R&B is dead

[LATiNALOkA8]

HIP HOP IS DEAD TOO... ITS ALL ABOUT THE 90S!!

[kreep2nite]

r&b is not what it used to be because we no longer have great r&b producers. period! back then we had the likes of prince, teddy, devante, even early r kelly, puff and timbaland...these were people who had a great feel for music. their work defined a certain sound which was followed widely for certain periods throughout r&b history....nowadays we don't have producers like that. now i'm not sayin that r&b is completely dead......

[kreep2nite]

that would be an insult to artists like Jill Scott, Amerie, Tank, Donnell, etc. there is still good r&b being made but it hardly reaches the mainstream the way it dominated charts in the 80s/90s. it'll have its chart dominating days once again...we'll just have to wait for the moment.

[alsk20]

I love R&B and everytime I listen to radio I don't here any R&B. But when I do it has some rapper on it who sort of ruins the song.

[MichaelJacksonFan000]

Well said.

But try the AC radio station. They play some good R&B stuff from Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and All 4 One...

And you're right, I'm sick of R&B music featuring rappers and autotune these days. I wouldn't even call these mainstream songs R&B, but rather POP and hip hop (better phrase, "hip pop").

[syleecia]

I agree with you all!

[MelodysGotSoul]

Hey! I missed all of this good conversation!

[Deaylo]

its not dead yet. its in me. check out my video responses

[lilseaxydee]

R&B IS DEAD BUT I RESPECT FANTASIA SHES ALL THE WAY R&B

[thoomolong]

I think it is wrong to make R&B the "poster child" or representative of black american music, as it was for so long before rap came along. Most of the black folks don't want to hear R&B. R&B killed itself with the same subject about love triangles and catering to the fantasies of most women.

You can't force the mainstream to accept R&B. Sometimes it's time to move on. R&B is not black history. It's just history.

[thoomolong]

I think it is wrong to make R&B the "poster child" or representative of black american music, as it was for so long before rap came along. Most of the black folks don't want to hear R&B. R&B killed itself with the same subject about love triangles and catering to the fantasies of most women.

[MrSanatra]

mami listen i agree...but even rap sucks ass no lyrics just hooks and as for R&B its dead 2 because all the good people arent main stream and the guys who are is talkin SEX not love back in the 90s there was songs about love,sex,blues and etc now its OUR NIEGHBORS HEAR US FUCKING like wtf?

[daggakid90]

too much electronics that what killed r&b even categorising singers who I wouldnt consider r&b into the r&b section and autotune oh and radio

[georgeodance1993]

the reason R&B is dead is because R&B today isn't real R&B it leans towards hip-hop and rap music and I'm sorry hip-hop and rap isn't real music it shit end of. and let also face it us British do R&B the best the rolling stones, the Beatles early albums, Eric Clapton this is real R&B

[003bone]

syleecia you are spot on man 100%

[alliehazelangel]

What gets me is that I can remember songs word for word from 10 and 15 years ago when I was just a child, but now an adult I can't even remember a song from two years ago. I totally agree with you 100 percent. R and B music has lost its soul, meaningful lyrics, and talent. I feel like all the artist of today either sound the same or can't sing at all. And I'll say it a thousand times like a broken record but I am tired of the Auto tune mess.

[LightningStash]

@syleecia I can not agree more with you on this. My gosh, how the state of music has radically turned worse, & I have been seeing this from 2005. Years ago, it was all about the melodies, & lyrics that meant something, whether it was for slow moving by yourself, or with that special someone, or the dance one that had you jamming on the dance floor. Now it is just Pop/R&b that has little, to no lyrical meaning, & horrible beats. Easily forgettable.

[Seattleboiiii]

There needs to be more styles of rap on the radio all i here is some simple lyrics and catchy songs and hooks.

[delocollier]

hello i sing and believe r&b is dead

[PhilaBul]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. R&B of today lacks soul. It's oversimplified and hypersexualized. There's very little room for introspection in today's music, as most R&B songs are made for the club.

What we need is a resurgence of all the groups and artists who were successful in the 90's. We need Boyz II Men, En Vogue, Jodeci, Brian McKnight, D'angelo, in addition to the neo soul artists of this decade to release some new material. I think that would send a message to these record labels...

[syleecia]

Yes PhilaBul...i agree...creativity is gone from the mainstream but there artists out there with GREAT music..they are just not celebrated!

[003bone]

@PhilaBul spot on

[qwandiddy]

@PhilaBul R&B Died the same time as Hip Hop Died in 1997. R.I.P!!

[qwandiddy]

@PhilaBul My favorite times of RnB was 1985 to 1996. Plus I love MOTOWN of 60s/70s/early 80s.

[PhilaBul]

all great eras...my absolute favorite period for music in general is somewhere between 94-97. Even the early 2000's had some strong acts with the neo Soul movement and popular artists such as Beyonce & Usher still putting out decent music (Dangerously In Love/Confessions).

[qwandiddy]

@PhilaBul i agree with early 2000s still have strong acts like Jill Scott, MJ, Teena Marie, Luther Vandross, Donell Jones, Even Stephanie Mills had few good songs from 2003. Beyonce was good back then until she left Destiny Child, now she's a wannabe White singer and so is Usher, they have no much soul no more. Only best RnB is out there is Jill Scott, Erycah Badu, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq, Whitney Houston. Not the ones that are seen on 106 n Crap show.

[qwandiddy]

@PhilaBul What I hate about Most RnB today for last 6 years is that all computerize technology and more boring beats. I assume that you wasn't around in the 80s/ early 90s when RnB was way better than late 90s.

[90sandearly00srule1]

@PhilaBul actually, all the artists you mentioned, are still around and they're all making new music, is just that they're not relevant on the mainstream circle anymore, which is sad, because they a million times more talented than the ones today. only r & b artists i can respect from now are alicia keys, ne-yo, john legend, jennifer hudson, maxwell, and musiq soulchild. everyone else on the mainstream stinks nowadays, especially rihanna, t-pain, chris brown, trey songz, keri hilson, jeremih.

[babygirl77518]

This was a great video! I'm glad you spoke the truth. Have you noticed too that R&B is turning into Pop music nowadays? Check out my video: "Reminiscing on the 1990s: The Music." I feature most of the talented artists we had back then.

[syleecia]

I truly believe you are dead on here...it's crazy...the feeling (blues) is gone from most R&B songs..and now labels want to "cross" everyone over..its disgusting!

[babygirl77518]

Yes it is disgusting! And the funny thing is is that some young people of this generation do not like today's music either...I'm talking about like 10-15 year old kids!

[003bone]

@babygirl77518 spot on man

[babygirl77518]

@003bone Thanks...I was telling another girl on YouTube that this discussion should be televised on TV, like on TVONE, Centric, or BET! Just like BET had that Hip Hop vs America special, they should do the same on R&B because that's going downhill too.

[uubnex4]

OH MY GOD youre saying what ive been trying to say damit i threw my radio out the window 'lol' for real i trashed it

[syleecia]

UHHH yea....it's crazy!

[Jabbaro123]

I'll admit i love Rap and Hip Hop but my favorite music is R&B and to see how they raped R&B it just make me freaking angry because this was the music that i mostly grew up on.

[syleecia]

I agree...RAPE is a strong word...but I ain't made at you!!!

[Jabbaro123]

@syleecia Sometime's you have to go there.Lol

[Terrellspacemusic]

I get what your saying now even tho music is consistently changing. A very good example would be Mariah Carey Obessed that song did not need Gucci or Autotune but because of todays times it was needed to push on radio...

[syleecia]

so true....

[Terrellspacemusic]

NO MA'AM

[MoniMeka]

bring back that 90's sh*t

[StarxNuFFxSaid]

OMG You So Pretty And RIGHT!

I Love You Already Keep Them Coming

[syleecia]

Thanks!

[mightyblack1]

Why do these so call R&b Artist of today run to Hip Hop or Rap Music Producers to put they're joint together.

[syleecia]

Because they think that's what people want to hear.

[mightyblack1]

Do you think the R&b artist are making that choice on they're own or either going along with it.

[LightningStash]

@mightyblack1

I say most of the latter, with some of the

former.

[Emmetje1]

This is soooooo True!!!

I will play this blog in my Radio show this friday!

Wake them up syleecia!!

Thank you so much!

[syleecia]

Thank you so much!

[vinceblake76]

Great video sista. I fell that R&B, Reggae, Dancehall & Hip Hop is soo water down with that Pop BS. All dat Autotune & The Worst Swagg movement is why those 4 genres are dead. I fell that if R&B gets back to its natural state (Real Singing That Is) it needs to be revived & baptized. And the labels put their relatives on so they can protect these autotune guys from Real R&B singers who can actually break wind with their vocals. Cuz these autotune bums cannot sing nor hold a note to save them.

[smokedigglera]

very well done and very well put....thank u!

[TwelveChariots]

R&B is supposed to lead the industry, then rap after r&b you cannot have rap leading. because it's not diverse. R&B has many varieties.

[datsweetsoulmuzik]

juz finished watchn ur vlog "R&B iz dead"...i have a question: wut shood r&b loverz do about da shiftin of musical taste (in modern tymez) dat will perserve da art form 4 generationz 2 come?

[syleecia]

Thanks for watching! In my opinion, it is up to music consumers of R&B to continually support this genre by purchasing the artists CD, not illegally obtaining and attending concerts.

[syleecia]

This will show that there is still a demand. You can also try to push radio to play more R&B but in my opinion that will never happen in this lifetime:) But we, as consumers of R&B, can continually support artists such as Chrisette Michelle, Jazmine Sullivan, Anthony Hamilton, Syleena Johnson, you get my point...we can buy their stuff and go to their shows..We can also teach our children about various types and not allow them to be influenced so early in life by music of no substance.

[MarcusChavers]

Marcus Chavers

MJC Entertainment

Was here!

[syleecia]

WOW..Marcus..do you have anything to say?

[SoulSelectorDJ]

I agree that main stream media outlets have decreased the volume of real R&B records that are played in their daily rotation. However the the well being of the genre can not but placed on the back of big biz. It is the responsibility of those that indulge R&B by singing, producing or as a musician to encourage the rise & continued proliferation of the genre. R&B doesn't exist because they play it on the radio it exist because it's a part of our culture and we "do", (ie.: perform, produce,) R&B.

[syleecia]

@SoulSelector, I agree to a certain degree. It's just really hard for many R&B artists to get out to the masses because that's not what labels and radio want to push..as a DJ I bet you have so many artists that you listen to that are R&B and have not gotten exposure. Record Labels do play a vital role in that.

[MrGavinGregory]

Syleecia, so true. I cannot wait for your book. So many stories I could tell you...

[syleecia]

Thanks Gavin for stopping by...it's really important to keep black music around..good black music!

[emthigpen]

Congrats on the blog Dr Syleecia. I agree with you 100%. R&B is dead and needs to be resurrected fast! And radio is the culprit in my eyes. They play the same 10 raps songs all day long. Nothing soulful is on mainstream radio. It's a shame!

[syleecia]

So true JoJo..I think he has really strayed but I hear the new album is going to be really good...sometimes artists get caught up in what's hot..

[jojoledet]

The 4th r.....R Kelly and that crap he's released in the past few years, subscribing to exactly what u described! Hey Leecia!

[syleecia]

Hey Folks...i am in the final printing stages so hopefully my book will be out before the holidays:) Thanks!

[tasingl]

Three R's that destroyed R&B? That's a great theory Syleecia. I totally agree.