Male artists in R & B and Hip Hop are singing to each other!

[Thedy B]

I went thru my music recently and I have TONS of music! I was looking to get some inspiration for some songs that I wanted to write. So I began checking out the male R & B artists whose music I have. I could find only a handful that I had bought!

I started asking myself why? I have lots of music by female artists! So why so low an inventory on male R & B artists? Then it hit me: I don't buy much of it because:

1) I don't relate to the content
2) while I like listening to the male artist, I don't "relate" as a female to the artist...i.e. can a sista have somebody to drool over! lol
3) Men are singing to men about men topics

Who else would relate to songs like I'm in love with a Stripper? Who else would relate to Same Girl? Bust it Baby? Two grown men fighting over street cred?

What happen to the LL's of Hip Hop who would rap to the ladies?

What happen to the Mint Condition of R & B that would sing and make a grown woman fall in love?

Where are the young adult male artists who can sing more about love and lovemaking? Is Robin Thicke all the R & B artists we can produce for the ladies?

I wonder where it became not so cool to sing to women and not just ABOUT women?

I wonder where it became not so cool to sing about love and not just about sex?

Why are male artists singing mainly to each other? in particular black men?

Is this due to the increase in homosexuality that men feel the need to talk about how hard they are?

[D. Mark Crawford]

Two answers to come to my mind...

1) Majority rules - This music business is driven by what the majority is willing to pay for. TV and other forms of media all correspond. What you see, typically dictates how you perceive and think about things. Therefore that media ultimately determines, what's cool and what's not cool...

2) Laziness - It's easy to follow trends. However, it's challenging and takes great effort to go against the grain and still have a presence and/or an existence that's known, or at the very least have and maintain the desire to make true R&B music and be willing to sacrifice being a major artist for being a good artist with a smaller and less mainstream (but TRUE) following...

Simply put, there's a market for people just like you Thedy B... people that feel that true R&B should be that and that only. It shouldn't have to compete with Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, and Rap... There's a need and a thirst for this market of people like you to be served, but no artist are willing to service you... People only want to make music that caters to the mainstream folks...

[Thedy B]

I love this song! This is what I'm talking about! Thanks for sharing it!

[D. Mark Crawford]

Thanks Thedy B... I appreciate that. We're expecting to release our album digitally in about 2 months or so. Just working on perfecting some mix and masters on 3 or 4 of the songs.

[Phil]

You are touching on a subject that had me wondering what happened to the male R&B vocalist overall. Honestly, there hasn't been a male R&B singer that has grabbed me---as a lover of music, not a man, lol---since D'Angelo. Raphael Saadiq was doing his thing for a few albums, but it wasn't enough. I didn't see enough new, male R&B talent stepping in with anything inspired. The homosexual angle is a touchy and arguably real issue that I have no idea how to address. I didn't really notice until recently--the last few years---that I can't go along with all the songs trying to "check" or "own" women in them, and for one main reason: I love women! The bitterness and hate towards ANY kind of female (bitch, hoe, whatever you need to build yourself up) started to sound REAL SUSPECT after a while. I was like, damn, you dudes going into your 30s HATING women? All the women you meet and inspire your work are bitches and whores? That's not real my dude. We can hate, or better yet feel pity for, those people who carry themselves and interact with us in an ignorant manner, but to HATE women the way some of these dudes do in songs just started to feel real strange to me, lol. There should be MORE songs uplifting and showing love--in all angles--to women, especially with our new First Lady! How can ONLY the women you "don't like" make it into your material, and no love or admiration for women who CAN be like Michelle Obama (just as an example).

If there was anything I hoped would have been left behind with the ascension of Obama and the dismantling of the music industry was the tired, immature, and now nonsensical misogyny in Hip-Hop & R&B. I know the reason a lot of women don't care for Hip-Hop or its evolution is because most of the Black men in it are not speaking to them in a respectful and loving manner (respect to Common, Mos Def, Murs, and a host of artists who DO love women). Will R&B end up the same way? That's a scary thought. Maybe women got tired of how the singers were talking too, and that's why we're not seeing as many of them.

[Thedy B]

I agree with you man!

Because I know if WOMEN were to date a bunch of creeps, then THEY are the ones who are looked down on. Like what's wrong with your selection process? But dudes can date a whole bunch of RAGGEDY type women and then complain about it?!

Most have had a bad relationship or two, but ALL your music SHOULD NOT be about that.

That goes for songs about men too.

And I'm probably giving too much credit to bad relationships because again I think what I'm seeing now is all this I'm hard; I'm a man; and I'm not gay. The conquest of women, the quantity of women, and even the shade of women all says to these men that they have "arrived." And that's objectified in the music.

And I think besides the not gay thing, I think even some older male artists like Jamie Foxx, Brian McKnight, etc who are putting out new albums may feel the pressure to keep up with the younger artists, instead of leading by example.

[Raymond Collins]

while I agree to an extent there's quite a few guys out there singing to the ladies.

Bobby Valentino, Anthony Hamilton, Brian McKnight, Tank, Avant, Sterling Simms, Noel Gourdin, Musiq, & Eric Roberson come to mind as brothers who are trying to make music for the ladies. I guess when you look at society as a whole, there' not too much love anymore. People get married with the attitude that if it doesn't work they can just get a divorce, so I guess the music reflects these worldly ideals.

[Thedy B]

not saying that there are NO songs...remember I said I have bought some music by male artist... just saying there's a lot that don't pertain to me as a grown woman..

and thanks for the recommendations. Been hearing a lot about Avant's music.

I love Tank, bought his album.. so I def agree with you but some of his album is his pains as a man about women...I ain't mad at that because men need a voice...

Musiq: love his voice and all but his music appeals to men too because he talks more about being friends with benefits... and the song that was a hot break out song for him recently was Teach Me How to Love because women felt that!

Noel Gourdin, I haven't heard of him.

[Raymond Collins]

with the exception of Sterling Simms & Bobby Valentino, the guys I named cater to more of an adult audience. I'm pretty sure you've heard 'The River' which was a modest hit for Noel Gourdin and his CD is really nice as most of it was written by Belewa Muhammad who is clearly the most talented writer in The Clutch.

You should check out Tank's other CDs "Force of Nature" & "One Man" dude is one of my favorite writers. Also check out Tyrese last CD "Alter Ego". for Avant, start with "Director" and also check out Jon B's "Helpless Romantic"

[Thedy B]

Alright I found Tank's older Cds on the web so if I don't like them Ray, I"m coming after you! hahaha

And I looked up Jon B. Jon B is FINEE! :-)

[Raymond Collins]

the old less mature Ray would have commented on the way you left yourself open to a very Obvious joke, lol. oh yeah, I forgot to mention to check out Case "The Rose Experience"

later with that Jon B is fine crap, I look like one of your girlfriends or something, lol. but I'm willing to bet you're gonna dig Tank's older joints and if not I got plenty more suggestions for ya!

[Thedy B]

um yeah you went over my head with the joke but whatever man!

Hey you might have had a Jon B connection and could have hooked us up! :-O J/k!

[Raymond Collins]

concerning Tank's CDs, most women come BEFORE me *rimshot*

thank you, thank you, I'm here all week, lol!