Why is R&B dead in 2014?
- Thread starter Oceanicpuppy
- Start date
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There's alot of critically acclaimed music that you won't hear on top 40 stations. You won't hear most good music outside of the billboard top 100. Does that make the music irrelevant; No it doesn't. Herbie Hancock won a grammy for best album of the year. How many cats on this site are listening to Herbie Hancock on the regular? Ever heard of payola? Labels pay big money to have their artists on the radio. But that doesn't stop people from getting the music that they enjoy. And let's be real here, alot of people aren't even supporting good music these days. They illegally download music and the artist doesn't see anything from that. At least with things like Spotify the artist sees something.
I agree with you about great music being turned into a "rich" thing. The best example of that is Jazz. But let's be real again, how many people do you know listen to jazz on a regular basis? How many people even know about Art Tatum, Bird, or Bill Evans? I'll tell you, very little.
Miguel is a mainstream artist. Usher is a mainstream artist. Frank Ocean is a mainstream artist. Robin Thicke is a mainstream artist. Justin Timberlake is a mainstream artist. Chrisette Michelle is also a mainstream artist. I don't know the fascination you guys have with mainstream cosigning R&B as if that matters. Quality music is being made regardless and there are more ways than ever to get good music. You don't have to rely on the radio or the opinion of music snob journalists anymore because the internet has made that possible. The next generation will find their way just like the ones before them did. Nowhere are they playing Jodeci anymore like that, but people manage to find it. People manage to find Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway etc and these artists are getting spins like that anymore. Mainstream isn't that important anymore.
What do you mean Black people aren't cosigning R&B? Black people are the reason why R&B is still relevant. There's a reason why Keith Sweat, Anita Baker, and others can still book shows. Now if you referring to Jazz and rock, then you may have a point. But Blacks are still heavy in those genres as well. Maybe your beef is that Raphael Saadiq isn't as popular or seen as much as Chris Brown or August Alsina?Either way you slice it, R&B is fine.
Oceanicpuppy
Superstar
Their out there it's just a shame that you have to dig for it. Back in the day music was made for all generations.
I agree, that critically acclaimed music has never really been Mainstream but at the same time they are were not as hard to find as they are now.
I remember talking this chick and she said "Rihanna is so soulful".
Not to down Rihanna but she does not make soulful records. If she was exposed to real soul music she wouldn't have said that. A lot of Folks are not going to do the education if it's not presented to them in some form or fashion and now days if you don't have a cable(VH1 soul etc) or XM or pandora how are you going to find about these artist? Back in the day, they had artist of TV shows, Commercials,etc. They still do this today but not as much. Much of the R&B artists are being played on stations with demographics of 30 and up. I remember I was in the car with some friends and Stacy Lattisaw " I let me be your angel" came on the radio and this chick goes " ewww what is this"? I'm like 
. Some dude tried to argue that The Weeknd sounds Like Mavin Gaye!! I've seen tons of crazy ass comments like this on the internet and in real life. Plus old school artist use to collab with younger artist because their was a sense of respect between the two. I know Prince cosigns Janelle, Nikka Costa, Beyonce,Andy Allo and others but they are not mainstream. Booker T' has some songs with Mayer Hawthorne , Anthony Hamilton and some others but not mainstream. This stuff should be in rotation with the Trey Songs and Chris Browns, and the Luke James and Miguel's should be in the mix also. Maybe people will actually start listening to Radio again. They said TV was dead a couple years ago but once they started putting out quality shows and adding diversity TV ratings went up again.
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Their out there it's just a shame that you have to dig for it. Back in the day music was made for all generations.
I agree, that critically acclaimed music has never really been Mainstream but at the same time they are were not as hard to find as they are now.
I remember talking this chick and she said "Rihanna is so soulful".
The more I read the responses, the more I see that the issue isn't whether R&B is dead (which it isn't), it's over critically acclaimed music not getting enough exposure. I agree with that sentiment. I've had similar experiences myself with friends and women I've dated where I'll play them Foreign Exchange or Eric Roberson at my crib and they'll turn it off and put on Wayne and Trey Songz.
Exposure to good music has been easier than ever before because of the internet. The internet and tv are slowly becoming one and the same. Sites like Youtube, Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc all make it easier to find good music and new artists because spreading information only takes the click of a button. It was hardly like that "back in the day". Labels had control over the radio stations and television (They still do) with payola and it made hard for new artists to break through if they weren't plugged into the label network. It isn't like that anymore. With the fast spreading of information we're able to consume more music than ever before. You don't even need to listen to the radio or watch tv if you don't want to. Having an internet connection is all you need.
People are always gonna like what they're gonna like and there's nothing we can do about that. All we can do is present them with a different option. And I think that is the gist of what people are trying to get at.
MF_BREW
All Star
R&b cats are trying to be in the club and be a thug.
Miguel is good. Frank Ocean is just average. Chrisette Michelle is good. Timberlake is overhyped. The problem is that no young R&B singer is willing to make a traditional R&B album without hip hop beats anymore. Where is the next Boyz II Men in this day and age?
Oceanicpuppy
Superstar
Would you count these artist/songs as R&B? I don't know what to call this, I don't know if it is a sub genre of r&b ...it's more EMDish /Easy listening(some have R&B influence Vocals)
Not much Rhythm to much of the songs though. More of a synth/strings type.
This seems like the trendy sound right now and if it doesn't sound like this it sounds like a DJ mustard creation.
These aren't all the songs or artist by a long shot
