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.