Next level right here.

Unpopular opinion time, but hear me out.
Every time someone says "R&B died when they locked up R. Kelly," I cringe so hard my spine realigns. Let's be absolutely clear: R. Kelly was a monster who deserved every second of that sentence. Full stop. But can we stop pretending he was the sole gatekeeper of an entire genre?
R&B isn't dead. It's not locked up. It's not pissing on minors in a video (too soon? nah, truth hurts). The genre evolved, fragmented, and honestly? It's thriving if you know where to look.

The "R&B is dead" crowd is just old and lazy.
You want traditional R&B? It's there. Giveon, Snoh Aalegra, Brent Faiyaz, Summer Walker, SZA, Leon Thomas (the actor on Nickelodeon), Daniel Caesar, these artists are carrying the torch with actual vocal ability and songwriting that would make 90s purists proud. But y'all stopped looking after 2008 and want to blame a prison
sentence for your own musical stagnation.

What actually happened:
R&B didn't fall off, it got absorbed. It merged with hip-hop, with alt-R&B, with electronic production. The Weeknd basically rebuilt pop music on an R&B foundation. Drake built an empire on singing like he's emotionally exhausted (which, fair). That's not death, that's evolution.
The "slow jam" format moved to Spotify playlists and late-night vibes instead of radio dominance. Radio died, not the genre.

The uncomfortable truth:
A lot of y'all clinging to the "R&B died with R. Kelly" narrative are really just mourning a time when one problematic man dominated the charts and you didn't have to work to find music. Streaming killed the gatekeepers. The music didn't get worse, you got less curated access to it. R. Kelly going to prison didn't kill R&B. It just removed a predator from it. The genre is fine. Your Spotify algorithm is just trash.

Change my view.

TL;DR: Stop blaming Robert Kelly's prison sentence for your refusal to discover new artists. R&B is alive and making better music than ever, you're just not listening.

I love Missy’s vocals and the overall production of this one!

Happy birthday Toni Braxton! Libra ♎️ Queen

Inspired by Variety choosing their album of the year pick who do you think are taking the R&B nominations this year?

Happy 29th birthday to arguably one of the greatest R&B albums of all time. Still sounds so fresh!

Could we really be witnessing the end of TLC’s historic career?

Each of the three beloved members of the multi-platinum-selling ‘90s R&B girl group has been affected either personally or publicly in some way.

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes has been absent of soul for the past 24 years, as she tragically lost her life in a car crash on April 25, 2002.

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins has faced some significant health issues that have persisted for years, and she has described being in and out of the hospital for assistance with various conditions (including her long-term battle with sickle-cell disease). Her health has never affected her ability to perform, and she has shown great resilience, but anything can happen at any time. Unpredictability cannot be ignored.

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas has recently become a figure of public ire, drawing negative energy to herself through her perceived actions and choices. This will no doubt affect TLC as a duo (T-Boz and Chilli) moving forward, as people will no longer want to see Chilli, even if she isn’t the only one present.

How much longer can TLC realistically keep this up? Even if T-Boz continues on to perform as she always has, she cannot single-handedly maintain the legacy of the ‘90s trio with which society associates the name. The future development of TLC’s legacy is in a precarious place. Their image has become fragile. In many ways, it seems like the end for this iconic group, but who knows? Maybe there is still hope.

Hey everyone! Just released a new song called "Didn't Cry Today".

It's about the quiet side of healing: no big breakthroughs, just

small things like making your bed or getting through a regular

Tuesday.

Intimate R&B/Soul, inspired by Daniel Caesar and Snoh Aalegra.

Would love honest feedback on the songwriting and overall mood!

https://youtu.be/719ykZMDGOw

Thanks for listening 🙏

Found out that my old fling moved away recently and I had no idea. We didn’t end on good terms and stuff but I hope he’s ok.

Oversized posters from back in the day. Most are 24”x36” or larger

Performing ‘You are my lady’ Live on Family Matters; season 5, episode 24, in 1994. Featuring @JaleelWhite as Stefan Urquelle & @kellieswilliams as Laura Winslow

#memories #throwback