with leather on because your girl ain't calling you back. Chris Brown is in fact better than Michael Jackson. And y'all riding me like Suzuki. This is R&B music guys, R&B music.
Clone, clone, clone, clone. It went from worse to worse sir. Hey guys, it's your girl Cameron and I'm back at it again with another video. And today we are going to be talking about something that really needs to be discussed.
I mean serious business today. I'm not playing. Male R&B being on life support. Dead, done, zilch.
Somebody's about to pull the cord, pull the plug, and it needs a revival ASAP because we've lost the plot tremendously. In pop culture conversations surrounding music and pop and R&B, the girls, the girls, the girls tend to be the center and focus around the conversation. Understandably so because historically women have always had to give more. The industry always sought more artist development with the women.
The women had to tick all of these boxes, right? And I think the trend of us discussing women in pop culture is just a natural culmination because there's more to talk about. Women have always kind of been developed to be this full pack.
artist. But today we're switching it up. We're talking solely about the men and specifically men in R&B and the issue of how far we have fallen from what R&B was, what the male R&B singer meant and how they helped shape a genre that just seems to kind of be floating in the soulless space. We've definitely in the mainstream R&B space have been in a mainstream drought.
Passionless, uninspired lyrics. Overall, in a lack in vulnerability and tinges of toxicity, it's a little deeper than that, that clearly does not mirror what the genre began as. R&B has always been a genre that's rich with soul, confession, honesty, and bearing it all with your voice carrying the story. And through the years, we've had a plethora of impactful male R&B artists, talented and influential, some of those who we will definitely talk about today.
But increasingly, we've seen less male talent pushed to the mainstream in R&B. Vocally, lyrically, and performance wise. Less expected and less given. With ideas of masculinity being up for question, a shift in musical subject, identity, and culture, this has driven male R&B artists further from the plot.
Are we going to remain in this soulless era of R&B music, contemporary R&B, where men don't express their honest emotions, lack accountability, treat and sing about women like objects, and don't really write true love songs anymore? Haven't you heard anybody ask, Why aren't they singing in the rain like they used to? Because if they're not, I don't want it.
The other day, I was watching Charlie Wilson's Tiny Desk performance. And it really sparked this light bulb. I was like, why? What happened?
Where did we lose the plot? Where did we get mixed up in the equation? Because we don't see that anymore.
We don't see it. So I want to do a bit of a... commentary on this today so please comment down below share your thoughts hit that subscribe button if you'd like to see more commentary content just like this video make sure you guys check out my patreon down below i've actually been reacting to a lot of r b releases and i plan to i continue to i got a seven day free trial over there if you guys want to see what i do but without further ado let's just get straight into the commentary so to start off this video let's talk about the rise of r b in a historical sense and how male artists absolutely contributed to shaping R&B in some very influential act. So R&B stands for rhythm and blues. And classical or traditional R&B developed around the 40s and 50s that originated from Black American communities, combining elements of jazz, blues, and gospel.
And elements of this included piano, guitar, bass, drums, and horns, as well as background singers. Quote, R&B encapsulates the experience of pain in the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs. and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.
And vocals had a very mainstay in a genre like R&B, more so than I would say almost any other genre. Because we mentioned these notes of gospel being like a basis, a lot of R&B singers grew up in the church. They started in the church choir. So that was a training place. And then within the 80s, there was a sound shift in R&B, which often combined pop, soul, funk, disco, and electronic music.
With, again, vocals still finding a main place in the equation. Now, some influential male figures that began shaping the genre, Ray Charles, Ben E. King, James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson. The gang. band and we saw this attention to live instrumentation, innovation, passion, pleading, right, vocally and lyrically.
A variety of all of these mixed into one within this class of artists here. There was a soulfulness and mind you, vocalists. Vocalists were present. I mean, Luther Vandross alone packs a punch. Vocals, his voice is absolutely magical.
and he's personally one of my favorites. And then we transition to the 80s and 90s and in the late 80s and early 90s, New Jack Swing made way which was a combination of rhythms and the production techniques of hip-hop and dance-pop that began to equal this urban contemporary sound of R&B at the time. And this also probably created a generational divide once again making distinction at the time between classic R&B and a newer school version of R&B.
And Teddy Riley was the independent songwriter slash producer who created the new jack swing style and he said quote new jack swing is a technology of music which is putting rap and singing together taking different musics and fusing them all together i was always in church so i also had to have that church feel in my music and that's what kept everyone on the dance floor so as we see for the first time i would say this fusion of hip-hop and r&b taking place in the mainstream r&b space but as you can tell teddy riley still felt there was an important importance in keeping vocals and a soulfulness i.e. the gospel node that we don't really see as much now but was still kept at the forefront and you can definitely see this within that era of music with some of these artists that I am going to list today. It's with groups like Boyz to Men, New Edition, The Debarges, Troop, Jodeci, 112, The Deal, Mint Condition, tons more. I think of singers like Johnny Gill for example who had very strong powerful vocals. And songs from this era in this time, My My My, Two Occasions, Night and Day, Candy Rain, Tender Love, Breaking My Heart, Sensitivity, the list goes on.
The list, the classics go on and on. And then we move to the 90s around up to the 2000s, the new millennium with artists like Charlie Wilson. I'm music soul child one of my personal favorites Brian McKnight one of my favorite R&B artists of all time grew up listening to him unfortunately for us he's a deadbeat do what you want with that information but yeah I couldn't leave him off this list Robin Thicke one of my favorite albums of all time is the evolution of Robin Thicke so great great R&B music Justin Timberlake I don't always like to give him his tens, but he makes amazing, excellent music, y'all, especially from that time frame in that era.
Masterpiece. Usher. We will get into him in more depth.
Don't you worry. Tank. Tyrese.
Donnell Jones. Maxwell. Kim. Joe.
John B. Who had a lot to say about me the other day. But no, it does get sampled every year, you know, by someone. Last year was. Gunna and Chloe Bailey, they put that Ratchet record out that I couldn't stand.
And I wish they never did. Too much, let's reel it in. Let's reel it in.
And then we go into the 2000s to the 20s. period with artists like Chris Brown, Neo, Omarion, Lloyd, Mario, Pretty Ricky, Bobby V, Jay Holiday and fast forward to the 2010s plus we have Chris Brown as kind of like this figurehead the main R&B boy, Trey Songz, August Alsina, Jeremiah in there a little bit but otherwise the three that I just listed was like the male R&B trinity. They were peers, they were all kind of fell along a similar line, but during this 2010s period to mid-2010s, this was during the hip-hop era.
So around this time hip-hop was gaining global steam and it became the most popular genre in the world. So of course, naturally, not only did we see hip-hop being adopted in pop music, in country music, in other styles, but we see elements of hip-hop of course. being intertwined and mixed with R&B because they're literally sister genres. Uncle Cousin, Sister Brother, whatever you want to call it, Cousin.
They're related. So this was a natural progression. So now as we look at modern times, modern day, this era I just spoke about, we have hip hop that's dominating the airways.
So of course, The guys are going to want a piece. The guys are going to want a piece. And honestly, you can see a clear shift in tone, subject matter as well during this era, during this time. And we'll talk more about this in depth.
But you can vigilantly see this. within the evolution of Chris Brown's work, like the tonal shift of his work. I think of artists like Mario, who was making music in the early 2K. And then he comes out with songs like, why would you wanna break up? I've been thinking, why would you wanna break up?
Very hip hop influence. Bottoms up, Trey Songz, very hip hop influence. Clubbanger hip hop influence.
And around this time, you also see the subject matter changing. You see Chris Brown with his hit, Loyal, talking about Just Got Rich. I can make a broke bitch rich, but I don't fuck with broke bitches.
So that was the quintessential R&B hip-hop infused song, lyrically and musically. So that's kind of where we were, an overview. And in this current mainstream era, we have Bryson Tiller, Party Next Door, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Gideon, Daniel Caesar, Barely, Brent Fias, Khalid, Jack Queese, Six Flack, Lucky Day. Blast. Comment some more but we will go over some other people so don't you worry sit tight.
The timeline of what R&B looked like, who were the stars at the time, who was really shaping and pushing the genre forward. And now let's talk about the male role in R&B. What were male artists there to do?
What space did they fill in the industry that made R&B as big as it became? A lot of men in R&B exhibited a level of vulnerability. We talk about the singing in the rain trope, pleading for love trope. It's an R&B cliche, but it's true, right?
We saw this quite often. And a lot of these singers were not afraid to bear it all or to appear to be really wrapped in love, right? There was a level of acceptance, I feel like, in vulnerability surrounding a woman or love interest at this time. And we can look at songs in their videos. The proof is in the pudding.
I think of End of the Road. I think of Can You Stand the Rain? I think of like the tonal quality and the structure of a song and the feeling and passion of a song like Breaking My Heart. Sweet lady, cry for you, Jodeci.
Singing in the desert with leather on because your girl ain't calling you back. Like it was levels to this and a lot of men in the space, mainstream wise even. I mean, this was this was what we were doing. That was what was being done.
And people didn't really bat an eyelash. We also saw strong bolstering vocals from male vocalists. I mentioned a couple of guys before like Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, Al Green. There's like this strong presence, very skilled, and packs so much emotion in a vocal. And many R&B artists as well, I would say even more so in the early 2000s era, danced.
It was considerably a part of the R&B package. within the early 2k specifically to the 2010s and the main three people i think about in this realm would be an usher chris brown justin timberlake we'll talk about some more as well but let's talk about usher because i i really feel like usher does not get credit in the sense of his longevity um what he's contributed to r&b that raw talent that he possesses and I want to give him a spotlight here today because we can't have this male R&B conversation without talking about Usher. So Usher checked off already one of the R&B boxes. He was a church boy.
He began singing in church and then he came into the game around 14 when he was discovered on Star Search and this actually led to his recorded contract being signed with LaFace Records and his first album Usher came out in 1994 at the young age of 15. And then in 1997 his second album My Way came out with songs like You Make Me Wanna and in 2001 he came out with his third album 8701 with hits like You Remind Me, You Don't Have to Call, and You Got It Bad. And then we get to his 2004 album Confessions which would be his biggest album at the time and would land him his first number one album selling more than 1 million copies in the first week and eventually selling over 20 million copies worldwide. And he would go on to earn three Grammys off of that album alone. We got songs like Burn. Okay, let's get into the discography.
So we have songs like Burn, which is that classic pleading R&B ballad. One part of the recipe. We have Confessions Part 2, right? Laying it out flat and bearing it all on the track.
And then we have a song like, yeah, hip-hop and R&B club banger. We see the pattern of hip-hop and R&B blending, even as early as this point, of course. But...
Usher's discography had a little bit of everything in there and I think that's why like old school respected him, new school respected him, he could always kind of find that sweet spot. And fast forward to today, he released an album in 2024 which I thought was pretty good, headlined the Super Bowl and is embarking on an anticipated world tour. He's had residencies, he's getting paid, he's getting that money and people are still paying to see Usher. With his mesmerizing dance moves, the look, the passion, the lyrics, the live singing chops, let's clock it. he was a prodigy of his own and still holds the crown to me for one of the best modern r&b pop male artists with immense talent and attention to craft.
and we can even look at that early 2k era with artists like michael jackson kicking off the new millennium with his invincible album in 2001. invincible was heavily produced by jark child who's a very popular r&b producer. And I even think with a music video like You Rock My World, a company with dancing had stapled that. Again, this was setting the tone for what we would see, the inspiration of what we would see in R&B, in male R&B artists in particular, to come. And speaking of dancers heavily inspired by Michael Jackson, we just talked about Usher. We could talk about Ne-Yo.
And let's talk about Chris Brown. Chris Brown would be honestly passed the torch. where he had the singing chops, artistic attention to detail, hits, and the moves. Sometimes.
But we can't ignore the elephant, and it's not even an elephant in the room. Chris Brown's controversies and, you know, the wrongdoings and things that have played out in the media absolutely stifled, like, his legacy, especially, like, his career trajectory up until that. point and when we talk about that dancing component singers like Omarion right the singer dancer he was a part of the group B2K when he went solo his dancing chops were the main attraction lloyd mario neo of course so i just listed quite a few guys who would do a little two-step who would and not even do a little two-step some of these guys can actually dance but you you you you don't see that so i'm getting ahead of myself so let's move on to the meat and potatoes this is what y'all really came here for where do we go what is the issue and how have we gotten to where we are today why is r&b male r&b specifically on life support let's talk about it reason number one there is a lack of passion in pursuit long gone are the days of singing in the rain long gone you know this idea of vulnerability right and passion was what created so much enamor in the male r&b space with men and and female listeners alike it was more vulnerable and that emotion was where i feel like widely accepted in the r&b airways many of the songs listed from the 70s 80s and 90s had a heavy love theme right very love focused a commitment to vulnerability and a clear longing portrayed through the voice and the voice was also able to display what the lyrics couldn't wholly say i mean now we in the where where it's like passion please like the vocab of and ho seeps into lyricism and concept in r b now which to me lacks a major level of positive pursuit and enthusiastic passion like it already turns things sour in a genre that is supposed to be about rhythm and blues we're start we're starting to now be brash and a little harsh like it's just not soft it's not soft whatsoever there's a lack of dancing number two just talked about it i would say the only mainstream male r b artist who danced today would be chris brown and usher enlighten me i'm talking about like popular like still popping their type thing those though that's it that's all this is the whole commentary to male artists period a lot of labels are not pushing the package with men overall let alone an r&b like even these pop boys even the pop the pop labels and stuff like that they don't really care if their guy sings he just needs to be a little attractive maybe maybe that's even questionable so that's not just an r&b problem um but it's absolutely lacking and i want you guys kick your feet up pull up a chair lean forward a little bit because i think this is the main culprit Number three, hip hop and rap culture becoming intertwined inextricably with R&B.
I was trying to think of a marker in my head where I really think the whole trajectory completely shifted on its head. I was trying not to go here because I liked the album. I was really trying not to go here.
But the main thing that stuck out in my head was Trap Soul by Bryson Tiller in 2015. Bryson Tiller ushered in to the mainstream this new sound that was darker, stripped, combined with like these trap elements half singing half rapping fusion of course it kind of existed i would even say with artists like t-pain and lil wayne um especially t-pain they were bridging this gap between like okay the auto-tune we're doing something a bit different than anything traditional um and obviously lil wayne's a rapper but he would kind of sing and melodically a bit occasionally but bryson tiller was a relatively new mainstream artist so this trap soul album you Everyone was talking. If you were there, you were there. And Trap Soul at the time was essentially a bubbling subgenre. It really took on a life of its own though within this era and in Bryson Tiller's like popularization of it.
And as much as I really do like and enjoy Bryson Tiller's music, okay, I was definitely sad. I feel like in the grand scheme of things, this kind of did create irreparable damage in like salvaging whatever was left of like this traditional or closer to traditional R&B values that we we saw in music. So now when a lot of guys would get popular or come out in like the mainstream R&B space, I think of artists like Party Next Door, Black, Six Flack, Ty Dolla Sign, Brent Fias, Division, Listen.
some more in the comments but i i think that kind of followed after this era or the popularity of it at least um and then also subject wise it began intertwining with hip-hop right we r&b started to adopt more of this like braggadocious kind of objectifying like sexualized nature that we were seeing more so commonly with hip-hop and with that being said it's funny because while r&b it was like moving into this hip-hop space hip-hop was starting to move into a more of a vulnerable space with artists like drake Drake the soft sensitive guy right who sings a little bit but can rap we think of people like Kanye West with you know projects like 808s and heartbreaks where it's more emotional and vulnerable so isn't that kind of funny how we see like this dichotomy between two genres kind of flipping on its head a bit but with that we started seeing rappers um cross over and occasionally sing which further blended the genres I think of people like Future, Drake like I just mentioned Gunna kind of has this melodic flow going and even projects like Slime and B with Young Thug and Chris Brown There was a clear fusion that was accepted and made and it's almost kind of like the lines were completely blurring That's not always a bad thing mind you that's going to happen. That's a natural cause and effect but for those of us who Appreciate more like this traditional stripped down sense of R&B when it kind of steers from so far where it came from It's a bit of a disappointment factor So when I think of a lot of rappers like switching into the singing sphere, they can't really sing that well without autotune. This has spawned the stage for artists like Friday, Young Blue, 4Bats, Mooski, 2C, and I don't know how I forgot Rodway.
Anyways, I think of that brand of singers and I think it directly correlates to this like rapper-singer fusion that we saw on both ends, the hip-hop side and the R&B side. It's really just R&B without the pipes. It's more of a vibe. a mood laid back toxic a little bit romantic when they want to be and a whole lot more vulgar overall this leads into another issue is that the singers who can't say you know it's kind of okay when you got like a mix of everything going on when you have a variety but in this scenario and in this case with male r b artists mainstream mainstream keyword mainstream the pipes are not encouraged and that development of skill is not there people hop into the studio just put a little auto-tune or filter over their voice, put a little melodic beat in the background, and they're done. They call it a day.
And a lack of emotional vocal portrayal. Like I noticed this more with the men. Again, not bad singers per se, Bryson Tiller, PnD, but there's like a lack of passion in their voice.
And I would even say seasoned singers like Chris Brown, to me, started to kind of over auto-tune his songs in the studio and also live. So it's like to the point where you can't really hear his voice authentically. Now let's get into what I think is a deeper root issue into why male R&B is not the same, especially in today's climate. We have this idea of this toxic masculinity, I'm using like the trendy buzzword term, and f-boy culture seeping into R&B.
So let's talk about masculinity in the traditional sense. Strength, assertiveness, courage, aggression. Potentially lack of empathy, dominant, lack of emotional display. And then when we start mixing this with ideas of Black men, obviously have always been dominant in R&B, especially for male R&B artists. These two kind of exist within like this relationship, especially within the internet stratosphere, where although ideas of masculinity are more widely questioned today, it's still often seen as quite taboo.
If anything, the internet creates more of a stage to be humiliated and and talked about right every move pick apart people are arguing over what a man should and should not wear someone being soft painted nails crop tops purses vocal softness everything is extra analyzed on a world stage so over time singing became associated with a level of femininity in some ways like the soft singing the sultriness right the the passion the longing and it was kind of counteracted with like this era like hip-hop's the thing we're talking about the the most braggadocious things we're talking about the most vulgar things we're talking about hoes we're talking about all this type of stuff and then you got this one guy like think about how drake was you know teased they're like who the hell is this soft-ass dude on this track no one wants to hear that that kind of subconsciously i don't know if that discouraged more male artists from really leaning into that emotion but we started to lose it and so in some ways i think the sappy love songs did take a back seat at this time in an effort to prove something you prior to that i feel like a lot of male r&b artists made their music catered to the ladies while over time this version of r&b has been more broadly catered to men hitting their demographic other men there's been a glorification of toxicity in relationship spaces that r&b has seemingly moved on to the toxic king I'm not shit, but hey, at least I'm honest. Which people think makes it any better. Yeah.
Saying about these ideas very boldly, proudly. Lacking accountability. Talking about emotional manipulation. Avoiding accountability. Playing games.
Pure playing games and you're like 30 or 40. Screw up. I think of Division's song, If I Get Caught, where they say in the chorus, if I get caught, that don't mean I don't love you. And Jay-Z actually approved the use of his song. song cry as the sample jay-z saying i didn't think anyone could make a song more toxic than song cry i stand corrected and division ended up posting a screenshot of their exchange on instagram with the caption by the way jay it's not toxic it's honest so we see like these r&b figureheads male specifically being like and what about it we're just being honest this is what men think this is what we think this is what we're doing and so you see a trend of this subject matter being pushed to the forefront and i mean you guys might say okay well i sure had like a confession part two where he's literally telling his story of what happened in real life right like cheating on this woman a baby on the way a hot mess but it still kind of bared a sense of responsibility and vulnerability like a self-awareness that lacks completely because music is music you sing about experiences you sing about things that didn't happen right but there's like a level of um awareness that you can have And I think the issue that I'm speaking on today is not that like these songs exist, it's the fact that they exist in abundance, that there's a lack of variety that's being pushed in a mainstream space.
So when we talk about like ideas of masculinity and f-boy culture, whatever you want to call it, the typical R&B pleading that we got used to seeing from a lot of our staple male R&B artists, you know, pleading for your girl became corny or undesired by general audiences. That's simp behavior. You're whipped. it all became more of a diss in a way for men to please other men's level of attraction to women and how far they would go to keep her i'm sorry y'all might think oh she's getting a little it's not that i i don't know guys i think we should yeah i think you should think a little bit deeper because i really think it goes that deep so in this case and like this modern iteration of r&b we see it where love is often only represented for a lover in relation to i don't want youtube to take my video down so i'm bleeping this word from here on out you thank you not like that pure longing emotion for like just being present with another person that's something that to me stands out and sticks out like a sore thumb and this is another one this is the main thing that i'm driving home today let's take it home let's take it all the way home the over sexualization the men aren't escaping this conversation i think a lot of people try to put the over sexual label on women but the men have if not just the same amount of issues with it or more let's talk about it party next door is recent album cover enough said i don't even have to say anything about that ridiculous absolutely ridiculous i don't even know if i can post it on youtube but it comes down to this loss of metaphor usage it creates this overt sexuality that feels cheapened it feels cheap it feels vulgar it feels crass i know i'm sitting up here acting really prude it's not even that but when you really like sit down and study the greats and you see like the word play and the lyricism it this shit just doesn't cut it it's a lazy lyricism a lack of play on words to be clear there were always sexual sensual songs in r&b right this idea has always been associated with r&b to some capacity i think it sounds like pony well healing i'll make love to you nice and slow with sultry instrumentation often a cleverness to the lyrics that make you think a bit twice you the focus has generally shifted artists like the weekend the weekend became so popular his falsetto vocals his sweet vocal tone was a little bit fooling the mj tone but when you actually listen to those lyrics what and don't get me wrong i like some of the weekend stuff but we have to mention it when we're comparing have you heard often i mean y'all we went from singing storms will come this we know for sure can you stand the rain too baby i can make that rain often And not to mention that s**t in vulgarity sells, not just for women but for men too.
And when we seem to make women the object, it just seemingly sells more. We're gonna play a game class. Let's compare the R&B lyrics.
Then versus now. We talk about the sexual nature or just like the metaphor or the play on romance. Let's talk about it. From Troop's song All I Do Is Think Of You, which was a cover, they say quote, I began to take the long way home just so I can be alone to think of how to say My heart is here to stay.
Fast forward that, decades later. Let's go to Friday's song, Baddest in the Room. He says, too fat know just what to do with it control it r&b artist let's go to michael jackson lady in my life there'll be no darkness tonight lady our love will shine just read the lyrics for that song it's masterfully written and then let's go to party next door song control talking about something ride me ride me like a cowgirl one of his other songs lose my mind he says all i can think about is your booties and y'all riding me like suzuki's this is r&b music guys r&b music we're not we're r&b luther van dross song let me hold you tight if only for one night let me keep you near to ease away your fears i'll be at your side if only for one night then we go to belgium by jeremiah let me see that booty all squeezed he's on d and a tweet make it roll booty slow what i'm sorry come on i i can't i can't but y'all want one more y'all want one more right let's talk about i like it the barge he says i like the way I like the style of social wear.
It's just a little thing to do. If you haven't heard it, listen to it. And let's go to Brent Fias.
I'ma get on his ass in a minute. In his song Dead Man Walking, he goes, You know she want a mind when she tattooed at me. And then in another song, he says, Just cause I f*** you, that don't mean I trust you. The difference is stark.
And the reason why I use these as comparisons is because overall, the trend of R&B lyrics with men have completely veered into this lane and if you don't think so from a mainstream perspective you're mistaken i don't you're not listening and we can talk about brent faez i just talked about how bryson tiller like ushered in this trend of artists brent faez i think was another marker for like this new kind of age and era or sonic theme in r&b music and brent did i'll give him his credit he brought like a fresh style to r&b it was refreshing but it still had this 90s-esque feel you harmonically the harmony stacking the simplicity it felt very 90s reminiscent but with the heavy toxicity in the lyric i think a lot of his audience not only catered to women but a lot of men really embraced brent faiz's music the guys ran with it and i think of artists that we see tommy richmond i know works very closely with brent faiz um i think of four bats and honestly if you go on like a spotify playlist play r b music male r b music the way that it curates a lot of these guys sound like brent vias honestly clone clone clone clone clone clone clone clone clone clone it's almost like the the innovation and originality is lacking in that sphere i don't know if labels don't know what to do or what to push or there's just not a lot of artists offering that so kind of what all these labels are doing or whoever they're pushing at the moment they're just trying to replicate or make a replica of what's working versus Trying to either go back to those roots or find something that's a little more, I don't know, different. So you're not coming out with the same new guy every three to five business days. Like, we're tired.
I'm tired. I'm kind of tired of everybody sounding like Brent Fias, if I'm being quite honest with you. But that's nor here nor there.
So to kind of round out this video, will it ever come back? Folks, I hate to break it to you, but the past is exactly that. It's the past.
However, I do think it is wholly fair. When we're talking about like the trajectory of a genre that has meant so much to a group of people that we kind of compare and contrast but we also look at it on a deeper level. Not just surface and that's what I was trying to do here today.
But unfortunately the pattern follows this trend that we've seen in the music space overall. Topically uninspired and for the men there's this need to look cool. Anything too outside the box will have you potentially judged, right? Or at the stake of, you know, the internet keyboard warriors.
and a lot of people don't want to be subjected to that especially men trying to like bust ideas of masculinity or really sing or really get down it's now so mixed and intertwined with like these other ideas that i i talked about today it's very far gone from a realist perspective there is you know there's clearly an abundance of artists to listen to right statistically speaking with platforms like spotify apple music and the internet as a tool more people can put their music in the airways. However, the mainstream still exists, so they're not necessarily being invited to perform on certain stages, or they're not being played on the radio. So I wanted to leave this video with a couple of artists that I think kind of exude a different essence for R&B or kind of follow more of like this traditional, more grounded R&B sound that I think we're lacking in specifically the male R&B space.
So one person I said was Durand Bernard. He can sing. Sing his ass off. Lucky Day.
Honestly, Music Soulchild, he actually released a album not too long ago. I believe it's called Victims and Villains. Definitely go check that out.
Khalid. I know that's weird. I know that's a weird one, but he's actually been leaning more into his R&B sound and it's not as vulgar. I think he's actually really tapping into like archival sound, but he still has this unique vocal tone. I think of Leon Thomas.
I think of Aaron Ray. Please, please, please let's comment down below some. You know up-and-coming artists maybe some that are already a little more known That you guys think are like replicating some good things that are either reminiscent of traditional R&B or moving the genre Forward or like past this hump so like comment down below guys Please let me know what you guys think of male R&B today, but I wanted to focus on the guys today Let me know if you guys would like one on the flip side the opposite perspective women in R&B because a lot of the arguments Kind of seep together, but I think it's different In a way.
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