Has Everyone Gone Pop? Why R&B Has Become The Red-Headed Stepchild Of The Music Industry

September 27th, 2012 - By La Truly

I’ve been perplexed and dismayed for a few months now when thinking about the current state of music. We’re living in the era of music that relies too heavily on free downloads, more beats than thought-provoking lyrical content and shocking ‘announcements’ to drive album sales.

I just started listening to the radio again at the beginning of the summer. Was I happy with what I was hearing? Meh, maybe 75 percent as opposed to the good 90 percent of the late 90s and early 2000s. The cause, I realized, was that every song pretty much sounded the same. If I wanted the depth and relatable sounds I had grown up on, the SWV, Jagged Edge, Guy, Brian McKnight, Aaliyah, and Joe, then I would have to dig deep, reach back and pretty much forsake much, if not all of what is being played right here and now in 2012.

R&B was a mainstay for me growing up. There was soul there. Though I couldn’t completely relate to Faith Evans telling her man that she would never let him go, or Babyface outlining just exactly how fierce his girl’s “Whip Appeal” was, I saw R&B as a goal. I wanted to know love like that and yes even in some silly way I wanted to know the heartbreak of it too. R&B was what we came home to after pop, rock and rap amped us up for the day. Now, the house is no longer a home because R&B has been kicked out to fend for itself outside the realm of the mainstream music industry.

It’s been kicked out by everyone in the house: First of all, consumers. We complain that “Don’t nobody sing about nothin’ no more,” yet we twiddle our thumbs and look everywhere but to the music shelves in our local retailers when great R&B albums are released. When do we come out of pocket? For a Jay & Yeezy concert? Okay, that’s cool if that’s truly your preference. But honestly, Carl Thomas and Tamia, two of the brightest voices of R&B for YEARS, have put out absolutely phenomenal albums this year and I had to go in search of reviews for both. We say we want it, but do we support it? I’ll never forget how people used to wait in line to buy whole albums. To get that CD in their hands. To support the artistry that spoke the most into their lives. Now we pick apart these artists’ hard work and effort, barely ever spending that little $9 to $12. I’m guilty of it.

Secondly, R&B has been kicked out by the new generation. And to be fair, it’s not entirely their fault. When I was coming up, R&B was good music because it was relatable. People were in love. It wasn’t corny or foolish to put yourself out there for the sake of love. It was real, honest, respected. Grown folks could see themselves in the music and us young folks had something beautiful to look forward to. Nowadays, people mostly look to music to live a life vicariously that they’ll never get to experience firsthand. I will never know the life of a bada** rockstar. I’ll never know the lifestyle of a foul-mouthed, bootylicious Barbie but Rihanna and Nicki Minaj give me an all-access pass into that world. No shade. They’re getting theirs. But the depth they’ll deliver to me is few and far between. And so it is with the newer generation. “Love” and all of its highs and lows is for the birds to them. It’s wack. They can’t relate to a love song, but they can sure get with a jam about sex. People who thought the 90s were hyper-sexualized and overly gaudy are probably crapping bricks right now. Where we used to love music we could relate to, we now love music we pretty much know nothing of the lifestyle except in fantasy. People are not openly proclaiming that they are in love and everyone is cynical about the possibility. The real R&B artists who are STILL MAKING MUSIC, as an amazing musician friend of mine pointed out, aren’t being supported and won’t draw a cult following like Nicki Minaj because nowadays the masses want crazy, flashy sex in their music instead of easy, sweet adoration. We cling to heavy beats and synths instead of deep, poetic lyrics.

Thirdly, the music execs and DJs have abandoned R&B. Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’ album last year was the bees knees. It brought a sense of balance from new and old school back to today’s music. How much press did he and his ridiculously talented band get? How much promo did he get? How much air time did he get? DJs play the same four songs in the heaviest of rotations DAILY. Where’s the pressure for them to be more open to a wider range of music? DJs have a larger amount of power than they let on and we, AS THE LISTENERS, even believe.

The blame can’t be placed on any one group. All of us, consumers, execs, DJs, lovers and friends have done our part to push R&B out to make way for anything and everything that will “cross over.” Anything that will make a fist pump, and anything that can become a dance jam for a club where they twirl around glow sticks and dance off beat. It’s time we start making our way back to the artists who are still making music of substance before we look up and realize too late that one of the greatest genres has become extinct.

La Truly is a late-blooming Aries whose writing is powered by a lifetime of anecdotal proof that awkward can transform to awesome and fear can cast its crown before courage. Armed with the ability to purposefully poke fun at herself and a passion for young women’s empowerment, La seeks to encourage thought, discussion and change. Her blog: www.hersoulinc.com and her Twitter: @AshleyLaTruly.  

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  • dbatt001

    if it aint on the radio played in rotation a hundred times a day , it just not going to get to that level.

  • Anon

    R&B is extinct because it’s no longer marketable/profitable. The only marketable/profitable R&B comes from white folks like the Adele’s, and Amy Winehouses of the world and thats only because they’re an anomoly. People just can’t believe such a soulful voice is coming out of a white person which gives them shock value. Black people having soulful voices is the norm. Unless they have undeniable voices like the Mariah’s and Whitney’s of the world, they’re not going to gain a huge following. SO, you then have to ask yourselves who the main supporters are of R&B and the answer is BLACK PEOPLE! It was easy for labels to make money from R&B before downloading music was possible. BLACK PEOPLE DON’T BUY MUSIC! Not black people from this generation. Now my mother is good for buying an album and some of these underground folks, my mother and her crew would love BUT those people haven’t become mainstream due to their inability to make labels money early on, so my mother knows nothing about them and never will. If black folks would buy music instead of downloading it or even buy the downloads then R&B would have a chance to come back.

  • gmarie

    I think a couple of people summed this up. We aren’t supporting it (not only in record sales). When we begin to support it consistently, outlets will have no choice but to play and introduce it to the broader audience.

    side bar: I hate that the only radio station in L.A. that I could count on for great R&B music now plays hip hop. If I want to hear that I know where I can go..

  • Nat

    Every generation complains about the music that the current generation (i.e. teenagers and young adults) is practicing both as creators and consumers. As a 70s baby I remember thinking that radio friendly music was generally bad in the 80s and 90s as the dearth in musicianship became more and more apparent and the importance of technology more and more transcendent. Therefore, it is always funny to me to hear those days referred to as the “good old days.” I’m sorry but if Janet Jackson, TLC, Bell Biv Devoe, Brownstone, New Edition, Avant etc. represent true artistry then you probably have a very limited musical vocabulary and were never true music fans in a pure sense. If you study the history of music you will find that every era had its handful of ground breakers surrounded by an army of mimics, gimmicks, heretics and plain sorry “artists.” Media consolidation has intensified the issue and severely limited the number of songs you might regularly hear for a time span but if you were at any time choosing your favorite artists based on radio play then your musical world has always been limited just like the kids that you criticize now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1438551270 Jessica Lucinda Williams

    i listen to Beyonce sometimes (her music is catchy), and sometimes gospel music, but the rest is New Age Jazz, or piano concertos. i’d rather listen to music with no words, to me it is more soothing. i also love the sounds of nature cd’s. if i have to listen to anything else, it will be Johnny Taylor, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker. to me r+b will never go out of style, but those are my favorites.

    • dbatt001

      music with no words are my favorites…I love the smooth jazz genre.

  • Ann

    It is sad how people don’t to support very good music. People don’t have one problem supporting music that degrades black women calling them b**** and hoes, singing and rapping about how many women that they can get, foul-mouth rappers using almost every curse word. I don’t know why people will quickly support negative stuff and don’t want to support anything positive hardly. I am a huge R&B fan the music sound better back then than some of this garbarge that is out there now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/avanaidm Avanaid Mctear

    ST_Ava1130

  • Alexa

    Great article! I’m right there with you when its comes to the topic of today’s state of R&B. You really just have to dig deep for it. Miguel is doing his thing by the way! That song Adore is everything lol

  • Hello_Kitty81

    Thank you, this is why I listen to old school R&B only because song those days is about making love, now todays “R&B” is about s3x, money making your kitty squirt and materialism, just like modern day hip-hop/rap. But there are a few R&B artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Marsha Ambrosius, Kem, Anthony Hamilton, and Kindred and the Family Soul that’s not conforming to this mainstream pop music trend, personally, I hate pop music.

  • TRUTH IS

    Why MN has to moderate my comment?!? It simply states “……It sucks c0w ball$. Bring back good music” SMH. Does this site cater for underage since the topics are for mature audience!?!

  • real rap

    great article! the demise of r&b is directly linked to a shift in our goals, morals, and standards. we used to be a people who respectd one another, love meant something because u had to be vulnerable…u had to risk something. now, the only thing that matters is money & what it brings…women, sex, flash, power, violence. music used to be about substance & quality but now its about how extreme can i be so that people will buy it. when there is a lack of depth, the product will also lack depth & sustance.

  • http://twitter.com/MsRedboneBrite Tee Elyse

    This was a really good read! I grew up in the 90s listening to REAL R&B and hip hop, and yes, looking at the state of the industry today is very sad! We still have a few artists that are giving us that good old R&B (Jill Scott, Bilal, Anthony Hamilton, Choklate(<—-Google that one, she's the TRUTH) but it's true, those artists aren't being promoted the right way, and overall, the industry just isn't the same. The fans aren't really buying music like we did back in the day, when there was no internet and illegal file sharing. It sucks, but hopefully there are others out there who will continue to support their favorite artists no matter what!

  • Earthspirit1

    I want to thank you , from the bottom of my heart for this article! I have been thinking the same thing. A lot of comments from people nowadays are “you’re old” or “things change”…I’m all for evolving…but for the better. Music ESPECIALLY R&B is the music I grew up on. As a Generation X’er, I truly appreciate my parents for introducing me to a wide range of different artists/sounds (starting from the Motown era to early 80′s music). It is really sad that one has to play Sherlock Holmes to find great R&B music from seasoned and indie artists that don’t get the marketing they so well deserve.

    • jayne

      I agree with you completely and as far as the “your old” or “things change” I get that this generation might not love r&b but there are orther people who do enjoy that music and alot of other genres of older music. What I hate is how they’re just catering to a small group like that’s everybody and it’s not. But whats funny is if you go to billboard you see how dead the charts are in every genre 15,000 units here 12,000 units there so they’ve pretty much killed off interest period in most music today regardless of the the genre.

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