Rolling R&B Thread 2011

Time for a new thread! 2010 was an interesting year, to say the least. It started off really slowly but a lot of good releases popped up in the fourth quarter. 2011 looks to be promising, with new albums scheduled for release from:

Lloyd, Maxwell, R. Kelly (Love Letter 2 & Zodiac), Beyonce, Marsha Ambrosius, Raphael Saadiq, Jennifer Hudson, JoJo, Amy Winehouse, Solange, Ryan Leslie, Robin Thicke, Chris Brown, Electrik Red, Jill Scott, Shareefa, Teairra Mari, J. Holdiday, Alice Smith, Mario, Brandy, Melanie Fiona, Tiffany Evans, Monica & Cassie (LOL).

Notable Debuts:

K. Michele
Kevin Cossom
Mindless Behavior
Shanell
RichGirl
John Brown
Willow Smith

What are you guys most looking forward to for 2011?

I wonder if The-Dream will drop that Love Affair on 06-07-2011.

what would a thread be w/o a small cheap shot at the cassie fan club

it feels so weird to suddenly be looking forward & not talking about all the R&B that literally just dropped

yeah definitely, I mean obv we'll talk about the stuff that just dropped in here too - I still haven't gotten around to hearing Jamie Foxx's album or giving Keri Hilson & Tank second listens.

lol i had no idea that foxx's album dropped? no buzz on that one huh

the Foxx album actually has 2 songs i've heard a bit on the radio and knew it existed before its release date, which is more than i can say for the Keyshia album

i liked "winner" & the song w/ soulja/t.i. but i didn't know that they actually had the release date set -- "fall for your type" is aight

ha forgot "Winner" even existed, i meant the song with Rick Ross which is kinda dope

what would a thread be w/o a small cheap shot at the cassie fan club

I don't quite get the obsession some people have with Ciara and Keri Hilson flopping. I know that Cassie's career has been in limbo since her first album but that's what she gets for being signed to Bad Boy. After all, Diddy got lazy and let Danity Kane mutate into Dirty Money.

i guess ciara and keri are in that weird position of selling better/being better known than your typical "niche" artists, but compared to beyoncé or rihanna or whoever they're seen as flops? idk i really hate that hysterical pop fan propensity to shriek "FLOP!" at anyone who misses the top 10 or whatever.

http://i55.tinypic.com/154zptw.jpg

WTF

wtf?! i hope she's just drunk and emotional

I don't quite get the obsession some people have with Ciara and Keri Hilson flopping.

According to the urban music blogs I frequent, the reason why so much focus on them flopping is due to the gossip about their (lack of)personality rather than their music. It seems like a hard time being a r&b star nowadays as you have blogs critiquing your every move and looks; record labels pressuring them to compete with the r&b turned pop stars like Usher and Rihanna; and dealing with the always impossible balance of not being too mainstream but not too hood/black/r&b (I apologize for not having a more appropriate neutral term).

This is a shame since they both put out pretty solid (not great) albums in the last quarter of 2010. I must admit they both don't have that cliched "it" factor like others but r&b singers never had to have that before.

I know that Cassie's career has been in limbo since her first album but that's what she gets for being signed to Bad Boy.

Even though this may not mean anything but a Bad Boy employee said that Cassie recorded more than 50 songs since the move to Atlantic and is working hard. It was also reported that the label would focus on her after Diddy-Dirty Money was released. Personally, I just want to hear her version of Claude Kelley's Electro Love demo and the full version of the Neptunes-produced Hide and I will be a happy Cassie fan for the rest of my life.

She just deleted all those tweets except for the latest one. I hope she doesn't quit. If she ever did comes back she might be in the r&b mixtape wasteland like Nicole Wray (another Missy Elliott associate) :(

the ciara shit is all about what age group is listening to her right? i doubt shes really as unpopular as her sales indicate

as far as the idea that Keri's album flopped, it sole more first week than her first one did.

sold

According to the urban music blogs I frequent, the reason why so much focus on them flopping is due to the gossip about their (lack of)personality rather than their music.

This has probably been covered elsewhere, but what are some of the good R&B blogs we should be checking out?

hahaha jazmine http://twitter.com/jsullivanmusic/status/22003431292018688

This has probably been covered elsewhere, but what are some of the good R&B blogs we should be checking out?

Well that depends on if you want a website devoted to commentary and/or giving you the latest songs that leak.

I personally like this one guy's blog called mixtapemaestro.net. It's kinda like a one man Stylus's Singles Jukebox. The author is reminds me of the website HYPETRAK even though he started he's first. He does cover more than r&b/hip hop and he is less about snark and more about the music itself.

Also, djbooth.net caters to more of what DJ's think of the genre. The reviews of both albums, singles, and remixes are typically fair, and they do cover the up and comers as well the established artists.

Soulbounce.com is great for the grown-up/alternative/indie r&b and hip hop. I HATE how they denounce contemporary r&b of today while lauding the genre's 90s/80s era as if the music was a sacred cow. However, their selection of their preferred music taste is expansive and more open minded to what is typically branded as "soul/r&b."

Unfortunately these websites don't analyze or have fun with r&b as much as this board does (which is the main reason why I come here). The only website I can think of who is close to that was Stylus Magazine but of course that closed down 4 years ago.

mixtapemaestro.net.

yeah i used to read this - dude has weird taste sometimes but can be enjoyable

anyone heard this? it's awesome -- kinda got an india.arie acoustic soul thing, but has more of a thump sorta like lauryn or someone who is into hip-hop -- anyway, really pretty song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU73mDKGJ1E

soulbounce is great resource for finding new stuff, I just wish it was readable

― LA CANCION MAS PRETENCIOSA DEL MUNDO... (The Reverend), Sunday, December 13, 2009 10:18 PM Bookmark

Thanks for the site recommendations. I'd never heard of Mixtapemaestro.net,but it seems to have a unique perspective. Soulbounce is great, though I wish it were maybe 50% more discerning about what it recommended. At least it offers a little commentary, though. A lot of the sites I check out, like (the non-Tapemasters affiliated) thefutureofrnb.com, just host a ton of file-share links but never tell you what you're downloading.

That K'la song is really charming, J0rdan.

All your love samples the Bob Marley/Lauryn Hill version of Turn Your Lights Down Low

i love these two songs on the new keri hilson album. i know she's boring, perennially hampered by being unable to transcend her whole "professional industry songwriter" thing, but for some reason every so often, amidst the rest of her ignorable material, she does come up with songs that really get me. they all seem to involve a wistful, low-key romanticism that's at odds with her usual businesslike persona but also totally in character too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ejbUMRY2t4

^^just love how that one sounds, the washes of synths and the yearning melody. could definitely do without nelly, and specifically the most mood-killing line ever, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj_fBAYO7w

^^just so pretty, and great lyrics too...it feels like she's accidentally found a bunch of old love letters on the eve of her wedding.

Keri Hilson is definitely at her best when she's unabashedly romantic, but she's so shrill and petty and generally unlikable for so much of No Boys Allowed. I wish the album had replaced a couple of its churlish "Rude Boy" knock-offs with more songs like the above.

i don't really hear the unlikeability - though i also like her in generic boss bitch/club banger mode too ("get your money up", "turnin' me on", "the way you love me", "buyou"). i guess she interests me partly because she's so chameleonic - a consequence of her being characterless rather than versatile - that it's hard to really pin her strengths down. i do think she's better at conveying emotion on this album than the last, though her voice isn't a strength in any way that you can really identify.

I haven't read Soulbounce with any regularity since Nova left. When I went back to it a few weeks ago, the latest post suggested that Ciara should give up and become a secretary. Odd since some of the artists they champion have day jobs.

could definitely do without nelly, and specifically the most mood-killing line ever, though.

That line is unavoidable, even during passive listening.

I'm going to try to keep up with the R&B entries on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. I attempted something similar a few years ago, but it was through my job and bigger priorities squashed it around June.

http://survivalthemes.tumblr.com/

awesome

Melba Moore and Ron Isley are up next. What year is it?

haha right

post in these threads more this year

ah andy i loved your earlier attempt at this, excited about the new one

http://survivalthemes.tumblr.com/

Oh this is a great resource thanks for the link Andy K.

Also, Marsha Ambrosius's Far Away video has been getting some buzz lately with its pro-LGBT message which is a (small)step in the right direction and a nice alternative from the electro-pop's bawdy out there message. The song is solid by itself but with the video as context it obviously has more weight. I can't wait for her album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ofsib2eu02o

(Thanks, fellas.)

awesome

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Friday, January 7, 2011 11:07 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this new ginuwine song is very nice -- feel like the chorus is underwritten but the verses & production are really kinda beautiful so it still slides by alright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYtOEiJYPo

produced by bryan-michael cox

yeah the production is incredibly lush

Really surprised by how much radio play that Ginuwine single is already getting locally; I've been hearing it on both the adult R&B and youth rap/R&B formats, and I think it's getting a lot of requests. Good song, even if the lyrics couldn't be more trite.

feat tank!

anybody heard that dude's album?

My bad, by the way: the Ginuwine song getting all the airplay is "What Could Have Been," which is a really, really fantastic single. The "You the first lady and I'm the president" line is brilliant for so many reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HONFmA-g_Y

not sure how i feel about "what could have been" but loving "heaven"

i'm a sucker for these songs tho as most of you know

i really like the k'la track j0rdan linked a few posts back

i figured you would!

yeah thinking of checking out her mixtape

oh yeah keke palmer has a new mixtape! she's always been a pretty interesting figure for me - she came out of teenpop (disney?) but she had a footworking song on her first album and did an awesome jerk song in 09 too - and "keep it moving" is a classic summertime jam 4eva. anyway there's a bunch of old stuff on this (inc those tracks) but have at it anyway - http://itapez.com/2011/01/10/keke-palmer-awaken/

when julianne e.s. tweeted about keke last night it jolted me into WHAT SHOW ME WHERE action so fast lol

i'm hopeful that it's a harbinger for more 2011 action, at any rate

*of

i kinda really love this ginuwine track y'all

i've written a small defense (to nobody) of the song that i called underwritten a mere 12 (oh lord) hours ago

http://jordansargent.tumblr.com/post/2696539641/ginuwine-ft-tank-heaven-2011

i dig Tank doing the same kind of breathy ethereal backup vocals he did on Aaliyah's "Come Over." lol @ Ginuwine's new album being titled Elgin.

he should really call it the elgin marbles

wow i had no idea he did vox on "come over" - one of my fav latter-era aaliyahs

Salaam Remi, absolutely killing it lately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYm-jmz899k

that beat is crazy, but I feel like that song kinda reanonymizes my mans when he seems to have finally worked out a persona?

Very true. Trey definitely falls into the background of this one. None of his signature vocal tricks, not so much as a 'yuuuup.' You could pretty much put any Bobby Valentino-level singer over this track and make it work.

was afraid to listen to a trey songz track called "spray"

I don't really mind, though. I'm not a huge MMTS fan, even if I like a few of his songs, and the mid-90s r&b this is aping is more or less my favorite music ever.

yeah that beat is really great, and as good as it is that mmts developed a personality i'm not attached enough to it to miss it. lyrics are a touch gross though.

who knows when this was from, but kells on some "fiesta" shit (prod by jim jonsin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIjCuqu-uBg

says 2011 in the description?

my Baltimore homie CJ Hilton from that Saadiq/Stevie song going over the Big Pun "It's So Hard" beat w/ Fat Joe and Tyga:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsbF44ldCk4

New Coline single. Nothing new here, but she's such an easy-going presence that the song doesn't sound as stale as it probably is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYR_lbxw2k8

She also has a pretty impressive mixtape up on her Bandcamp page: http://coline.bandcamp.com/

fucking hell this kandi album is seriously great. (had also forgotten about it til the p&j thread mention). doesn't necessarily have the outstanding individual set pieces of the fantasia album but the sheer masterfully written righteous grown woman realness of the thing is like jazmine with a few more miles on the clock. totally amazing that a zero-hype album creeping out in december 6 years after the fact can be this undeniable - this fearless.

Kandi Koated (originally known as, "Kandi Loves B.L.O.G.S.") is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Kandi Burruss

u_u

will check out tho

wow i'm really going to have to check that out then, I got sent a promo a while back but never got around to listening to it.

this new raphael saadiq single just leaked (from his "early-rock & roll inspired" new album Stone Rollin')
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKpiJIaI1S0

good song, as is to be expected from Saadiq, but honestly I'm sad to see him fall into this retro-music wormhole. I mean, this is the guy responsible for Instant Vintage and some of the best r&b tunes of the past 2 decades, can't help but feel like he's treading water and playing it safe with this retro stuff.The Way I See It was a great album, but still. This is totally boring and safe.

kinda agree with all that

Yup. Ugh:

http://www.thisisrnb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/raphael-saadiq-press.jpg

yeah k3v that kinda lame desp stunt was exactly what i was expecting! and is exactly what the album itself totes avoids. (even "kandi koated" i find a bit ehh wrt it really tbh).

yeah k3v that kinda lame desp stunt was exactly what i was expecting! and is exactly what the album itself totes avoids. (even "kandi koated" i find a bit ehh wrt it really tbh).

oop, fux sake this busted mouse

what happened w/ ryan leslie's 'rock album'

btw rtc idk if you saw the latest quik revives but i finally listened to that danny boy record and it's tight - good lookin out

Already said what I had to say about Saadiq's other new song here:

Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It

Leo needs a Nu pair of Shooz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfYBiVAzo9s&ob=av2nl

Andy K, awesome:

http://blog.allmusic.com/2011/01/17/andy-kellmans-100-favorite-charting-rb-singles-of-2000-2009/

yeah great list!

Oh, you guys!! You guys!!

http://bandcamp.com/files/20/85/2085216250-1.jpg

http://itsaaries.bandcamp.com/

This is completely unironically straight out of 1977, which may or may not be good for this thread (?), but I can't stop listening to it.

loving that.

ok starting your song with the "Rock With You" drumroll isn't doing yourself no favors at all because my ears perk up and then disappointment follows when MJ doesn't, not that song is bad or anything

not that this song*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0XVak2FIRU

New Ryan Leslie. New album, Les is More supposedly out independently July 4th. I'm kind of digging this. Not as sleek as Transition but he's reliably enjoyable.

cool, i'm ready for more R Les, that new Fabolous single keeps reminding me how great a producer he can be.

heard "Grenade" on an R&B station yesterday, the reverse crossover has begun :(

damn this is awesome

'les is more' is a horrible no good album title tho

c'mon it's funny

but then i'm the guy that hopes Ginuwine follows up Elgin with The Great Lumpkin

LEX is more

ginuwine should've called his album the elgin marbles

Elgin Impersonator

elgin bailout plan

elgin and tonic

Lumpkin Seeds

Baylor Moon

(might as well move this right into eleanor rugby territory)

Ryan Leslie should really refrain from rapping.

^been saying this since day 1

ha i like his rapping on this v charming

Well, his biggest problem is that he just kind of lacks charm in general.

hes awkward but its a kind of gawky awkwardness that imo is charming in lite-raps

his rapping is hilarious & charming imo! i think it's an important part of his music

virtually every male R&B singer has rapped on record at this point, he's no better or worse than most of the rest

Virtually every male R&B singer should really refrain from rapping.

Happy now?

rev continuing to be otm

The AAries tune resembles a King Britt project.

Rev otm indeed.

(Thanks Evan R, some dude.)

Really liking this one; very YOTG-era Ne-Yo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8RJ0LmpLoE

oh, totally

yeah i'm feeling that

that's like, the next ne-yo single of 'libra scale' never existed

if*

into it

heard this on the radio tonight & it's pretty awesome! old famous singers be singin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcW4ShKmLjY

whoa @ jagged edge being 'old'

oh thats a classic sample

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7_dAYT4TgA

used by kool g rap ft. nas - fast life

well i don't mean old old like the isley brothers or some shit -- but JE haven't had a hit in like 8 years

^^^two of my favorite jams ever

yah i know that was more wow @ me being old than anything

That London joint is dope.

The synths in the chorus of the London song sound like Goldfrapp's "Rocket."

The 2006 JE album (which went gold, btw) had some good songs but I think they were left for dead once Jermaine Dupri split from Columbia. That half-assed Hits comp came out only half a year after it.

Where is my cane? I am old.

j.e would've been such a better waste of time than ciara for a terius/tricky atlanta realness rehab project. someone, somewhere, if you're listening please make it so.

would love to see the return of male harmony groups in R&B (young or old, just not a glorified solo vehicle like B2K or a 'half of us are really rappers' thing like Pretty Ricky)

would love to see the same in gospel!
there's some underlying complex causes why neither of us will get our way: the history of harmony singing is one of prior generations teaching new generations how to perform; it's not easily taught or acquired otherwise. there's been a break in the lineage and only some very occasional exceptions emerge on the other side. technology has done a real number on this tradition.

jls are maybe the only r&b-leaning pop group currently popular who are remotely adept at harmony singing, right?

what's a jls? something that's currently popular?

oh - uk boy band who came second on the x factor a couple of years ago but fit perfectly into the void in the market for anything like them. i didn't follow that particular series closely and their material has mostly been super-generic in-the-club pop'n'b of varying degrees of mediocrity, but their singles pretty much reliably hit #1 every time out. this was their audition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrUmZBzZj8Y

and this is prob their best single so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuklSZVvpzc

jls stands for "jack the lad swing", fyi

to be clear, there's a living continuation of college/barbershop acapella that continues, but that's pretty removed from the doo-wop/gospel tradition that has been more or less summarily ignored by the current generation. That shit requires a lot of time, respect, work and an older generation that wants to work with a group of kids... to say nothing of needing a group of kids willing to embrace a non-commercial art-form and be bossed around by a cranky oldster! When you can just play xbox and autotune, why bother?

well, there are obviously a lot of young people growing up taking singing pretty seriously. maybe American Idol or the success of Beyonce vs DC or Justin vs N Sync has made being a team player in a harmony group seem really unattractive compared to in the Boyz II Men/En Vogue era, though.

maybe so, but i can't emphasize the importance of tradition enough and I think that's where the break really comes. Harmony groups (whether doo-wop or rnb or gospel or bluegrass) were born out of community, learning from church choirs or men's organizations or family traditions. That structure simply isn't there anymore and without it there's a (too my ears) dryer, more calculated, less soulful sound from contemporary harmony-based groups, exemplified by Glee.

ugh i forgot about Glee, that is the future of harmony singing, isn't it :(

Sing Off judge and swine flu survivor Shawn Stockman to thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHl0zuV2cw4

getting off topic here, but compare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIDPw-n_U_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Ysqz_sMU0

also, no shots but those "committed" sing off guys really aren't very good at all. I tried watching sing off and turned it off in disgust.
but then i'm kind of a snob on this stuff; i grew up attending gospel programs in nashville and bessemer and birmingham and that shit is where the sound is at for me.

should go without saying that this is not a white/black thing. I resolutely believe it's about community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZ3GayOaSY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxttAghqrv8

Thank you for that AAries track! Reminds me of the Jones Girls.

aw shit this new lloyd single is just great

http://hulkshare.com/109yhbfmfdrq

^^listen to this track bitch

this is the lloyd I know and love

Forks what is wrong with that Committed clip? Shit sounds dope to me.

lead singer jumps in and out of key, harmonies are ragged, overdependent on beatbox to keep the pace, shitty breath control
by pop standards they're pretty good, but it's fairly generic
integrating that many voices and getting it clean is really really difficult though! And again i'm a crazy snob; I want to hear one voice with beautiful textures, not a mash of voices overlapping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjIEaDgEr8
^these guys were the first concert where I paid for my own ticket

liking the lloyd btw

Committed is just a bit out of their element on that show. They're not used to doing that material.

They don't strike me as impostors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNG4o03lPPM

Regarding the harmony singing thing, I sat in on a W. DC Black Baptist church service on a recent Sunday (research for a story on the church's 50-something singing guitarist) and there was harmonizing going on (the third Sunday of the month their male group takes charge) but most of the guys were old ( as in over 50;so that anecdotally confirms the above, but someone more familiar with current gospel than me would have to weigh in on whether it is even a lost art in most American Black Baptist churches)

I'm sure there are still enclaves of talented choirs/quartets around the country but as far as it being a living and growing thing (much less a commercially viable art) that hearkens back to a multi-century tradition, that time appears to have passed for the moment

This summer, Verizon Wireless is challenging church choirs from coast to coast in the company’s nationwide How Sweet The Sound™ Gospel choir competition. Expanding upon last year’s successful How Sweet The Sound event in Memphis, TN, Verizon Wireless is now giving choirs in 11 cities a chance to compete in the national grand finale for a cash prize of up to $50,000 and the title of the best church choir in America. GRAMMY® - winning songwriter, producer arranger and music director, Donald Lawrence, will be the tour emcee at each of the 11 markets and the finale. Marvin Sapp, Hezekiah Walker and other gospel artists will join the competition as judges.

http://www.verizoncenter.com/news/hsts_tour_080801.shtml

Perhaps the emphasis was not on harmony

The drummer and conga player were playing some DC go-go beats at the service I was at btw (and DC has gospel go-go bands). I wonder if current gospel cds are using autotuned vocals (I'm guessing yes. I know some Afro-Creole zydeco recordings are).

any excuse to repost this I guess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYTWihOdk-0

I will be watching How Sweet the Sound btw; isn't BET broadcasting that?

that lloyd joint is v 2008 ne-yo

it's no "lay it down" but it's aight

better than lay it down imo

it really doesn't remind me of ne-yo

lay it down remix w/ kells > lay it down

nahh xxp

never heard the kells remix

you guys heard the remix w/ patti? that's nice too

it really doesn't remind me of ne-yo

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 28, 2011 10:46 PM (3 minutes ago)

listen to the lyrics, especially - the song is called "things i like about you" lol

what's a patti

patti labelle! "lay it down" samples "love, need and want you"

i hear the patti remix a bit on the radio now

it's awesome & much better than the original

yeah i'm loving kells on this, jeezy i'm not so sure fits

the funny thing is that when i wrote the post in tim's thread talking about how similar "lay it down" is to "sex therapy" i didn't even know that a remix of "lay it down" interpolated a famous r&b song existed

it's awesome & much better than the original

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 28, 2011 10:55 PM (17 seconds ago)

http://i27.tinypic.com/33mreph.gif

the first time i heard the remix i was like "the fuck is up w/ lloyd's voice....?"

haha

you like the original "lay it down" that much huh?

yeah dude totally my fav r&b single of last year

almost as much as i love that gif

it's awesome & much better than the original

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 28, 2011 9:55 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah i dont agree w/ this

its a neat variation on it tho

i was gonna say where's deej

al: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQfnm6nYSY

it's awesome & much better than the original

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 28, 2011 9:55 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah i dont agree w/ this

― *kl0p* (deej), Friday, January 28, 2011 10:59 PM (48 seconds ago) Bookmark

well you didn't have to tell me that

i do however find myself singing the lower-pitched vocal part of the chorus when listening to the song in car because of that remix (it's always been back there in the mix)

i kinda love how lloyd changes up his verse for all these remixes

as unimpeachable as the og verses are to me

the thing about the ne-yo comparison on the other song is that the production doesn't strike me as very ne-yo at all

also it's a bit more normal than a ne-yo tiny crab hand joint -- "the way we kick it like best friends" is not something ne-yo would ever sing in a song

would it be bad form to include the labelle remix in a "best songs of 2011" list? it got posted to youtube on 12/30/10

is it an actual single?

official remixes are rarely SINGLE singles but they kind of have to be thought of as a single if they're thought of in any way at all

pretty sure i posted about the label version in the R&B thread?

yeah you & i & rev talked about it but it was on the 2010 thread and it was already 2011 so ppl prob didnt see it

i hear the patti remix on the radio so that's enough for me

that lloyd song would be pretty much perfect if it weren't for that weird street fighter II throwing a punch sample in the background

Another unreleased, totally crazy Trey Songz track. Fantastic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ente0ApHmEk

digging this

prod the runners

yeah, it's like a cross between the two poles of trey's music - "say aah" x "doorbell"

It's just been a total joy watching this guy find his own voice. Nobody's mistaking him for R. Kelly anymore.

otm

does anyone here know more than I do about the Lloyd album release? (just got pushed back to mid-March, right?)

that's really it -- there's only three confirmed tracks from what i can tell: lay it down, let's get it in f/ 50 cent (failed single so maybe they'll drop this one) & the new single "things i like about you"

According to an e-mail from his publicist last week, the album is set for a March 22 release, and "Let's Get It In" will be on it.

Also: an intriguing bit of Mike Jones-ish promotion: You can Call Lloyd Now at 404-492-6549. I tried but I just got voicemail.

they were giving out flo rida's phone # on the radio last week, i didn't call tho

if he only took calls from the ppl that bought his last album he could have a nice easy week of meaningful conversations

lol

apparently Dawn Richard of Dirty Money is putting out a mixtape and coming through this area doing press -- anyone heard her solo stuff or know if it's any good?

no but i will check for that!

i have downloaded & am now listening to the new ginuwine album

for what it is, it's kind of pretty great -- the one diane warren song at the beginning tho was pretty awful & the first single is too 2003 in a bad way, but all the other songs are pretty awes imo

trina has a verse on this, lex

i'm cool w/ dianne warren or w/e but her songs on this album blow

everyone else has figured out the pattern there.

for real tho some bangin ass ballads on here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXaGOzCRxGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVoZ5XKByOU

there's also one here that sounds like ne-yo except better than pretty much anything since YOTG

New K. Michelle mixtape: http://hulkshare.com/ajnaa1igyl7g

About to throw it on, but full length delayed to 'sometime in the spring'.

i never listened to that first mixtape of hers - i know lex and maybe someone else was raving about it but all i've heard of her was that song on the last r kelly album

am totally gonna download elgin

the dawn richard (chick from dirty money) mixtape seems pretty cool so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeu3inQibPM

I really really like it

whoa this run of songs from "biggest fan" -> "hey" -> "me myself and Y" sorta just blew my mind

So many head injuries in one weekend!!

lol

man, this "i know" version minus wiz, diddy, & brown is incredible too

the way she sings 'I got that S on my chest" w/ the harmonies on the superman acapella is so great

god dammit some of my mp3s sound like they were recorded from an adjacent room

what does "vibrate" remind me of? it's on the tip of my tongue

falsetto? bed?

alright i think the verses are recalling keri's "slow dance", but the hook is something else - it does sound a bit terius-y but that's not it

promise?

mm, don't think so

sarge you weren't kidding about warren, "break" sucks

yes i didn't even finish it

dayo you have any idea about production credits on this dawn richard mixtape?

no idea! I just got it from http://www.dawnrichardblog.com/ from the didy thread

yeah the dawn richard mixtape is good, yeah the mp3 quality sucks - i hope some of these songs find their way out in proper form at some point? many seem to be abridged too.

new k michelle!!!!! internet says she put that out in december and no one said a thing.

the new k michelle is really good lex.

not sure if anything tops the BEST moments of What's the 901? but SERIOUSLY people if you haven't heard either of them GET ON IT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6bil-xS3_o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmebxXmBc_A

^^this is an incredible song, tim f take note

http://thatgrapejuice.net/2011/02/song-dawn-richard-vibrate/

^^pertinent info!! apparently produced by timbo! written by richard, originally meant for cici

http://www.soulculture.co.uk/reviews/dawn-richard-a-prelude-to-atelltaleheart%C2%A0-mixtape-review/

this one says produced by da internz

where is andy k when you need him

"vibrate" just needs a middle eight and it could be an incredible flop single!

lol at 'da internz'

ship have you listened to this yet

anyone been hearing this on the radio? i'm hearing it every day now it seems like -- it's just some random joint of alicia & eve going over the second half of "devil in a new dress" -- the existence of this is kinda bizarre to me & the song ain't too bad -- nice to hear eve in any event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re0SRdBs4v4

ship have you listened to this yet

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Sunday, February 13, 2011 12:09 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

nah

you have homework my man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL1x9XAkBS0

Okay predictably love the Dawn Richards.

I don't really know if the music and the vocals on the Teedra actually match one another (like, key-wise) but I'll probably be obsessed by tomorrow.

knew it tim!

is the dirty money mixtape out yet?

diddy's twitter is a bitch to skim

http://www.popeater.com/2011/02/14/diddy-dirty-money-valentines-day/

huh, i was under the impression that there were gonna be new songs/unreleased LTTP joints

oh i guess there are a few, n/m

andy and tim, teedra's released a couple of new songs this week too (haven't heard this iteration of "ru 4 real" but it was labelled as a freestyle on her last mixtape). i posted them in her thread and no one noticed :(

IRL biz interfering with 24-7 teedra stannery, I'll check out and report back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6SaotKTR_g

new j hud joint - "where you at". r kelly penned

alright this is actually the new lloyd single http://www.xclusiveszone.net/2011/02/lloyd-cupid-prod-by-polow-da-don.html

prod by polow again

pretty good

"Cupid's done it again!"

I saw Lloyd in Chicago on Valentine's Day (for the final date of the Trey Songz "Love Faces" tour), and I don't think he played this one, which is kind of surprising, since if not on Valentine's Day, when? I think he only sang two songs from the upcoming record, closing with "Lay it Down" of course. No "Don't Stop" or "Let's Get It In."

digging "cupid"

michael from 'the wire' does some singing shit on the side -- this is from a few months ago, it's pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2LwR9cj6wI

I know the Jamie Foxx "Fall For Your Type" came out in November, but I just stumbled on the Drake demo version, and I've realized that b/t this and "Shut It Down" and "Find Your Love" I kind of dig Drake's R&B side. If he never rapped again, I would pretty much be ok with his existence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBJ4Bk9nNVQ

Also, I know I was stanning for this over in the Odd Future thread, but on the off chance that some of the R&B don't check for them, OF's Frank Ocean just put out an album of pretty smooth r&b ish.

Novacane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-2_11mOIOY

Songs for Women:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjbyV7RFu7c

i like drake's verse on "moment 4 life" a lot -- easily my favorite drake verse

but i've been saying what you said about his singing for a while now -- this is my shit

drake sounds way better on that than jamie btw

i wish he'd have put out that r&b tape

i feel like i give drake more of a pass than i would because, compared to his rapping, he's not a terrible r&b artist

he's really got a terrible voice, though

I agree with Ship's "third best voice in a boy band" assessment and his broad enunciation is a bit too much to take sometimes (lol "Aston Martin Music"), but I feel like his melodic sense often makes up for these things.

"novacane" is sick

only just got around to it, but this kandi album is so strong! really great songwriting and she really sells it - like an understated jennifer hudson, if that's not a contradiction in terms

drake's singing voice is so smarmy and insipid ughhh

Yes, it is, but he has a way with...phrasing maybe? I can't put my finger entirely on what it is, but there's something there.

I keep meaning to go back to the Kandi album. iirc, it was a nice listen, even if it didn't hit me that hard.

it didn't hit me hard on first listen either, one of those albums where being in the right state of mind to pay attention to lyrics is necessary

honestly i don't see any reason to go searching out drake demos of songs? life is very short.

this marsha ambrosius album is nice so far. much more...tactile and plush than i was expecting based on the singles. she's def getting her prince on really effectively here, all these gasps in her highest register...

I wasn't searching it out. Just sort of found it. *shrug*

yeah i'm with lex on drake&B. he's shown himself to be a serviceable songwriter but i have no reason to want to hear him sing really

I think I prefer him as a rapper to an R&B singer, honestly

more new r les

this album is gonna be amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ3pE3lfO5g

that's very hq btw

nothing?

git fresh had one of the best under the radar tracks of last year ("she be like") & i like their new single -- it's called "eat it up"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWvwRdt8_L4

Really into that Ryan Leslie song, J0rdan.

Also: I dunno if we've touched on this song specifically, but this is apparently the opening track and official single from K. Michelle's album. Holy shit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=211XZr_0x_s&feature=player_embedded

Seriously. Holy shit.

don't love it but it's the first thing i've heard from her that's kinda grabbed me -- i generally prefer oversung R&B to undersung R&B but she really goes pretty far over the top

k michelle!!!!!!!!!! <3 hollering!

So this Timothy Bloom single "'Til The End of Time" pretty much won the Internet this week:

http://v.vevo.com//ngB
Can't direct embed YouTube b/c of age restrictions; it's NSFW-ish)

It's as striking a debut single/video as I've heard/seen in ages. I think Polow pretty much nailed this one

well i'll say

so polow produced this? is this his new artist?

Can't say for sure whether he produced this (it really doesn't sound like much I've heard from him), but Bloom is Polow's protege. As best I understand, Bloom was sort of a background player that Polow took under his wing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeKaHBMKows

new saadiq joint, with cutty from the wire in the vid playing the lead role

O_O timothy bloom

(it's a really good song too!)

(maybe in another 10 years someone might actually take the d'angelo "untitled" template the whole way)

i don't think drake's singing voice is smarmy or insipid at all. really like 'fall for your type' thanks!

"how many times" is greaaaaaat :D

That Bloom shit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMMyPFw4Kp0

can someone link me to a d/l of that timothy bloom song? i want it on my ipod for my car ride tomorrow

I bought it off iTunes tbh

yeah i might too if I can remember my password lol

http://www.mp3waxx.com/jobfolders/kellyrowlandlilwayne/blast-page.html

i mean kelly's always barely there, but this is nice enough aaliyah/timbo tribute stuff

aaliyah/timbo tribute?

i guess i missed the song where timbo told aaliyah he was gonna turn her pussy into a rainforest

"We Need Some Vegetation"

http://images1.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/4984788/Well-Played.jpg?imageSize=Large&generatorName=Victory-Baby

for others having trouble tracking down the bloom single, it's being given away for free on itunes right now for some reason

not in the uk - would actually appreciate it if someone could upload the itunes quality version, been making do w/a youtube rip :(

btw the kandi album is seriously good, did i mention that earlier? such great songwriting and some really moving songs - "riley's interlude" paired with "leroy jones" makes me completely melt. what's her image like on that reality tv show btw?

her image on Real Housewives of Atlanta is that she is the lone sane person surrounded by insane attention-seeking talentless vacuums of self-delusion

is this the same kandi from various random gucci mane mixtape songs?

if that Kandi was also in Xscape and wrote "No Scrubs", then yes

(she also wrote "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Bugaboo" for Destiny's Child)

what's the album called?

Kandi Koated is the new one

her image on Real Housewives of Atlanta is that she is the lone sane person surrounded by insane attention-seeking talentless vacuums of self-delusion

haha i think i might need to see this programme. she sounds sane on the album! which was originally called kandi loves blogs, hilariously.

the album doesn't blow you away immediately but the detail, the specificity of each situation she sings about and the often unexpected lyrical perspectives are really striking: eg on "give it to you" when she sings "no fly-by-night romance, i want substance", it's not framed as a demand to the man but as a caution to her own lustful thoughts; and on "lucky", the title alternately refers to herself...and the girl who she's cuckolding, for getting it all year round.

word -- i see andy wrote a positive review for allroviguide or w/e

hang on is tiny also on the real housewives of atlanta???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_K0u1ilg34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tscor0h9z7g

Tiny is on a different reality show (Tiny & Toya, which even I as a voracious devourer of horrible reality television will not watch).

...is that toya as in toya? as in "i do"?

(tiny is on kandi's album!)

Did that Toya have a baby with Lil Wayne? If so, then yes.

quoth wikipedia on the toya i'm talking about, Toya is married to former University of Tennessee quarterback and current University of Kentucky assistant coach Tamaurice "Tee" Martin. On November 3, 2005 their son Kaden Martin was born - so i assume not?

also, rather sadly: Toya confirmed via Twitter that she would like to record music again. :(

Is that Toya married to Robert Fripp?!

btw Tiny was also in Xscape, so it's not super shocking that she'd be on Kandi's album

yeah that kandi album - rtc was raving about it several weeks ago and i listened to it once - i think lex is right that it doesn't hit you right away - to me it seems like a very grown ass woman album and I din't think i was in the right mindset for it at the time. the craft is definitely there and i have to go back to it soon, been meaning to.

i do really love the first song, "i want you" - been playing the shit outta that independent of the album itself

the keyshia cole album, besides the last couple tracks, is really solid too

lex i'll try to help you out wrt bloom when i can get to a computer, i'm on the road atm

i just kind of started paying attention to the lyrics to "till the end of time" today, o_0 lol

top 5 of the year so far for me, really beautiful song. almost wish it was 5 minutes longer

what's everyone's thoughts on the marsha ambrosius? it's a pretty solid album, couple of boring songs but it's pretty hard to avoid that with the style she's going for. really dig the title track, "late nights and early mornings"

what disney song is "the break up song" reminding me of? mulan? lol

i'm clouded by having a crush on ambrosius since floetry times but I like the single
wish the video wasn't insufferable after the first watch tho

srsly tho "till the end of time" is a classic song

i really love the opening run of about 4-5 tracks on the marsha ambrosius album - title track def stands out, as well as the languorous extended version of "far away" that's just pure vibes towards the end. "hope she cheats on you" has grown on me a lot, too. there's a song in the middle where this odd...neigh in her voice becomes a little too foregrounded, and not sure the songs in the second half are as strong as the ones in the first half. nice portishead cover, though hardly mindblowing - actually sampling the original isn't particularly imaginative though she sings it really well.

anyway yeah it's def an album worth hearing.

i wasn't that into floetry at the time, i don't know how much of a departure this is for ambrosius but it's certainly more striking than any floetry song i heard bar classic 4eva "say yes"

i guess this is a few months old but i just heard it randomly on the radio just now -- it's okay but i'm posting it because it totally steals a melody from bone thugs' "crossroads" -- so blatant imo -- also i thought j. cole was soulja boy until he said his name

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTk0rwX1zg

hrrm what do we think of this guy? http://soundcloud.com/marquestoliver/deep-in-my-heart

i'm not sure what i think (posting it here on a this-will-be-big basis), it's a good song but not wholly clicking yet

The Hudson album is sounding real good, but the Swizz/Alicia songs are phenomenal. One sounds like it could have been written for Teena Marie (like they did the vocal arrangement after listening to "I Need Your Lovin'"; after two listens, it's already one of my favorite Swizz beats, too) and the other is straight DISCO with hard/raw drums.

Swizz really needs to produce more R&B.

Wasn't expecting to dig the Ambrosius album.

Written and produced by Timothy Bloom (one of the album's better songs):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZrMu2aRM0Y

The chorus on this Weeknd track just floors me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9PuAm7d0PA

that weeknd track is TERRIBLE

srsly this "pfork set 'does' r&b" shit needs to cease immediately

maybe that stuff should just be kept to this thread: itt: kinda out there, maybe kinda experimental, maybe kinda pretentious modern r&b

Are they the one(s) with the song containing the phrase "watch me knock your boots off"???

"Let me get your guts out, girl/I'm-a tap that ass up."

lol

damn this fucking dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLccOv7QPPA

on some straight disco shit

and swizz's guest rap verse is actually good

Love that Musiq track; it's been getting a lot of local airplay. He leaked another one earlier this week, "Alphabet," which is good too, though a little gimmicky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwKakOAz7jU

musiq's head looks like somebody stuck a bicycle pump in the dreams ear and inflated him

feeling this new lloyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o7m1ZVBlyM

not sure if I dig this uptempo nu-lloyd

really feeling this new syleena johnson track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chttnudccj8

weeknd sounds like a new micro genre completely indebted to the-dream

is this gonna be a thing

also is having secret identities/unknown whereabouts going to be played out when everyone starts doing it so they have SOMETHING that separates them from every single other act ont he itnernet

TrickyStewart Tricky Stewart
Danced to every great song tonight at #girltalk

Noooooooooooooooo

:(((((((((((((

unless he mistyped #girlunit

This is a goofy song to cover, but Mateo pulls it off:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H085RzUwTPo

Pretty excited for this mixtape.

so apparently mya is putting out an album in japan next month -- anyway this song off it is really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08Tm3pAqY8

music industry clearly not shallow enough if my boo can't get a record deal no more

mya still looking fly

music industry clearly not shallow enough if my boo can't get a record deal no more

― corkslovetoscrew (some dude), Sunday, March 27, 2011 6:21 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

realest talk

this jhené aiko mixtape is pretty great http://www.jheneaiko.com/

hey lex (or anyone), have you heard the track "rewind" by scar? it was by far the best thing on a (mostly terrible) comp that the believer did for their music issue. i've had it in the rotation for months (one might even say that i've been pressing rewind) but can't find it online, or even much info on him. i know that he is/was dungeon fam-affiliated but that's it.

oh yeah he was on "Morris Brown" and some other later Outkast songs. looks like he had a (unreleased/shelved?) album called Scar'd 4 Life, maybe you can find more music searching for that.

thanks. apparently he switched to jeezy's label at some point, but i still can't find much. too bad if he's stuck in label hell, dude is awesome.

I've lurked in this thread for a long time, but would like to add to the discussion a bit. Album I keep returning to is Jae Franklin's debut, which she's giving away here. The album could be mixed better, and her voice is a little weak, but I like her songwriting, and "Blame Game," I think, flips that Aphex Twin beat better than Kanye did on that one track on MBDTF, the title of which escapes me at the moment.

Well, turns out the Kanye track is also "Blame Game," so it must be a cover. The last few songs on the album are particularly strong, especially the last three, which are slow and smoky and kind of somber in places, but Jae carries them well. The music would be much stronger if the album was mixed better, but I think this is a demo of sorts, so hopefully that will be amended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U8ncjdy3XA

never heard anything else from scar that topped this

seem to dimly recall we remarked on some other bit of news relating to him last year?

Lloyd album pushed back again to April. this is gonna be one of those albums the label keeps delaying for over a year while they keep trying to get a 2nd hit as big as the 1st one they should've capitalized on to begin with, isn't it?

this thread seems to keep disappearing from new answers even though it's being updated? maybe lex is onto something with the anti-r&b conspiracy.

Lloyd album pushed back again to April. this is gonna be one of those albums the label keeps delaying for over a year while they keep trying to get a 2nd hit as big as the 1st one they should've capitalized on to begin with, isn't it?

― some dude, Wednesday, March 30, 2011 4:32 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

seriously

Lloyd album pushed back again to April. this is gonna be one of those albums the label keeps delaying for over a year while they keep trying to get a 2nd hit as big as the 1st one they should've capitalized on to begin with, isn't it?

ughhh had the opportunity to pitch for a big review of this but couldn't trust the scheduled release date - with good reason as it turns out. UK PR claims to have no clue whatsoever about lloyd, at all.

i've never heard that scar but i'd be interested to hear any dungeon family affiliated stuff - jordan if you could u/l that? can't find it online either (inc legally)

i've heard "get it shawty" twice on the radio as well as "you" in the past three days -- not whatever his new single is tho

yeah, i have the track. lex what's your email? you can send me an ilx email if you want.

"Cupid" is getting a bit of radio play here. "Miss That Pussy" sounds like it could almost be a hit, save for the obvious challenges

Chris Brown went top 5 with "No Bullshit," i don't even know if that title would necessarily hold it back

i still think lloyd's 'is it you' is a great song

i still think those early Murder Inc era joints "Hey Young Girl" and "Southside" were secretly his best songs

ok but im talking abt the new stuff, is it you is great. have u heard it?

cassie "is it you" > lloyd "is it you"

nah..."still" made me think you were talking about an older song i guess.

xpost (anyuckingthing > cassie "is it out")f

haha that f jumped right out of its parentheses! guess it didn't wanna be part of a swear.

hahah

still doesnt explain 'out' lol

haha i didn't even notice THAT typo

would listen to a cassie song called "is it out"

sequel to "is it in" i guess

would listen to a cassie song called "is it out"

― some dude, Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:48 PM (18 seconds ago) Bookmark

i sorta like this idea -- cassie having a single called "is it out?" would be meta on the level of angie jordan's "my single is dropping"

see i was just thinking dirty

my single my single is dropping is dropping

cassie's single "is it out," is it out?

jordan this scar track is really nice, thanks! one that jeremih fans should check. reediness but framed well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaO-KpK1le0

obvi as fuck but this has recently really snuck up on me (anyone heard the album?)

pretend ne-yo's singing it if you're having trouble

yeah that's p good -- prob would be better if ne-yo was singing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsKYIEbtns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iKTFlI48OE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXv8zI50ncU

selection of cuts i like in order of shallow preference from the new jennifer hudson (richcraft/salaam & keys/ne-yo respectively)

andy k feels more strongly than i do about it atm but i'm not ruling out further warming to it

that cover is very pocahontas

ha yeah

http://i.imgur.com/WNtlp.gif

so delighted to not hear richcraft panickedly throwing the kitchen sink at tracks again btw - big man this is all you have to do!

how are the swizz/alicia joints on that

v faithfully rendered but perhaps a little too much so for me in the album's context - thought occurs though that they'd probably sound real as fuck if i just put youtubes up now

'angel' moreso than the happy clappy disco 'everybody needs love'

ooops the 2nd j-hud i put up was actually meant to be'don't look down' (slightly sped up here)- as per last post i'm not crackers over 'everybody needs love'

I've had the exact same experience with that Bobby V song; it's grown on me like crazy. Kinda odd singing along with Bobby V instead of making fun of him; he should shoot for the more subtle Ginuwine thing more often.

just here to say i cant stop listening to that raphael saadiq 'good man,' shit thats classic

cosign

also 'just a man' with devin

Ledisi gets the Chuck Harmony treatment on her new single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GuZMVDZEPs

usually at least flick thru even the least promising albums so it's weird i never bothered with miguel's - just listening now prompted by 'sure thing' (which al is otm about, especially wrt his judgement of 'all i want is you') and i am pretty enthused! it's certainly underrated. reminiscent of the 2nd jeremih generally (particularly in its little awkwardnesses like the europop 'pay me') but much the better album altogether. bit of ryan leslie in there too maybe. can i interest someone to rescreen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4JYQFzBH2I

can't quite pick a single song that isn't going to wrongly calcify impressions one way or another but how about this just for the no doubt ref

yeah ive been into it too, some weird fun production choices

where was al's post on it?

breakdown on that one is so vintage n*e*r*d via r-les too xp

erm saw it on his blog i think but maybe on the sounds like th weknd thread too?

oh surprised you dont like 'all i want is you'-- i think drake distracts

nah it's not about the guest spot, i find it "flat and unengaging" like al says

again one like the tim bloom song where i feel people mightve been overresponding to typological stimulus

oops it was jcole lol

speaking of typological

hah

i mean if i'm in a wknd-brand torpid mood then i don't mind it but it's a pretty shallow momentary vibe obv

so 'sure thing' is produced by happy perez who did the most n*e*r*dish song on the frank ocean (i'll leave someone else to search the last happy perez mention on ilm)

fisticuffs seem to be miguel's mick schultz

w/ 'all i want is you' i wasnt struck by it immediately but that bassline/organ motif sorta slowly worked its way into feeling notable to me

i dunno im hungover need to think about how to better explain its appeal

yeah no i hear exactly what you're saying

it's an either way one and i chose not to like it basically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGZaRV7mv8A

did you hear this RTC? cant believe it didnt make the album

i think i posted this in last year's R&B thread maybe

Rolling R&B Thread 2010

just posted that so you can see evan's link & i thought there was more discussion but oh well

dope crouching tiger hidden tim & bob vibes from that one

Btw, I like the Miguel album too, but yeah the joints where he tries to go on-trend are awk as fuck. And I love "All I Want Is You" but I've totally been on my sadsack shit so

anyone else feeling that syleena johnson song i think i linked upthread? still really into it, myself.

also, i've decided that the omarion song we touched on elsewhere, produced by crazy cousinz (!), is rather special. acapella harmonies for the whole last minute!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-P_pyjvlY0

also hi, i'm teairra mari, and i'm still valiantly trying to make my career happen. this isn't as great as "coins" was last year but kinda works despite its slight awkwardness? in any case this thread's balance has been tilted a bit too far towards mellow young men and away from fierce babydivas and that needs to be redressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ejGKo3MW8

been feeling this one, kind of reminds me of nicole scherzinger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbdK7-SsuXo

kind of reminds me of nicole scherzinger:

thanks for warning me off it

Miguel's "Sure Thing" is the perfect late night record.

it's a perfect all day record! i liked it before but yesterday i had a great moment with it driving home around 7pm. they played the full 7-minute version of Marsha's "Far Away" right afterward and i was in the right mood to finally hear great that song is, too.

I've been listening to "Sure Thing" like crazy for a few weeks. I thought the Weeknd thread was really interesting not because of that band (which I haven't yet bothered with; might eventually) but b/c it gave lots of contemporary r&b suggestions, including this song. It's stereotypical to say this but this stuff isn't on my non-ILM radar, not even on my top 40 station (which plays lots of kesha & wiz khalifa afaict) but I've liked most of what I've heard (like 20 albums in the last few weeks).

"Sure Thing" has been my go-to satellite jukebox pick for the last couple months. No better feeling than transforming a bar into a joyland for three or four minutes.

That Omarion song has grown on me like crazy, too, Lex.

Also, and I mean this as a complement, there are a lot of moments of the Miguel album that remind me of Gregg Alexander. It could be something superficial, like the shared poutiness of their voices, but I can't hear "Sure Thing" without thinking of "The Truth."

xxp sure thing has been getting a lot of play on kmel, and i think it's in 50s or so on the hot 100. that along with "words," "10 seconds" etc are some great r&b songs that have been getting play, but "top 40" stations are still ignoring them entirely. dedicated hip hop/r&b stations generally have a lot better and varying content these days than the top 40 ones, whereas a few years ago there was little distinction between the two.

anyone heard this? been hearing a bit on the radio

it's such a hilarious song. i just keep picturing this dude earnestly apologizing to his girlfriend for almost suffocating her in her sleep or something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbAxzCspeB0

'sure thing' has racked up 27 plays for me since downloading it because of that weeknd thread. downloading album now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4RBkXhmXCk

dope

and "sure thing" is cool but "Teach Me" is the best song on that Miguel album imo

I wish a singer like CJ Hilton or Miguel would commit to an entire album with Salaam Remi. It would be perfect.

Salaam Remi has actually done a lot of tracks for CJ Hilton (which is obv how he got the Nas feature), there's a few on CJ's mixtape from last year:

http://www.the9elements.com/2009/10/cj-hilton-package-hosted-by-dj-driis.html

love "So Fresh," really proud that dude is starting to get more buzz outside Baltimore!

I am really enjoying this bei maejor mixtape

heard "novacane" on kmel tbe other day, it's really great! i wouldn't mind if this type of r&b started getting more play

they play "novacane" on hot 97 all of the time and it sounds great alongside all of the other r&b they play... don't get whats so different about it. Do love the song though... (and "we all try" and "lovecrimes,")...

hes 'alternative' duh lol

i was more referring to the style of cool, collected slow burners that seem to be gaining popularity these days from miguel & others. the "alt" angle seems to be more of an image thing than something that really manifests itself in the music

"novacane" is aight but he sounds like he can't be bothered to sing, it's a bit flat - idg what's so special about it

miguel's "sure thing" is a real good slow burner though - i was whatever on it for a while but over the weekend it suddenly hit super-hard

novacane is awesome no hating

The thing that hits me about Frank Ocean is that he comes across as a genuinely nice intelligent guy. And he says "ask" properly.

"Novacane" is alright but both Miguel's singles are way better imo

nah novacane is up w/ those imo

im ... actually kinda feeling this raphael saadiq?? was expecting not to like it as much

That whole new Musiq album is really charming.

can't really get into this miguel album

also loves that he rips off 'don't speak' for one song or two

The thing that hits me about Frank Ocean is that he comes across as a genuinely nice intelligent guy. And he says "ask" properly.

― Craiger Lazer (Craigo Boingo), Tuesday

Is this sarcasm?

he sounds like he can't be bothered to sing, it's a bit flat

i think that's the point, on 'novacane' anyway?

I've said this before but he sounds way too diffident for my liking. Lex otm.

it basically makes it rather uncompelling to me - i'm not asking for virtuoso moves or anything but just something w/the warmth or emotion of, like, miguel or someone - like, the thing that kept me coming back to "sure thing" despite thinking it was a bit slight at first

yup

I think the songs and Frank's non-image image is ten times more interesting than what Miguel is presenting. Listening to "Novocaine" for the first time, the lyrics kind of made me go O___O. Just the thought of fucking while high on Novocaine twists the whole "I'm fucking this girl" r&b songs. It brings in a little twist of a story I might have actually heard a friend doing or a friend's friend doing.

Also the song, "We All Try" his support of gay marriage and a woman's right to choose is sounds very sincere and non-preachy. Though his tone or range doesn't remind me of Anthony Hamilton, his "everyman", sincere approach to singing does. While Hamilton was the middle class blue collar worker, Ocean's image (in my mind at least) as a young twenty-something Gen Y'er nomad who is just going through life. (His family are Hurricane Katrina survivors.) He has his ladies' man moments sure, but it doesn't totally dominate. I think that is why guys are keen on him. And I feel like that is REALLY needed in male r&b.

Ugh correction:

Also his support of gay marriage and a woman's right to choose on, "We All Try", sounds very sincere and non-preachy.

frank ocean might well be more ~interesting~ than miguel who, as far as i can tell off one spin of his album, isn't doing anything particularly distinct, but i'd far rather listen to miguel so...whatever to being ~interesting~

Im looking foward to future stuff by frank though

xpost

While I understand your aversion of some of these new blog-loving r&b types coming about lex, it certainly has made r&b an interesting topic again. I rather have people attempt to be "interesting" as you so mock and fail at it (Which I don't think Ocean has). Miguel is solid (and he is even on my ipod) but he is so safe.

just heard 'sure thing' for the first time now. very nice. the frank ocean album (mixtape?) has its moments but i can never make it through the whole thing.

The best songs on the Frank Ocean tape remind me of James Fauntleroy, conceptually and in terms of his phrasing. Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT1awG1tqvg

isn't any different from what Frank's doing, and wouldn't sound out of place on nostalgia/ultra. and I think James gets a bit more left-field - in fact there's a whole bunch of R&B songwriters like Fauntleroy, Claude Kelly, Kevin Cossom, etc. that Frank Ocean fits very confortably with (when he was known as Lonny Breaux he worked with a number of these people). He's good, but nothing he's doing is particularly *new* - the Odd Future affiliation is the only thing that really differentiates him from the others

definitely feel everything lilsoulbrother is saying but still think 90% of the appeal of frank ocean for most ppl is his association with a certain rap collective xp

lilsoulbrother otm for me. 'We All Try' is the standout for me now, along w/ 'There Will Be Tears'. Love the flow of it too...a lot of pent up sad and reflectiveness about a love lost then the last track and that opening line.

90% of the appeal of frank ocean for most ppl is his association with a certain rap collective xp

― tpp, Wednesday, 4 May 2011 22:48

That's probably 90% of the reason he's getting exposed to more people who don't normally dig r'n'b but that's a patronising way of phrasing it.

yeah didn't mean to patronise anyone but you know what i mean

I actually heard about Frank Ocean separate from Odd Future. The early buzz I read about him didn't mention Odd Future at all. I was surprised when I found out about it. In my mind, I still see him as a "special guest star" and not a member of the collective.

But it is smart of Ocean to be associated with them because to be honest, his peers like Fauntleroy and Kelly either have a difficult time to crossover to the mike or relegate themselves to the background.

But they are just as good or even better than Ocean.

honestly i feel, certainly in terms of random mixtapes thrown online this year, dawn richard's has a ton more ideas, lyrical and musical, and way outstrips frank ocean execution-wise too. idg what's so leftfield about frank ocean apart from his own slightly patronising "i see thru r&b tropes" perspective that plays into sad-bloggin-hipster tedium, and his flat mumble of a voice.

it is kinda lol how many people instantly check for a mixtape on a tumblr that would never give it a chance if it'd been released as an album on def jam as originally intended

I don't hear a flat mumble when I hear 'We All Try' to be honest. And I don't think he's particularly leftfield... with Coldplay, Eagles and MGMT sampling it's pretty dorky and earnest to be honest.. that's part of the appeal. No fronting, very direct.

xp

I first dl-ed it after whoever it was liveblogged their confused reaction to it on here...

and those same people probably never gave dawn richard the time of day because, i guess, she's affiliated with diddy rather than odd future

I don't hear people calling down non-Frank Ocean ppl in this thread for their associations tbf

well no one ever does, everyone's technically open-minded these days, but in practice they just ignore it if it doesn't sufficiently signify indie/outsider/hipster/blah

i think the association with odd future is pretty loose. i've got load of his songs when he called himself 'lonny breaux' and they are mostly produced by midi mafia (there is actually a song with james fauntleroy btw!) seems like he has tried to pursue a more or less standard r&b career path with the added bonus of like hanging out with tyler or something (not sure of the nature of this association could be totally wrong here)

i.e. piling on the tumblr backlash might not be fair in this case

Dawn Richard just makes me want to listen to Kelly Rowland

seems like he has tried to pursue a more or less standard r&b career path with the added bonus of like hanging out with tyler or something

yeah, this is kind of the point - the only reason he's getting the attention he has been getting is because of this tangential association w/ odd future. so you have a bunch of people praising his tape, heralding it as the new frontier/new genre/pbr&b or whatever, and saying things like "this is what r&b should sound like" when his music totally sounds like a bunch of other current r&b.

speaking of Kelly, "Motivation" is such a smash! That "go go GO GO!" refrain is definitely one of the years best

some dude is right of course but otoh, thats only relevant as far as making sure ppl keep perspective (which bw is adding here). it doesnt make novacane a bad song (i think it's genuinely great)

i think my prob w/ lex's argument as articulated is that i sorta feel like frank ocean could sound like absolutely anything but lex would say the same thing (& yeah i know this might not be true but the way hes articulating it makes it *feel* that way)

just defending potentially future butthurt non-R&B fans who like frank ocean

(& yeah i know this might not be true but the way hes articulating it makes it *feel* that way)

maybe the problem is with how you're reading it

if i don't actually say something please don't act like that's what i meant!

Though female r&b does get the short end of the stick as far as being lauded critically, male r&b has been going through (in my opinion) an identity crisis for awhile now. Plus, I would assume female r&b has a more dominating presence in the U.S. mainstream. (I don't know about the UK or other areas.) Not saying Dawn should be getting praise for her mixtape, but it's not like she has been underrated for years (hello Danity Kane & Dirty Money).

And also, what you call playing into bloggin-hipster tedium or whatever I call much needed diversity. I like the idea of choosing between listening to Miguel's typical contemporary r&b, R. Kelly's nod to the past on Love Letter, or Frank Ocean's r&b for the sensitive black guy/white hipster boys in love with Odd Future.

Also, maybe it's because I lived in a U.S. city where r&b/soul was a cultural foundation or I don't work in or near the musical industry in any way, but I could really give a shit about what some Pitchfork guy thinks of r&b. A hipster's or blogger's thoughts or recommendations can be used in consideration as far as my listening choices but I don't let it dictate what I think of the genre as whole.

Why obsess over what they think anyway?

incidentally i'm still getting outraged tweets and comments from butthurt weeknd fans over that piece. these people are truly the most clueless. barely understand half of them.

hey guys, at what point in "Novacane" is dude supposed to be flat, because I'm 1:30 in and he basically sounds like Akon's middle range and has yet to go out of tune

although with the autotune thrown on this I don't see how he could be flat

of course if you actually mean "flat affect" please ignore what I just wrote here

yeah i didn't mean flat notes-wise, more emotion-wise

I have only heard "Novacane" (which btw, fuck him for misspelling that) this one time but it's kind of a jam; also, given the song title it strikes me that it would be kind of odd to be all super animated.

lol I just picked another song at random to compare and it samples "Hotel California"

inauspicious start, dude

okay this is some bullshit

it really aggravates me, as a singer who understands where his voice works and where it doesn't, when people sing shit in ranges they should stay the fuck out of; dude's low voice is super weak

although I will say kudos to him for generating so much positive voice when he is verging on having the male equivalent Sade's range

lol positive BUZZ

I can't write for shit today

yeah "We All Try" is already a bazillion times better; his upper range is worth listening to

(oh btw that Kelly Rowland song Brainwasher mentioned is hot)

"motivation"? yeah i liked that on one listen, was quite surprised by that

i really like this one (featuring roach gigz, deej bat signal) and will be keeping an eye on this ariana harris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPGoDBK3yIg

oh yeah and that shanell song brainwasher posted recently is terrific too! a bit o_0 as any song addressed to a vagina will inevitably be, but kinda bubblegum-irresistible anyway

"motivation" is top 5 jams this year imo

And also, what you call playing into bloggin-hipster tedium or whatever I call much needed diversity.

Amen. I'm only lukewarm on the album, but Frank Ocean fills a real void. So many contemporary R&B singers fall into the same conflicted romantic archetype, but there weren't really any playing the curmudgeonly cynic. It's an interesting departure, and I see why there's an audience for it.

maybe the problem is with how you're reading it

― lex pretend, Wednesday, May 4, 2011 10:14 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if i don't actually say something please don't act like that's what i meant!

― lex pretend, Wednesday, May 4, 2011 10:14 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

then in that case, at least when you're talking to us, you dont even need to mention this stuff - the bulk of us *know this already*

Amen. I'm only lukewarm on the album, but Frank Ocean fills a real void. So many contemporary R&B singers fall into the same conflicted romantic archetype, but there weren't really any playing the curmudgeonly cynic. It's an interesting departure, and I see why there's an audience for it.

Thanks Evan R. For those a little older, didn't a lot of r&b male singers use to play multiple roles of the ladies man, the every day man, the eccentric, etc. throughout their careers? R&B music is a great template to talk about other subject matters whether it's being a cynic, drugs, the state of the world, etc. I don't see why it has to be overlooked now.

wrt novacane -- like soul brother, i first heard it outside the context of odd future, and i don't read pitchfork or blogs unless linked on ilm. i haven't even heard an odd future song except for "yonkers." anecdotal but i find it hard to make the case that his affiliations make up "90% of his appeal." that's where he first gained momentum maybe, but he's been getting a lot of exposure from media sources that have never given the same attention to odd future.

(third'ing the love for motivation btw)

yeah otm i mean 'novacane' is getting play on regular R&B radio right? its not like ppl are complaining

Ime "you will like Frank Ocean" and "you will like Odd Future" aren't really correlated (positively or negatively) at all.

R&B music is a great template to talk about other subject matters whether it's being a cynic, drugs, the state of the world, etc. I don't see why it has to be overlooked now.

sure, i'm just not into praising things cuz they're theoretically interesting or different if they don't move me musically. i mean that's why drake got critics on his dick, right, because he was "vulnerable" or "emotional" or whatever compared to everyone else. i would take a million well-executed clichés forever before being subjected to another drake.

"motivation" is top 5 jams this year imo

― 3.5" flopson (The Reverend), Wednesday, May 4, 2011 7:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

This. Wayne is still treading water more or less, but this is filling the same need that "Turnin' Me On" did a few years back, except this is smoother, more sultry, more...everything. The gorgeous harmonies around 2:18 and the way the synths fall like drops of sweat, and the way the whole thing sounds the way dancing with someone in a humid club in the middle of july does. It sounds so sensual.

And the Diplo remix is not bad either, fwiw.

motivation is probably my fav song of the year btw

shit is epic / perfect

i still like estelle & miguel joints better

like the estelle but it doesnt touch this imo; the miguel is a lil more interesting / weirder? so i could see that.

yeah, motivation is boringly average to me; the hook is motionless, kelly's voice is still fairly expressionless even when it's autotickled and the production smells of something cher would be going over if she were still in her early 30's.

yeah, thats insane

did you like the weeknd too

never cease to tire of ur http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pmIQSV_6HWg/Ss4UCLCmF9I/AAAAAAAAA9c/dYDkkDM62GI/s200/den_do19.jpg schtick

i do tire of your 'generic dismissal of pop music received wisdom' schtick particularly on a music board spawned by freaky trigger. sorry. couldnt you have worked 'manufactured' in there somewhere too?

you compared it to cher for christsake

you're aware that the reason i'm real familiar with this song is that it was on the singles jukebox right
and that i can't even parse what the hell 'generic dismissal of pop music received wisdom' is supposed to mean
and yeah, i compared it to cher for christsake

sorry i can't perform an interpretive dance for you explaining why i don't like it; i know adjectives are so limiting rite

i mean that your dismissals sound like generic 'oooh that manufactured pop music' type ish & dont really give me any insight into why you dislike it

i don't like it because it is smoothed down. it is unengaging. Kelly's voice has little or no nap to it. the song itself is bereft of swings in mood or tempo. there is no ass in this song.

zipless fucks are all the rage these days in club r&b and i like my share of that shit too, but this is bland even by those standards.

unpack "smoothed down." unengaging is a conclusion not an explanation. i dont know what 'nap' is. im not sure why you want swings of mood or tempo or what it means that it has no ass

sorry if im being a dick i just think its crazy that you wouldnt find something here it's a supremely sexual track w/ an incredible sense of tension & texture imo

this song reminds me at a somewhat abstracted level of 'me & u' actually -- the sense of space there that allows for a more fluid motion in between the beats is v immediate for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D92AUXhYZ0M&feature=youtu.be

okay, i'll work with you here as long as we can not needlessly spar over an opinion. i've been listening to the track for the last ten minutes just fyi, so i'm typing in good faith

Smoothed down is hyperproduced to the point where it slides off the ear. There's nothing memorable or catchy or unique; it's all wash. Unengaging means that there's not a point in the song in which it asks me to move toward it or work to meet it halfway; it is predigested both emotionally and musically. "Nap" is catch or "nappy", as in the nature of velcro; it doesn't stick. basically i'm reiterating the same point in the form of multiple metaphors in the hope that one of these clicks with you to the point where we are communicating more clearly. I don't always need swings of mood or tempo if there's something ELSE there that can engage me: virtuosic singing, intriguing melody, great hook, whatever. I'm not hearing any of that here. "ass" int this context would mean that it sounds dirty and sexual and mature and ripe and something i'd fuck to. What i'm getting instead is the squeak of plastic on plastic. I hear some semblance of tension there but it doesn't resolve or tighten or anything it just kinda hovers vaguely out of touch. Maybe that works for you? I like things that build and build or swirl or drop or rage. Motivation just sits across the bar and makes gawky come hither motions.
i like me and u like a zillion times better than motivation; total apples and oranges for me.
and yeah, it's been like twenty minutes now and I still don't want to hear it ever again. so back to the new bboys which isn't better exactly but at least i haven't heard it yet

actually the bboy album is just kinda pointless so maybe juicy j

yeah i guess what im saying is, i cant relate to anything you're describing. failure of ear or inability to communicate w/ each other, either way, that just sounds crazy so

agree to disagree

we've had this discussion before: we don't have similar tastes on lots of things.

what's frustrating is that you demand burden of proof or else i'm insane. the alternative is twenty minutes of saying the same thing ninety different ways and it gets us no further than "agree to disagree". If you sense me getting testy with you on threads like this it's at least partially cause of that.

Which Estelle track are we talking about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEszTzdUMcY

sorry i mean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1XozsBN5Z4

its not 'burden of proof' forks im trying to get you to express yourself in a way where i can at least understand your perspective but i have trouble finding that

No, no. I know we're talking broadly about Motivation. I should have been more clear. j0rdan was saying that he likes the Miguel and Estelle joints better. Miguel, I'm assuming, refers to 'Sure Thing' but I didn't know which Estelle track was legitimately good - nothing she's done this year has blown me away.

i mean for ex, how on earth do those two songs sound anything alike? i cant find a single thing abt either that reminds me of the other

im assuming the estelle song j0rdan was talking about is the one with rick ross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4TR9kxejic

i like it but it pales to aston martin music, which its similar to

deej, i've been writing for other people and for myself regarding music and performance for like the past seven years and while i don't claim to be any supergreat shakes, i don't feel like i need to have meaning coaxed out from my words. being clear and engaging in writing is a lot of what I do for a living and business is good. I think maybe even more than having differences in taste, we have differences in communication; i've met a few people like that where we simply can't connect IRL but you seem to be one of the first and few that i have that issue with in online. dunno quite why that is.

i do agree that estelle's been sort of boring this past year.

lol @ deej calling other people's criticism 'generic'

lol @ you trying to 'start shit'

dayo trying to troll makes whiney seem like some dude

"this is the kind of thing that makes me realize we are all insane"

http://images5.cpcache.com/product/31485585v3_480x480_Front.jpg

now your making bestiality zings? thats low

http://dragonsanddarkfairies.co.uk/images/NEM2596.jpg

i like but am not quite loving "motivation" yet even though sonically it feels like it should be catnip for me - i think kelly's voice is too rigid, slightly unbending for it? she doesn't have cassie's vulnerability.

compare & contrast to this similar and underrated track off kelly's second album, where her imperious haughtiness works so so well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYreu-Dqx-o

i reserve the right to love it in the future, of course

did anyone play the ariana harris joint? so good. the piano!

lol @ deej stanning for 'aston martin music' now

estelle joint is so smooth & for me it caught me on vibes then the hook really snuck up on me -- something that i think is really great about it is how the ross verses scan at first as just typical ross raps grafted onto an r&b song but "break my heart" expresses a diffidence that i think vibes perfectly w/ the indifference of ross' verses

personally i tried to zone out during the rick ross verses

lol @ deej stanning for 'aston martin music' now

― n/as (J0rdan S.), Friday, May 6, 2011 11:40 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

?? ive always loved this? u even 'liked' when i posted to fbook

want to apologize to forks if it seemed like i was dissing his writing rather than just expressing frustration at our mutual inability to connect when it comes to certain music. i was asking him for more, not 'better' per se

i really don't ever see what it is you're always having to apologise for tbh

not exactly a well balanced person myself either tho i hear

I guess I'm more Rick Ross inclined than a lot of people of this board, but Ross totally owns that Estelle song. The whole track copies the Teflon Don template pretty hard (1 part "Super High," 1 part "Aston Martin Music"), which is probably why I like it more than most Estelle cuts. Even on a track this moody, there's still a sunshiny affect to her voice that rubs me the wrong way, though.

motivation is incredible

want to apologize to forks

dudes really into mary j's "someone to love me"

i hate her voice on it compared to the Last Train To Paris version

well fine

just saying! wish the orig was a single instead.

as if i even KNEW there was an orig

waht

why dont u have that album

bcz i'm slow

i'll get it

u should also watch cruel intentions btw

lol i know

let's start a thread about me

not to blatantly plug myself too much, but i wrote an article about a lot of the trends in R&B radio hits crossing over to the pop charts less and less that we've discussed on these threads on and off lately:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/05/chris_brown_look_at_me_now_hot_100.php

That was a really great article al -- I meant to RT

So glad somebody wrote the definitive account of this phenomenon. You nailed it.

thanks dudes!

motivation would fit in well in that r&b for weeknd fans mixtape thread i think, the dynamic is p similar, has so few chord changes which makes it feel kind of immobile (sits there looks pretty as iirc lamp said in the og weeknd thread), production is pretty icy & that the synth during the chorus has a cool disassociated warble to it -- such a great song

is there a reason no one's talking abt how good this new saadiq is? so dope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtfOQ4thwJQ

can't stop hearing sixpence none the richer on that

haha i heard that too

(a) "Motivation" is fantastic; and (b) why does ILM have to award Lifetime Achievement Awards (with attached indemnities) to posters for having the same wrong opinions for 3 years plus?

really like all 3 tracks i've heard from omarion's mixtape. i want it real bad

(b) why does ILM have to award Lifetime Achievement Awards (with attached indemnities) to posters for having the same wrong opinions for 3 years plus?

― Tim F, Sunday, May 8, 2011 1:45 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

huh?

think that's a zing at forks

i don't understand who's giving him awards though

maybe because deej went soft on him at the end? (pause)

if it was zing at me it was a shot fired wildly
in any case, i think we should fight to ensure that the "rolling r&b thread" be as hostile and antagonistic an environment as possible as this will lead to the best possible conversation.
NO GOING SOFT. NO QUARTER GIVEN.

in any case, lol at "wrong opinions"

seriously

lolling @ wrong opinions is what we do here

no apparently we have award ceremonies for them

http://i.imgur.com/x5f6j.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gzT0f.jpg

not to blatantly plug myself too much, but i wrote an article about a lot of the trends in R&B radio hits crossing over to the pop charts less and less that we've discussed on these threads on and off lately:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/05/chris_brown_look_at_me_now_hot_100.php

Very good article some dude. You basically put in written form everything that has been swirling in my brain about r&b since the start of the decade.

thanks! i feel like it's a good time creatively for R&B but commercially it's having such an identity crisis.

Can it be said the state of R&B is similar to what happened in the pre-Thriller/Purple Rain era? It seemed like it was an interesting time for the genre fooling around with then new technology but the mainstream market wasn't pay attention due to the whole disco backlash?

i dunno in a way that's true but i'm not a fan of 'cyclical' analysis of music trends, too much recent context and history to ignore for it to really resonate

Yeah the internet is a big ass contextual agent that doesn't make it a complete analogy, but it is just weird how r&b has been stripped of the role as the foundation of U.S. pop. Another historical context will also be the restriction of media outlets for consuming r&b music and the culture accompanying it. Personally, I would have to pay extra to get TV channels such as Centric or TV One to consume said culture in a legal, traditional way. Or I can just be like everyone else and download or stream Youtube.

Can it be said the state of R&B is similar to what happened in the pre-Thriller/Purple Rain era? It seemed like it was an interesting time for the genre fooling around with then new technology but the mainstream market wasn't pay attention due to the whole disco backlash?

― lilsoulbrother, Sunday, May 8, 2011 1:14 PM Bookmark

I've kind of mulled this idea myself.

i don't like it because it is smoothed down. it is unengaging. Kelly's voice has little or no nap to it. the song itself is bereft of swings in mood or tempo. there is no ass in this song.

^^^ wrong opinion. "Smoothed down" in particular - you are better than this forks.

i will endeavor to work harder to... wait, what am i working harder to do?

toe the line. don't risk drawing attention to yourself by diverting from popular (er, "right") opinion.

most of the time this kind of stuff comes off as good-natured ribbing but sometimes...

toe the line. don't risk drawing attention to yourself by diverting from popular (er, "right") opinion.

― lilsoulbrotherlovesdubplatestyle (some dude), Sunday, May 8, 2011 11:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

do you think tim is really opposed to that? or me? that this isnt about what words he used to explain his opinions

Rolling R&Beef Thread 2011

Obv "wrong opinions" does not mean "boo forks for not liking this record", it means "let's stop using analogies drawn from processed food et al. to dismiss pop records".

ILM seems to have become more tolerant of Alex in NYC type opinions recently and pretty much nothing makes me see red faster.

to be fair (tho not in this case) a lot of chart pop of late seems to have been modelled along what an alex in nyc screed would actually sound like

I sort of feel like those screeds are never right in their terms, even when Alex or whoever is right about a particular song being bad.

yeah you didn't have to sit through the entire jessie j album repeatedly :(

ha this sums up p well why i get frustrated by lex's arguments sometimes -- where it's not a rejection of the terms of arguing but turned into simple matters of taste as a battlefield

^ xpost to lex

That isn't a good excuse to make conversation difficult lex. A disagreement should lead to a debate but not an argument per se. Acting all "Alex in NYC" doesn't make a person more "right" or "cool" but more of a brat.

Jessie J is awful, of course, but that doesn't mean that it's smoothed out processed pre-digested pabulum.

If anything I would say the reverse is almost more true (though really the whole idea is flawed and should be abandoned): most bad pop is bad because it doesn't sound processed enough.

Jessie J is awful, of course, but that doesn't mean that it's smoothed out processed pre-digested pabulum.

Why say of course?? I don't like her as much as everyone else, but ILM shouldn't make people feel uncomfortable if they have a good argument on why that is not the case for them.

I wouldn't freak out if someone liked Jessie J, if that's what you're saying. I'm simply saying that while I agree totally with Lex about the unpleasantness of listening to most of her stuff I don't think it means that that mode of argument can be redeemed.

Bad / Wrong / Awful - judgments of quality. Always an implied "IMO".

Smoothed Out / Predigested / Processed / Pabulum - judgments of nature. Always an implied statement of how (pop) music functions.

ok but seriously what is the "lifetime achievement award" crap about

don't get mad that you didn't win now

Random note: Looking at that first post of the thread and mad that a lot of these aren't released yet. Fuck patience!!!

tim, i dunno if you know but i'm really kind of a poptimist? like I'm all about processed, smoothed out, predigested stuff WHEN IT HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER
it's not an implied statement of how pop functions, it's a statement of how BAD pop music functions.
I don't need everything in one package but i gotta get SOMETHING and i'm not hearing anything in that song to make it worth my while.
I mean fuck, here are a few of my p+j top ten singles from last year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrXs82I0flg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bAizx0aMaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT6jbTnbT6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNuUgbUzM8U
Does this sound to you like i'm antipop? I think yer strawmanning me based on a conflicting opinion here.

i didn't know "smoothed out" was a bad thing for R&B to be, but then i was raised on Bell Biv Devoe

"it" in this case being the litany of complaints i had about that song.

fwiw the "motionless"/"expressionless" quality you dislike about the song is partly what i enjoy about it -- something very subtle about how the hook patiently unfolds over a kind of icy backdrop. not gonna tell you your opinion is wrong or anything, though, obviously.

not getting the subtlety even after multiple listens, so i'm pretty sure you're wrong.

apparently you have no problem telling people their opinion is wrong.

i think you're wrong about that

(now who's being subtle)

like I'm all about processed, smoothed out, predigested stuff WHEN IT HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER

okay but you gotta admit that when you made these comments upthread you used these terms as unqualified negatives. Maybe that was not what you intended though.

when i made those comments upthread i was smorgasbording a collection of metaphors, views and approaches to try to communicate more clearly with deej. A few are gonna be duds taken out of context. i like all sorts of stuff. just not that one song.

fwiw the "motionless"/"expressionless" quality you dislike about the song is partly what i enjoy about it -- something very subtle about how the hook patiently unfolds over a kind of icy backdrop.

^otm

Just now listen to K Michelle mixtape (So freaking late on it I know). She's from my hometown so I should've automatically supported her from the get go. Her speaking voice is so Memphis that I can't even deal. Reminds me of home. Anyway, she has some great material. She is much more candid in her songs than Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole. Sleeping with her friend's boyfriend, Grabbing people's throat if they cross her and others just confirms she's a Memphis girl. The interlude low key threatening her child's father in paying for his camp is hilarious and cool.

Is her album actually coming out this year? Hopefully it won't be slotted in the fourth quarter like what happened in December 2010.

No news on K Michelle's album, although a second mixtape got quietly released at the end of last year, which isn't QUITE as amazing as the first one but has a handful of great songs on it.

This isn't always the best gauge of whether an album actually gets released, but from what I can tell K Michelle is gaining real traction. I'm hearing "How Many Times" a fair bit on the radio (awesome) and seeing she's getting a lot of love online and apparently a pretty decent promotional push. I'd be shocked if her album didn't come out this year.

It's funny, How Many Times hasn't really hit me at all. I should probably go back to it again, given how much I like most of her catalogue.

'Sure Thing' finally clicked with me right now, though, so clearly I should have a general policy of repeated listens.

man 'sure thing' clicked with me instantly but 'motivation' I'm not getting atm. lot of good people repping for it so I'll keep trying

I mean, 'Motivation' and 'Sure Thing' press very different buttons. the former requires an appreciation for icy sultriness and whatnot. It sounds magnificent in a club, mind.

man 'sure thing' clicked with me instantly but 'motivation' I'm not getting atm. lot of good people repping for it so I'll keep trying

― a board in which there is lively and fuiud debate? (dayo), Monday, May 9, 2011 5:07 AM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i was the opposite; sure thing's distinctiveness feels very left field for me, a bit of an unexpected weirdness about it that i'm not even sure was intentional that i like

'motivation' hits as just an expertly constructed track

"sure thing" was a mood thing for me, i think when i first heard it i wasn't quite in the place for something with such low-key charms. when i relaxed a bit and the sun came out it hit so naturally.

i really like "how many times?" a lot but it's more of a showcase for her vocal ability and less about her throwing-fists lyrical bent that i hope she won't lose when she moves off mixtapes to her album. "down to the ground" is the one off her mixtape! "shawty, you - said - it - yourself - that i'm a beast"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U7h6FZ1GVk

Acting all "Alex in NYC" doesn't make a person more "right" or "cool" but more of a brat.

Are "brats" not entitled to their own opinions, let alone the right to express them?

http://images.mylot.com/userImages/images/postphotos/2343611.png

I felt a tremor in the Force.

when you look into the fire, the fire also looks back at you