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And that's why I always say that about the genre thing, because that's what it does. It suggest there's more artistry within a genre that has become more of a cliché of itself." įrank Ocean, when first asked in an interview with The Quietus, whether he considers "Novacane" to be an R&B song, responded, "You're limiting it. Or a deeper or somehow more artistic delivery of rhythm and blues music. Miguel himself has said that he is "comfortable" with the term "indie R&B" because it "insinuates a higher art.
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Stereogum described the genre as a group of "co-conspirators, not a unified movement." Similarly in thought, How to Dress Well, while not offended by the term "PBR&B", finds it "tacky" in an interview with Complex he points out that "if you put records side-by-side, me and whoever, like you're just not going to the same sounds, period", before proceeding to cite Miguel as an example. There are two predominating opinions regarding alternative R&B as a classifier of sonic and lyrical characteristics within the larger R&B genre, the first of the two being a reluctant acceptance of its existence – if only for the sake of marketability. Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times feels that "the new movement feels like the most significant stylistic change in R&B since neo soul rolled around in the 1990s." Response Hermione Hoby of The Guardian writes that "the music is quietly radical" and observes "an ongoing, mutually enriching dialogue between indie and electronic musicians and R&B artists." Gerrick D. You don't get that same diversity in subject matter from the majority of modern R&B singers. Granted, they still sing about the topic, and in explicit detail, but it's in equal proportion to drugs, spirituality and personal philosophies. Additionally, for the most part, it doesn't feel as if these artists are selling sex as their main entrée. lot of the production is echo-laden and lofty, often using many synthesizers and filtered drums-sonically giving a nod to Prince's vintage '80s sound.
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Neasman finds the subject matter of "these new-wave artists" to be more "relatable" and writes of alternative R&B's characteristics: īrandon Neasman of The Grio observes a "changing of the guard in R&B, from the smooth, cool heartthrobs to these vulnerable, off-kilter personalities" amid the prevalence of social media in society. According to NPR Aaliyah's third and final album "became a catalyst and bridge that created a smooth transition from '90s style R&B into Modern PBR&B". Janet Jackson's sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997) is cited as one of the genre's stylistic origins. According to Jim Farber of the NY Daily News, the Soulquarians collective of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which Bilal was a part of, "corral leaders of the alternative R&B movement like the Roots and D'Angelo". AllMusic's Andy Kellman cites the early albums of Bilal – 1st Born Second and Love for Sale – as antecedents to the "left-field R&B" that developed in the late 2000s. Characteristics Īlternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012īarry Walters of Spin characterizes the unconventional style as an "exchange between EDM, rock, hip hop and R&B's commercial avant-garde", and cites Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra and Channel Orange, The Weeknd's Trilogy, Drake's Take Care, Miguel's Kaleidoscope Dream, Beyoncé's self-titled album, Holy Other's Held and How to Dress Well's Total Loss as works associated with alternative R&B. However, the terms are often criticized for "pigeonholing" artists into hipster subculture and being used in a derisive manner. The genre has sometimes been called "noir&B". Slate suggests the name "R-Neg-B", as a reference to " negging". Three years later, amazed and distressed at how far the term-meant as a joke-had traveled, Harvey wrote an extensive essay about it for Pitchfork. The first use of "PBR&B" was on Twitter by Sound of the City writer Eric Harvey on a 2011, post.
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The term "hipster R&B" has been commonly used, as has the term "PBR&B"-a combination of "PBR" (the abbreviation for Pabst Blue Ribbon, a beer most recently associated with the hipster subculture) and R&B. There has been a variety of discussion about the differing genre terms, with several critics describing the music under the broad category of "alternative R&B" or " indie R&B". "Alternative R&B" was once used by the music industry during the late 1990s to market neo soul artists, such as D'Angelo, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, and Maxwell.