My favorite genre of music is R & B. The unfortunate thing about that is that it doesn’t really exist anymore unless you listen to older music. Most of what passes for R & B these days are Hip Hop hybrids like Drake makes. I enjoy Drake but he’s not real R & B to me. His music doesn’t have any real soul.
R & B’s last stand was in the 1990s. Acts like R. Kelly, Boys II Men, Faith Evans, Jodeci and many others were at the top of the pop charts. R & B was all over the radio to the pure delight of music lovers. Soul music was still a force in popular music in the early 2000s with artists like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Anthony Hamilton. But pure soul has all but vanished from the pop scene.
But a pulse has been detected for modern R & B music. There is an absolutely deliciously sexy, sultry tune on the pop charts now by two young song birds named Khalid & Normani. Their hit song tells the story of the pivotal point in a romantic relationship where the pair tries to establish an understanding of their paramour’s intentions and true feelings. The lyrics are tense because it’s a make or break moment that happens early on in a love affair. The lovers may move towards true love or the moment of truth can end in heartbreak.
Khalid & Normani sing the sultry lyrics to “Love Lies” with pure, old fashioned soul. There are no featured rappers on the track. It’s a tale of modern romance told with throwback soul and sex appeal. Congratulations to this duo for bringing back R & B to those of us that remember it and introducing it to a new generation. I hope Khalid & Normani work together again. They could be Peaches & Herb 2.0.
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