How Pop Music was Revived with Modern R&B

Written by | Sara Sehgal

A rumour that R&B is dead has been spreading for years. The rise of hip hop overthrew

the soulful vocals and expressions of love, life, and struggles.

"Hip-hop has made this impact. People want to have fun and turn up, but people also

want to hear raw, genuine emotions. I think that's why I've cut through and that's why there's a

surge of R&B artists cutting through." said R&B artist H.E.R.

The charts and the radio have lacked recognition of the R&B genre for a long time but

the Grammy’s are making up for it. Award ceremonies tell us a lot about the current state of

popular music despite not always getting it right.

At the 2019 Grammy’s, HER’s self-titled album and Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer

were nominated for Album of the Year; both R&B albums. Many other albums with hints of

R&B were also nominated such as Drake’s Scorpion, Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther: The

Album, and Post Malone’s Beerbongs and Bentleys. R&B artists H.E.R, Jorja Smith and Chloe X

Halle were all nominated for the new artist category. And the song-of-the-year award went to

Ella Mai for her single “Boo’d Up.”

In 2018, Bruno Mars was awarded with three grammys. One of which was Album of the

Year for his 24K album. This signified a larger cultural shift in that contemporary R&B artists

could experiment and diversify their music more freely. However, mainstream approval seems to

come from additions of old-school beats to modern R&B.

The album 24K magic incorporates elements from 80s-style funk in the “24K magic”

track, 90s Motown soul in “That’s What I Like,” and New Jack Swing in “Finesse.” The music

video for “Finesse” was even inspired by a 90s sketch comedy show called In Living Color.

R&B singles hardly make it high up on the Billboard Top 100 list but Rihanna’s “Love on

the Brain,” and Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up,” both managed to place in the top 5. “Love on the Brain”

is a modernized version of 50s and 60s doo-wop soul while “Boo’d Up” incorporates 90s

hip-hop soul.

Music is a way to tap into people’s nostalgia and artists satisfy that by incorporating old

school elements into their songs. In early 2000s music, a heavy influence from the 80s was

apparent and now we’re seeing contemporary music inspired by sounds from the 90s.

R&B has evolved over the years despite predictions that it would eventually fade in

popularity like Rock. With new vocal approaches and sound fusions, the genre is still growing.

HER, SZA, and Ella Mai are all R&B artists who’ve been gaining mainstream success

with their poetic sounds and lyricism. Their style of music resembles hip hop soul from the 90s

which can be credited to Mary J. Blige.

The success of Ella Mai’s “Trip” and SZA’s Ctrl album portray how R&B is making a

comeback. Kendrick Lamar and his TDE label have also played a huge role in bringing

contemporary R&B to pop radio by using his hip hop success. He also reintroduced soul into hip

hop namely with his To Pimp a Butterfly album. It helped revive concious hip hop and included

multiple foundations of black music such as free jazz, gospel, and spoken word.

The addition of trap music to R&B has also been prevalent in contemporary music with it

being named trap&B. Trap&B can be found in popular songs like Normani and Khalid’s “Love

Lies,” which mixes it with soul and 6lack’s “Pretty Little Fears” infusing it with 90s R&B.

Another factor in R&B is the inclusion of stories and messages behind their music. In

Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, she comments on black culture, queer identity, and

womanhood.

R&B survival has depended on it’s fusion with other genres such as chillwave,

electronica, hip hop, and trap. R&B is moving into futurism the more technology advances.

Rihanna’s Anti and Frank Ocean’s Blonde exemplify this abstract style becoming popularized.

Camp is also an attribute that can be found in future R&B shown by Doja Cat’s “Moo,” a

comedical track that went viral on the internet.

R&B is a genre filled with innovation and emotion. With constant fresh voices appearing

with compelling stories and heartfelt vocals, this genre is not going anywhere.