WTF happened to African American music?

[onethousandknives]

Before:




Now:



How do you think this happened?

Also, anyone else wanna post some older R&B songs they like?

[Rock]

I've often wondered the same thing. IMO, African American's have created, produced, and delivered, some of the most soul moving music I've heard anywhere on the planet. But it's mainly stuff from the 70s and 80s. Even in the 50s and 60s they put out some amazing stuff that made it to the mainstream. Back then, the stuff only heard within the black communities was probably full of gold.

So wht's with the hip hop rap crap we have today? There's a handful of songs I like enough and a decent amount within the R&B genre. But if u compare today's black music with that from previous decades, it seems that there is no longer any soul or depth. Hip hop for the most part sounds like monotonous war chanting.

[Rock]

Couple songs from DeBarge

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

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

[Teal Lantern]

Q: WTF happened to African American music?
A: The gatekeepers changed.
The Berry Gordy/Quincy Jones/etc. generation had higher standards for what they'd allow out the door.

A: Technology changed. The VHS & cassette era made it possible to get your image & sound out without going through the big media companies (who'd then come to you, if your product had proven demand).

A: The culture changed.
When profit takes priority over every thing else, you get what we have now.

[E_Irizarry]

Well that's why I like unsigned artists whom make their money via TuneCore and BandCamp among other venues.

Per my avatar, Flatbush Zombies are getting a lot of exposure in "neo-rap" music. They are the first rap guys in a long time to pop acid, kush, and all "White America" drugs into their system and rap about psychdelics type of surreal craziness like WWF old-school wrestling, Lemon Kush, Acid, Sour Diesel, all types of drugs and they aren't signed. There are a couple of companies trying to sign them, but they rather stay underground.

Flatbush Zombies made a killing at SXSW Showcase in ATX (Austin, Texas) last week. They are from, obviously, Flatbush, Brooklyn, USA.

[ILoveBlackAmericanWomen]

[C.J.]

Y'all niggas need some more examples.

If you want more hippity-hop, you had Inner City, Bobby Brown, De La Soul, Digital Underground, Portrait, Junior(cuz he's more hip-hop IMO)...

And for you R&B fans, you had Alexander ONeal, Debarge, Al B. Sure, Tevin Campbell, New Edition(and any solo artist from that group), Brownstone, Michael/Janet Jackson, Guy, Keith Sweat(that nigga could finger snap the panties off girls LOL), Silk, I could go on forever! But won't.

Honorable mention goes to Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me". Shit was dope!

Of course, some of these peeps have tracks in different categories.

Back then, so many niggas made great music. Now we have the same people, making songs about desecrating the church, bragging about their ill-gotten money and their dumb, dirty bitches.

[ILoveBlackAmericanWomen]

[ILoveBlackAmericanWomen]

I love how he made it sound like he was talking about a woman but he was talking about hip hop.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBB8valskCQ

[C.J.]

Babyface put Toni Braxton on the map! Come to think of it, he wrote A TON of songs for artists besides her. As well as his solo albums, he was puttin in the work!

Anybody who's interested in R&B of the 80s, check out Babyface, especially his early albums. Still trying to analyze his harmonies, they're so good!

[Chad N. Froyda]

LOL, I was wondering the same thing.

At first we were like



now we are like

[ILoveBlackAmericanWomen]

Babyface put Toni Braxton on the map! Come to think of it, he wrote A TON of songs for artists besides her. As well as his solo albums, he was puttin in the work!

Anybody who's interested in R&B of the 80s, check out Babyface, especially his early albums. Still trying to analyze his harmonies, they're so good!

Yep Babyface is a talented man. He made duos with her as well. I love the ballads he created for Toni and I love her mesmerizing voice. He sings with her on this one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRHm6vcg73g

[ILoveBlackAmericanWomen]

There are exceptions. RnB artist like Joe,Avant,Tank,Ginuwine,Mario,Neyo and Jamie still keep rnb alive.








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVi25pSRAkc

[C.J.]

You can get stuck in the old days listening to these people. Anita Baker also has a wonderful voice! And so does Chaka Khan.

[Maker55]

You have to listen to underground hip hop which is where all the good hip hop went.

All hip hop is not the stuff you hear in mainstream hip hop.