The early days of black R&B music was always characterized by the struggle between artistic innovation and the lucrative allure of "crossover" success. Groundbreaking R&B artists from the late 50's to the 80's faced the dual challenge of making authentically soulful music while at the same time appealing to a mainstream (i.e. white ) audience. Artists ranging from Sam Cooke to Luther Vandross faced the ever-present task of being true to their artistic and cultural roots while balancing the pressures of a music industry that was often more concerned with putting hits on the pop charts than nurturing black R&B artists. Nevertheless, during this period, the world was blessed with some of the best music ever recorded in any genre. Those great masterpieces include Marvin Gayes' socially conscious "What's Going On," the sassy, bravado of Aretha Franklin's "Respect," the funky groove of James Brown's "Poppa's Got a Brand New Bag," and the silky smooth romantic voice of Smokey Robinson in "Ooh Baby Baby" among many others.
However, when Hip-Hop reached the zenith of its popularity during the early and mid-1990's, R&B music was irrevocably changed forever. Many have said that Hip-Hop effectively killed what we traditionally call R&B music. Contemporary R&B artists stopped mimicking the sweet melodious tunes and beautiful lyricism of their forbears, and instead adopted the pulsating beats, hard charging lyrics, and crass sexuality often associated with Hip-Hop music. While some may argue that the demise of traditional R&B music occurred even sooner with the advent of disco music, there was still lots of great R&B music being produced during the late 70's and 80's with artists like Earth, Wind ,and Fire, Prince, Anita Baker, and many others. During the 90's, the gospel-tinged R&B made famous by artists like Aretha Franklin and Al Green during the 60's and 70's gave way to music that placed less and less emphasis on the heartfelt soul and stylized arrangements of R&B. The cool, sophisticated style of Marvin Gaye was replaced by the more unrefined and pedestrian style of R Kelly. Among female artists, the powerful feminine vocals of artists like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight was replaced by a new generation of female artists who seemed more interested in promoting their sexuality than singing with real, unabashed passion, with only a few notable exceptions.
The main culprit of this phenomenon appears to be black urban radio. If you listen to any urban radio station in any major radio market in the country, you will hear a repetitious cacophony of music performed and produced by artists lacking in originality and artistic vision. You will also find it difficult to hear R&B music that is not over-produced or that does not sound like homogenized Hip-Hop. A quick look at the current top ten Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Charts provides proof of this point. There are only five R&B artists in the top ten (Beyonce, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Usher, and Rhianna). Among these artists, two of the top ten songs are actually collaborations with Rap/Hip-Hop artists. The remainder of the chart is dominated overwhelmingly by Hip-Hop, relegating R&B to second class status on urban radio.
This does not mean, however, that great R&B music is a thing of past. The neo-soul movement that began during the mid-90's with a small cadre of artists like Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Me'Shell NdegeOcello, and D'Angelo breathed new life in a genre that appeared to be dying a slow death. This new generation of R&B artists came of age during the 70's and 80's, and they were greatly influenced by artists like Stevie Wonder, Roy Ayers, Chaka Khan, Prince, and Donny Hathaway. They also came of age during the early days of Hip-Hop, when this music genre was still in its infancy. This zeitgeist helped develop what we now call neo-soul. Neo-Soul is essentially a hybrid form of R&B that fuses 70's soul music with elements of hip-hop and jazz. A few neo-soul artists have enjoyed significant commercial success and can be heard on urban radio, including Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and Musiq Soulchild. However, the vast majority of neo-soul artists remain on small independent record labels and receive limited radio airplay. These artists have placed less emphasis on producing commercial "radio friendly" music, and more emphasis on staying true to an distinct artistic vision, preferring to remain underground artists with a cult following. These artists include Eric Roberson, N'Dambi, Rahsaan Patterson, Sy Smith, and Anthony David. With the exception of internet radio, these artists are largely unsung and unheard in the mainstream music industry. Nevertheless, they constitute the future of real R&B music.