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.
One of the worst things ever done to R&B was to combine the Billboard chart with Hip Hop. It’s such a far reaching that because it now reigns on the pop charts, Hip Hop has edged R&B out of the running and off the radar. It is so sad to me because it really opened the doors for Hip Hop in these areas. Hopefully, it will make its way back or we will see more nostalgic stations popping up for it.
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I sure hope R&B can make a comeback. I didn’t realize the genres merged on the Billboard chart. That explains a lot.
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