because you can at least understand what they're saying even over those trap beats my g.

Was worse a few years ago when almost every artist was singing on trap beats and a few years before that when R&B artists were hopping on the edm wave At least traditional sounding R&B artists like Giveon and Brent are in the spotlight now

I mean, white artists have been saying stuff like this, but they don't get a pass.

Sadly no, it's been a weaker year for R&B..

She's not wrong. I've listened to more R&B this year than I have hip hop

Yep

That’s a reach , but 2020 and 2919 compared to the last few years have been good for RnB .

Facts. Prefer the new wave and style of RnB singers than that of hip hop

she's right. today's American rappers are boring and talentless. actually the weakest rap music comes from the USA today.

i agree but only because the front runners of rap are completely failing in comparison to their older stuff

I was rolling until she said the mumble rap bullshit

But even that aside, I find myself going to Kehlani, Jhene, Tiller, kaash, Tory, PND, Weeknd, Giveon, Snoh, all their albums were far more interesting than the Hip Hop LPs this year

But other than the heavyweights hip hop is getting a bit less interesting to me

If only the genre wasn’t filled with A bunch of nonsinging hoes

She’s right if we’re talking newer acts and this will continue to be the case until we get rid of those Gunna type beats

Electropop, hyperpop and nu disco were probably the best genres of the year but R&B was good too

That Lianne La Havas record is stupid good

“ At least traditional sounding R&B artists like Giveon and Brent” - Both of these artists still fit under that alternative, sifty, mellow style of RnB. If they debuted in the late 90s/early 00s they’d be considered ‘neo-soul’ artists in the same vein as Badu, India arie, maxwell and d’angelo..

Traditional RnB has a distinct gospel influence in the singer’s delivery/phrasing that brings out the ‘soul’ element.
The most recent example of traditionally styled RnB singing is:

Ty Dolla
Kareem Taylor
Trey’s album is good
Giveon
Ant Clemons
dvsn

all in dropped in 2020 and really good

Does anyone know why RnB no longer has ‘belting’ in the records. Singers barely sing above a hushed whisper lol

it’s crazy you say that. even trey doesn’t have one of those on his last album, and that’s what he’s known for.

i couldn’t agree more though. that’s the best part of r&b lol

That Weeknd collab on Ariana's new album caught me off guard because it sounded like they were trying to out sing each other lol

she's right tbh

The market doesn’t care for singing w/range

Byproduct of melody Always being in vogue but hip hop being the most popular genre. Intersection of the two

Their chemistry was incredible on that record! As a singer myself, it definitely quirked my ears up. The harmony work alone (those chromatic arpeggios) were insane. The best weeknd’s sounded in years!

there's an oversaturation of one specific sound with little to no balance in soundscape or vocal delivery, whereas other decades had a balance between the subgenres that provided a nice contrast between traditional/soulful (gospel stylistics) and sleeker, spacey alternative sentiments.

there are MANY subgenres that used to make up the mainstream (popular) RnB market in the last two decades - 90s (alt/neo-Sade,Janet, Aaliyah ..adult-contemporary/soul/gospel- Whitney, Boys 2 Men, Mariah, Toni Braxton ..hiphop/new jack fusion- Jodeci, Bobbi Brown, MJB, En Vogue, TLC) there was even balance in the early 00s with (alt/neo-India Arie, D-Angelo, adult-contemporary/soul/gospel - Fantasia, Tank, Jazmine Sullivan and hiphop-urban contemporary Usher, Beyonce, Jagged Edge) ..now? it's strictly one sound saturating the main market.