everyday life. You're abnormal if its not. It isnt special anymore. Its just how things are now. Obviously the art is going to reflect that. R&B has transitioned from being primarily about love and affection (with a few notable exceptions) to utter debauchery. How did we go from "Love & Happiness" by Al Green and "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder to "Say Ahh" and "Birthday Sex"? By taking on the personality and subject matter of rap music, the romance in much R&B music has been effectively killed. No sexual stone is left unturned, no secrets remain, and the playful stories of courtship are long gone....Sad"

 

[niketalker23]

Originally Posted by BrotherForReal

Originally Posted by KingJaffeJo

The R&B artists did....every singer wants to be a rapper now.

Anthony Hamilton? Saadiq? Raheem Devaughn? 

I wouldn't consider Saadiq RnB..
Saw him live last year 

 

[GTA 809]

N*SYNC

blurred the lines between pop and traditional rnb (harmonized 4 man group)
was ridiculously successful so rnb artist and/or their labels followed the money and went pop.

 

[shoeking2101]

Originally Posted by solarius49

I copied and pasted this from my friend tiffany on facebook

"Hmm I truly think the death of romance is killing the art...
Our entire society is obsessed with sex. Everywhere you look sex is being exploited. EVERYTHING has been sexualized. Sex and sexuality have evolved into just another normal part of everyday life. You're abnormal if its not. It isnt special anymore. Its just how things are now. Obviously the art is going to reflect that. R&B has transitioned from being primarily about love and affection (with a few notable exceptions) to utter debauchery. How did we go from "Love & Happiness" by Al Green and "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder to "Say Ahh" and "Birthday Sex"? By taking on the personality and subject matter of rap music, the romance in much R&B music has been effectively killed. No sexual stone is left unturned, no secrets remain, and the playful stories of courtship are long gone....Sad"

But personally, I love listening to The Dream, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Drake (His r&b is off the charts to me. Supreme writing, dope production, and he sings the exact way that the r&b songs he gets on calls for)  Miguel, some of Trey Songz, Miguel, Luke James is dope, Marcus Canty's first single is awesome, some of usher, etc. as well as Kellz, Dave Hollister, Jodeci, Jagged Edge, Charlie Wilson, Guy (I Like, >) Hi-Five, and other people of the past in this genre. R&B is my favorite genre and in my opinion, you listen to what you want to listen to. It's fairly easy to find any of the R&B that you want to find. It's out there.

It's not nearly in as bad as a state that people in this thread make it out to be. Nostalgia Ultra, EOS, HOB, Thursday, 1977, all dropped last year and all were phenomenal pieces of work. It's looking good for the genre if you ask me

 

[51and3rd]

I have no idea who the artist you posted are.... that's a huge problem in my eyes. May I asked how or who pit you on to them? They're not on the radio, they get no publicity at all it seems like.

 

[la kb24]

idk who exactly to blame but trey songz i feel like all he does is talk about sex which he does. you rarely hear a song from him without saying the word sex..now all we hear is the word Sex or ppl using F*** you

but imo the best r&b artists are

avant
jagged edge
ginuwine
r kelly
dru hill

 

[51and3rd]

Mario is the best young artist out there and he gets no love.

 

[grey]

Originally Posted by StillIn729

Originally Posted by DT43

Originally Posted by DaBottom305

Miguel is still singing.

Usher is cooking something up.

Usher isn't R&B.. he made the shift to pop, like basically every other R&B artist these days

wrong
Hey Daddy

There Goes My Baby

Climax

three R&B singles right there

so you would line those "r&b" tracks up with the likes of "A Long Walk" or "Bad Habits?" really? 

 

[jtplatnum]

i'll just leave this right here...