In another clip from Verse Simmonds recent interview with DJ Smallz, he speaks about the state of R&B music, and if it is truly dying, and why.
The Def Jam/Bu Vision singer/songwriter is prepping for the release of his ‘1996’ EP. Check out the clip above and let us know what you think??
hes a culprit himself though lol
He’s reason for why he claims R&B is dying is bogus. A lot of artist today i.e. Beyoncé, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, etc. are popular because they have roots in R&B but also blend genres. Conversely, you have not as popular acts like Weeknd, How to Dress Well, Frank Ocean, and Quadron who great expand R&B which keeps in evolving. I think she solely agreed with the statement to garner attention. R&B is alive and flourishing. Do your homework Verse Simmonds. LOL
After hearing his last mixtape, he has no room to talk, its not like hes doing anything revolutionary for rnb, so until he does i think he should keep quiet.
I think that his definition of R&B is dying…if R&B artists that rap and sing is dying that let me help dig the grave. This goes along with Chris Brown and his alter ego, Trey Songz and his Rap-Ego, throw in some Kevin McCall and we’re good to go. True R&B artists and music is probably the best its ever been in this digital era where WE the FAN choose what we listen too and not the labels/radio stations (and a lot of it is free). I’d be okay if R&B died if it included these R&B-Rappers.
kidnat I have to dis agree man. I am a huge Chris Brown fan but some of the music that he puts out is just not good timeless music. Trey Songz’s sound is a 360 degree change from his debut album, “just gotta make it” (which is a real rnb album) though these artists do put out good songs still when listening to Pandora or Spotify you get to relive their older music and then you realize the difference
Rodreamz Hey Rodreamz I appreciate your comments for sure. I am a huge Chris Brown fan and Trey etc. but my point was that if Verse is defining R&B as being a rapper/singer than I hope R&B does die. In saying that, I couldn’t care less about Chris Brown and Rihanna or him fighting Frank Ocean over a parking spot his voice is dope and he should stick to what he is good at. Same applies to Trey and Kevin etc. I have been huge fans and watched as they evolve but the rapping thing from an R&B singer just doesn’t work for me. Cheers and thanks for your reply!
@kidnat I personally hate that with a passion myself, also hate the techno…that is not rnb idc how you define it as evolving, that is not RnB
R&B is dying, and there’re TONS of reason for it’s place in an ICU room: 1)it all sounds the same: same production, same lyrics, same style, no originality. The “tap tap” sounds and light snare along with over-synthensized music with lyrics of “poplin’ bottles, clubbing’ sex, money, etc”. 2)LAZINESS is a huge factor. Most faces in the “R&B” genre BARELY tour, and only put out 1 or 2 singles and EXPECT a diamond album, whereas Katy Perry and Adele put out 6 to 8 singles! And they tour A LOT, not just appear on a few talk shows and think that’s it. These so-called R&B artists have no work ethic AT ALL. 3)REFUSE to cross over. Miguel, Trey Songz, and the like are NOT crossover artists with crossover music. That’s not the main issue tho; this is..they put NO effort in crossing over in ANY way, shape, form, or fashion. You think a few tour dates in Europe means you crossover? Wrong..BET is NOT crossover, TVOne is not cross over. Centric is not cross over. Go above and beyond “urban”! Motown mastered the art of crossing over, and today, they have not a damn clue on how to follow that success. 4)Even deaf ears can here that the quality of vocals is at an all-time low. Really, R&B has been known for powerful and soulful vocals, and not ONE of these well-known cats today have it. They’re so busy trying to be “rappers” and can’t even compete with Soul 4 Real, vocally. I been telling people that a handful of young faces in R&B actually have that gift vocally, and everybody else would not exist if they were in the 90s and earlier. REALLY…could Chris Brown or Miguel compete with Freddie Jackson or Boyz 2 Men? Trey Songz vs. BabyFace? And spare me the “times have changed” drama…yes times HAVE changed, but that is NO license to excuse poor quality of today’s vocals, because they are horrible, which brings me to my final problem, which 90% of everyone agrees with me when I say it 5)LACK OF SOUL AND LOVE! Songs are boring and repetitive with NO relatable material that can be sung 30 or 50 yrs from now. The dragging, monotone of the most unimportant subject matters have pushed many people away from paying attention to R&B. Why? Because if you grew up to Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Diana Ross, Earth, Wind and Fire, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warrick, and many more, you can’t get down to this BS of today like 2 Reasons, Take ya Down, and all this other crap. NOBODY goes to church anymore with music! NOBODY sings with everything in them to show you how they REALLY feel about someone! It’s all image, and that’s where it begins and ends. The “prettiness” has overshadowed the raunchy soulfulness in R&B that USED to be, and LOVE (the most powerful word ever) is nonexistent in music today. Females don’t feel appreciated, marriage is not talked about, togetherness is not honored AT ALL today! Hell…what was the last HARD-HITTING marriage song you have heard in the last 5 years? I’ll wait….in conclusion…R&B is dead because so-called R&B artists are destroying it. “Why listen to R&B’s forgettable music when we can listen to Justin Beiber’s forgettable music? Or Miley Cyrus forgettable music? At least they’re more entertaining” <—This is technically what many are saying at the moment
so true