CONTEMPORARY R&B

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY R&B• Vocalists that popularized this genre

are Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and R. Kelly.

• Throughout the years of 2000, R&B is seen to become more mainstream as it has become more modernized. However, it has also been highly influenced by Hip-Hop.

• Contemporary R&B originated in the late 1970’s, at the end of the disco era. Michael Jackson’s hit album ‘Off the Wall’ (1979) was greatly significant in the change of black music of that time.

• However, a lot of contemporary R&B music nowadays is also very sexualised, and

What is R&B?

R&B is a genre of music that is defined as Rhythm and Blues however, it also combines elements of dance, pop, hip-hop, funk and soul.

This genre emerged from the American blues and soul music during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s in the United States. At a time when urban, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat was becoming more popular among the Afro-Americans in particular.

Contemporary R&B still retains these elements, but it is completely different from the Rhythm and Blues of the 50s and 60s; contemporary R&B centres entirely around the vocalist.

1990’S

• Whitney Houston is a very significant artist in the development of contemporary R&B. The release of her second album ‘The Body Guard’ received a great amount of critical acclaim, becoming the best selling album of all time.

• Another influential artist was Janet Jackson, after the release of her second debut album ‘Janet’ released in 1993, also become a world wide phenomenon, and has sold over 20 million copies all over the world.

• Not forgetting Mariah Carey, who recorded several Billboard Hot 100s hits, including “One Sweet Day”, a collaboration with R&B group Boyz II Men, who were also greatly influential to this era. This song became the longest running No.1 hit Hot 100 history. In 1995 Carey released a remix of her song ‘Fantasy’, with Ol’ dirty Basterd, a collaboration format that no one had heard of before. Carey’s voice is so unique, and I really admire the way she can collaborate other artists into her work, to create a more up beat sound, but at the same time she can produce such

Aaliyah was another greatly influential artist of the 90’s; her album ‘Age Aint Nothin But A Number’ peaked at number 18 on Billboard’s top 200, and has released over two million copies in the US. Similarly to Mariah Carey, Aaliyah provides a unique and original style to her music.

2000’S• According to Billboard’s magazine the most influential and

recognizable artists of this era were Beyoncé, Usher, Ne-Yo, Rhianna, Usher, and Alicia Keys.

• Other artists that influenced R&B of this era, also include ‘Destiny’s Child’- their R&B music encompassed styles of urban contemporary, and dance-pop. One of their biggest influences was Janet Jackson. The group explored many different issues through their lyrics, including their relationships with men, sisterhood, and female empowerment.

• In 2004 it was released that 80% of songs on Billboard’s Top 100 were by African-American recording artists. The top 40 of both pop and R&B charts were topped by OutKast’s ‘Hey Ya!’, Snoop Dogg’s ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, and Ciara’s ‘Goodies’.

One of my personal favourite R&B vocalists is D'Angelo. His debut solo album, Brown Sugar, released in July 1995, received rave reviews and sold over two million copies.

In 2000 D'Angelo released his second album, Voodoo, which was also a world wide phenomenon, with ‘How Does It Feel’ as its leading single. However, the music video for this song caused a lot of controversy amongst the public, which created a lot of personal issues for D'Angelo himself, who did not want to be seen as a sex symbol. Some viewers and music writers have attributed the male discomfort of the video to fear of male sexual objectification and homophobia.

Despite these issues, D'Angelo is such a talented artist. Along artists such as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, and collaborator Angie Stone, D'Angelo became part of the neo-soul movement, but still remains elements of R&B.

2010’S

By 2010 R&B music began to incorporate more electronic and machine-made sounds and instruments; The Weeknd for example, combines elements of electronic, modernistic sounds with

The music video for ‘The Zone’ was directed by Abel Tesfaye himself. From the very start of the video, Abel has already created a dark atmosphere; showing a close up shot of dark, red eyes, which are over lapped by a mid shot of a long; in which you can’t see anything around it but the road moving slowly forward; re emphasising the mysterious, and darkness Abel is trying to convey.

It then cuts to a continuous moving mid shot of an attractive woman lounging on a sofa, surround by a display of balloons; the lighting and the balloons in this scene are all very vibrant, and colourful- a stark contrast to the lighting of the previous scene, which immediately challenges the viewers perception of what has happened. There is an extreme amount of sensuality that is portrayed through this video- which is shown through her lack of clothing, and the way she is applying make up.

As the video progresses the lighting becomes dimmer,

The is a dramatic sense of emotion which is conveyed through a mid shot of Abel Tesfaye himself- as he sings the words to the song, a moving projected image of the same women’s eyes is played above him- suggesting that he is completely engulfed by this woman. However, the camera switches to a close up shot, in which you can really see the emotion, and uncertainty of his face ; which could possibly imply that he must leave this woman, although he doesn’t want too.

Towards the end of the video it cuts to a mid shot of the woman- again sitting upright on a sofa, surrounded by colourful balloons. However, the atmosphere is completely different to the previous clip of her. The emotive, and dramatic atmosphere is portrayed through the extensive use of camera angles, such as Close Up shots of the woman crying, which is also slowly moving away from her ; this becomes quite unsettling, but also very engaging for the viewer, as we start to feel empathetic towards this woman. What makes this video even more effective in conveying emotion is the dark lighting, which is contrasted with the use of vibrant balloons. I thought this juxtaposition was a very effective way in creating uncertainty for the viewer, as balloons are usually associated with happiness, which contrasts with the lighting, and generally what the scene is about in general.

Today’s R&B is far more diverse and incorporates more sonic elements than before. Artists that have popularized this genre include Miguel, Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, Pharrell Williams, and The Weeknd- all who have embraced new electronic influences but kept R&B’s original feel at the same time. More of these artists are collaborating with non-R&B artists. For example, R&B singer Miguel, is gaining more popularity through his collaborations with rappers such as Wale and Rick Ross. Continuing from the 1990s and early 2000s, R&B, like many other genres, drew influences from the technical innovations of the time and began to incorporate more electronic and machine-made sounds and instruments, which include Auto tune and computerized synths, which have given R&B a more futuristic feel. Themes of love and relationships are most commonly brought up in artist’s lyrics.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT R&B MUSIC VIDEO?• What makes a great R&B video?

Charisma. Choreography. Sensuality. The kind of moving image that becomes impossible to shake every time you hear a song. In the '90s, R&B videos were in their prime, and just as compelling as the gangster rap epics that dominated much of the decade. R&B acts had to step up with classic clips that might not have been as up-tempo as everything else on MTV, but still left people wanting to see them again the second they ended.

The era yielded endless sets of iconic imagery, the influence of which still persists to this day. Some heavyweights absolutely dominated this golden era of rhythm and blues visuals, while others made a brief, but grand, impression and faded away.

An issue which I found quite important to discuss was the way in which women are portrayed through advertisement, and music videos of R&B. For example, R. Kelly’s album ‘Black Panties’ shows him lying in the centre surrounded by a bunch of women, all who are wearing nothing but black pants. I found this quite unsettling, and completely degrading to women, as it completely objectifies them to nothing but a male’s fantasy. In relation to this, female artist ‘Nicki Minaj’ is notoriously known for publicising her body, which is explicitly shown through many of her videos.

MICHAEL JACKSONThriller

Thriller is most defiantly one of the greatest music videos ever made. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screen play with Michael Jackson.

Michael and his date, Ola Ray, run out of gas in a dark, wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would like to go steady. She accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is not like other guys, no really, not like the other guys. A full moon appears, and Michael begins convulsing in agony – transforming into a horrifying werewolf! His date shrieks and runs away, but the werewolf catches up, knocking her down and begins lunging at her with its claws. The scene cuts away to a movie theatre where Michael and his date are actually watching this scene unfold in a movie called Thriller. Michael smiles but his date is frightened, and tells him she's leaving. Michael catches up to her, and says that it's only a movie, but she doesn't like his jokes on her and she starts walking away. Michael and his date then walk down a foggy street, and he teases her with the opening verses of Thriller. They pass a graveyard, where corpses suddenly begin to rise from their graves as Vincent Price performs his rap. Michael and his date then find themselves surrounded by the zombies, and suddenly, Michael becomes a zombie himself. Michael and the undead perform an elaborate song and dance number together, followed by the chorus of Thriller.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

The director uses a range of camera techniques, such as mid-shot, wide-shot, panning shots, and close-up shots.

BEYONCÉ

• Me, myself, and IThe music video for ‘Me, Myself, and I’ another classic by Beyoncé, entails the journey of her break-up- showing her from the start (finding out her partner and cheated) to the end (sadly soaking in a bath, and eventually cutting all her hair off). However, after viewing the first cut of the video, Beyoncé wasn’t happy with it, so she decided to completely reverse the order of it. I think this was a smart decision, because it creates a more abstract perception of time, which is emphasised by the juxtaposition of the video. I also find the lyrics especially moving, as she talks about the issues through her relationship, and heart brake.

Single Ladies

Beyoncé's world wide phenomenon was of course ‘Single Ladies’-released in 2009, and directed by Jake Nava; who also worked on many of her other music videos including, ‘Crazy In Love’, ‘Beautiful Liar’, and ‘If I Were A Boy’. The music video shows Beyoncé performing as her alter ego ‘Sasha Fierce’ (also the name of her album), in a asymmetrical leotard wearing high heels, with two female look alike back up dancers. They are all placed in front of a white wall, which contrasts with her alternative dancing, and to completely draw our attention only on them.

What makes this video so mesmerizing is the contrast between the simplicity of the setting, and Beyoncé's skilled dance moves. My perception of this video

Although Beyoncé is clearly trying to flaunt her body in a tight black leotard and heels- which is obviously very sexualised, respect her self confidence, and her ambition to try and also self empower other women to be confident in their own bodies just like she is.

THE END