Rolling R&B Thread 2009

really looking forward to that album; suppose I should already have found it?

and a few notable debuts:

Janelle Monae

she's r&b, just kinda out there, maybe kinda experimental, maybe kinda pretentious modern r&b

great! i downloaded her EP the other day, and now i'm really excited

Totally love Janelle, somewhat less taken by her live show.

yeah that keyshia cole joint is awesome

monae is so fuckin corny

cant all be Cool Kids can we

heh

take it to passive aggressive notes, folks.

i kinda like J Holiday 'It's Yours', unexpectedly

(forksclovetofu), Friday, March 20, 2009 9:59 PM (4 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i kinda like J Holiday 'It's Yours', unexpectedly

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Monday, March 23, 2009 8:34 PM (Yesterday)

worst song on the album (which is great)

there's a new j holiday album? had no idea.

i guess i'm excited about the imminent chrisette michele...

the hilson album is pretty much what i ended up expecting. she has v little presence of her own, even her swagger on the 'turnin' me on' remix is generic swagger rather than keri-specific swagger (though it's still fab) and can't carry the album, but her anonymity seems to benefit her material in single-sized bites, for songs which demand nothing of you but your enjoyment.

You really think Keri has no presence? The album does get a little generic at times, but I think she's got the most "swag" - to use an annoying overused term - out of pretty much any r&b chick right now. On the Intro and "Get Ur Money Up" in particular (and her "Turn My Swag On" remix which is awesome).

And yeah definitely excited about the Chrisette album, "Epiphany" is probably my single of the year so far.

when did swag become such an overused word?

i really liked the keri! i think you're both a little too far to the extreme here - she's no beyonce, but she's definitely got a presence about her...it's this sub-badu "distinguished" persona that works for me. for some reason, the leaks didn't do much for me aside from "return the favor", but i really was feeling songs like "turnin me on", "make love" and "alienated" the other day listening to this. i think "energy" could be great if not for the ham-handed production, esp. the chorus which is just so over-the-top and bad imo

the chorus which is just so over-the-top and bad dramatic, huge and amazing imo

nahh

nahh

The main problem w/ "Energy" is that the chorus doesn't go ANYWHERE. AT. ALL.

otm. i really like the verses tho!

I've got J. Holiday, Bobby Valentino, Case and Trey Songz at the club tomorrow, all performing with a live band to an audience of about a thousand; it promises to be kinda batty. Sold out more or less on contact.

I'm not sure you could put together a lineup of R&B singers that would be less welcome for me.

i love "energy"

anyway i gotta side w/ lex, i listened to it right when it leaked but then forgot about it, everything seemed good and competent but not what you'd expect from an album that's been gestating for this long w/ a bunch of the most successful and best r&b and pop producers and writers behind the boards. it's not even as generically good as the ciara leaks and certainly not as singular as the cassie leaks, but maybe ill like it once i get around to listening to it more

has the elctrik red album leaked? does anyone care enough to put it on the internet? big week for urban music b/w these two and the RAWSE album

as yall know, trey songz is my least favorite artist on the planet— i think i'd have to kill myself if asher roth's next album leads w/ a trey songz single

Yeah, the Keri album isn't terrible or anything, but it's ultimately pretty hard to care about once you've heard it.

I'm not repping for any of those artists, but I'd be curious to see if any of them can perform live with a live band.

probably not

haha man you're Trey Songz hatred is funny...i don't particularly like guy and sometimes on his annoying hooks on rap songs i understand where you're coming from, but "Wonder Woman" and his first single w/ Twista were decent, i could see him coming out with something really good at some point.

Electrik Red ain't really out this week, is it? Amazon's listing it as April 21st now.

Those are precisely the only two Trey joints I f/w.

i guess it makes sense that it got pushed back, i remember seeing mar 24 on the def jam site but they were dropping videos like last week

i gotta say that i 100% love "can't help but wait" but that's probably cuz i thought it was a ne-yo song for 2 months, i just hate when rappers show up w/ trey songz songs as crossover attempts when a. dude sucks b. has never had a crossover rap hit besides the one w/ twista c. it's not that hard to write a good chorus

oh, shit forgot about "Can't Help But Wait", I like that one too. It was better than Ne-Yo's own singles that year.

when did swag become such an overused word?

― Plaxico (I know, right?), Monday, March 23, 2009 9:51 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

i really want someone to attempt to answer this. like an academic research paper

along w/ swag, who amongst rappers/singers/athletes started the mohawk trend, i spent like 10 mins trying to figure it out the other day but couldnt. i remember diddy for the marathon but it didn't take of then as opposed to this past year when EVERYONE had them (seriously 40% of college basketball players). was it around 'party like a rockstar' or something?

btw all these songs suck

2008: "Bust It Baby" (Remix) (Plies featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Freaky Deaky" (Flo Rida featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Da Baddest" (Big Kuntry King featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Thug It 2 The Bone" (Lil Scrappy featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Hood Love" (Maino featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Street's Won't Let Me Die" (2 Pistols featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "That's My Word" (2 Pistols featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "I'm da Man" (Plies featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Girl If I" (LL Cool J featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Ya Heard Me" (B.G. featuring Lil' Wayne, Juvenile & Trey Songz)
2008: "Street Life" (Buju Banton featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "One Night" (Yung Berg featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "I Just Wanna" (AZ featuring Sheek Louch, Max B & Trey Songz)
2008: "Ride" (Ace Hood feat. Trey Songz)
2008: "Cuddy Buddy" (Mike Jones featuring Trey Songz, Twista & Lil Wayne)
2008: "No Make Up" (Huey featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Without You" (Rebstar featuring Trey Songz)
2008: "Takin It There" (Young Jeezy feat. Trey Songz)
2008: "All I Need" (G-3 feat. Trey Songz)
2008: "Love for Money" (Willie The Kid feat. Yung Joc, Bun B, & Trey Songz)
2008: "Pop Rose" (Drake feat. Trey Songz)
2008: "We Global" (DJ Khaled feat. Fat Joe, Ray J, and Trey Songz)
2008: "Supplier" (Shawty Lo feat. Lil Wayne and Trey Songz)
2008: "I Got to Get It" (Topic feat. Trey Songz)
2009: "Successful" (Drake featuring Lil Wayne & Trey Songz)

xpost

wait are you talking about the fauxhawk???

i dunno, i thought Trey was a good replacement for Turk on that Hot Boyz reunion joint

xpost

whatever whatever— basically im asking how we made it to yung la. were shop boyz THAT culturally relevant?

i dunno, i thought Trey was a good replacement for Turk on that Hot Boyz reunion joint

xpost

― a black hole of energy and cheer (some dude), Monday, March 23, 2009 10:48 PM (49 seconds ago) Bookmark

this one hit me the hardest~~

i think the black faux hawk trend was really just an outgrowth of the white fratboy faux hawk trend that preceded it by 5 years...like a lot of other Kanye-endorsed urban music fashion trends, actually.

yeah i think that's pretty plausible. the fauxhawk def. started as an LA pretty boy, nylon magazine/MTV reality show look a couple year before the shop boyz lineage fauxhawk

http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/58/08/0000035808_20061116141727.jpg

like, oh my god, how did we ever get to yung la from a paragon of humanity such as this

haha xpost

as a staple of black culture it seems way more current to me than 5 years ago

im not asking about fauxhawks on white ppl or else i would've bumped the politics of messenger bags thread

no i mean it's been a staple of white douchebags for at least 5 years longer than it's been a staple of black douchebags

I can't recall Kanye w/ a hawk. Seems he's rocking w/ the mullets. :/

thank you, noted cultural critic burt_shipley

xxxxx that dude's even got wallet chain! see hiphop influenced fashion trend circa 07/08 skull studded belt not pictured

well the kanye mullet was kind of a mohawk. but yeah he's not really the best trendwhore to pin that particular trend on.