I'm listening to samples off of Looking 4 Myself and it's not really comparable, it's way too pop. Don't get me wrong I do like it but I wouldn't consider it RnB at all.
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R&B is coming back strong!
- Thread starter The Return of
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I'm listening to samples off of Looking 4 Myself and it's not really comparable, it's way too pop. Don't get me wrong I do like it but I wouldn't consider it RnB at all.
spindashing
Banned
Miguel is REAL good, considering I thought dude was real corny previously.
No love for my girl Bridget Kelly?
No love for my girl Bridget Kelly?
The Return of
Banned
I think it's pretty out there as R&B, but I feel like it's more of an R&B take on electronic stuff than the other way around if that makes sense. I'll try to think of something else upbeat though.
Miguel also gets points for being on one of my favorite hip-hop songs ever
The Return of
Banned
Dawn Richards - Armor On
Try this album and see what you think. It's a bit poppy, but it's definitely upbeat, but besides this nothing else comes to mind
Brandy's album is great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. She made a great album WHILE staying true to her sound...unlike Monica.
Also, I liked JoJo's mixtape. There are some gems...I LOVE "We Get By"
lets be friends
radios shipping overview
Member
Great stuff in here. Subscribing.
You might like the Phlo and some of the Rochelle Jordan stuff too
The Return of
Banned
why can't I seem to find a download link to the freetape she just released? Was trying to post earlier.
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
I hope so.
I can see Kat Hue / Kat Dahlia putting in work as well. I swear she channels the spirit of Amy Winehouse on certain tracks. I don't know what's she's "classified" as though.
The Return of
Banned
I mentioned her in OP. That Gangsta song is like seriously the hottest thing I've heard in awhile. It sounded R&B enough to me but that's the only song I've heard from her so I'm not sure what direction she is going in.
JustProgress
Member
Weeknd is really all you need...House of Balloons is easily my favorite album of past 5 years.
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
She's like that throughout "Shades of Grey." It's really solid. Kat deserves to blow up after Gangsta.
MWS Natural
Member
Awesome thread so far, subscribing.
victreeb3l
Member
good list on the OP.
i used to like trey songz. i thought "ready" and "anticipation" had some good stuff but i havent bothered checking out anything hes done in the last 2 years.
this is excellent.
been going through the album on spotify and man this is some good shit.
i used to like trey songz. i thought "ready" and "anticipation" had some good stuff but i havent bothered checking out anything hes done in the last 2 years.
B.J. The Chicago Kid - Pineapple now-laters
Pretty good stuff, has an old school feel to it while still being modern.
Sample Track
It's an album so you'll have to buy off Amazon or Itunes
this is excellent.
been going through the album on spotify and man this is some good shit.
Battlezone
Member
I found this on Songza, and promptly found it on Spotify. Love this album. So good. Actually, the "Indie R&B" playlist on Songza has some really good stuff in it.
I'm on some Maze featuring Frankie Beverly stuff right now, but I'm going to check out that Chicago Kid album shortly. Like what I heard of it.
Great thread!
For some reason Weeknd and Frank Ocean's actual album releases didn't impress me at all. Maybe I spent too much time listening to them in hipster mode (when it was "underground") but their LP releases barely registered with me. Oh yeah, the Frank Ocean "I'm gay... bisexual" thing seemed like a weird publicity stunt so that also might've had something to do with why Channel Orange didn't exactly thrill me. Glad those two aren't the sole focus of this thread!
Miguel and Jeremih really impressed me this year! Love, love, loved Salonge's True EP. Never even heard of BJ The Chicago Kid until this thread but that's a great LP so far!
LOL @ the Craig David mention! What happened to that dude? I checked out his Wiki page and he had so many albums I'd never heard of (a cover album? WTF?). Dude fell off hard!
For some reason Weeknd and Frank Ocean's actual album releases didn't impress me at all. Maybe I spent too much time listening to them in hipster mode (when it was "underground") but their LP releases barely registered with me. Oh yeah, the Frank Ocean "I'm gay... bisexual" thing seemed like a weird publicity stunt so that also might've had something to do with why Channel Orange didn't exactly thrill me. Glad those two aren't the sole focus of this thread!
Miguel and Jeremih really impressed me this year! Love, love, loved Salonge's True EP. Never even heard of BJ The Chicago Kid until this thread but that's a great LP so far!
LOL @ the Craig David mention! What happened to that dude? I checked out his Wiki page and he had so many albums I'd never heard of (a cover album? WTF?). Dude fell off hard!
Someone posted this in GAF-Hop and this was a really pleasant surprise, I pretty much like everything on there.
http://www.datpiff.com/Elijah-Blake-Bijoux-22-EP-mixtape.429180.html
I don't know how to explain the sound really, R&B usually isn't my thing. Kind of reminds me of Cocaine80s with a lot of doubling of the voices, etc.
Listened to this earlier this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the whole thing too.
victreeb3l
Member
the weeknd remaster was totally disappointing and ruined many of his songs. i agree, frank ocean was pretty underwhelming as well save a few songs.
ive been listening to miguel's latest thanks to this thread and man i have really been sleeping on this dude. kaleidoscope dream is dope.
The Return of
Banned
Do be sure to check out Tinesha and Rochelle Jordan that was posted in this thread. I think you'd dig that too
Glad someone mentioned this because even though I really love it, I definitely forgot to mention it lol
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
Masspike Miles - Killah
I'm kinda "eh" on "Cozmic Cloudz," but I can't deny that a lot of the tracks knock...hard. That MMG influence. I like the songs minus the features, the best. He could have cut down on some of the guest artists. Still, Flight 69, Revival, Guilty, Layover, Downtown, and Flatline are good.
I actually need to listen to Sky Miles 1.
Things I didn't know: Mya released music this year. o.0
I'm kinda "eh" on "Cozmic Cloudz," but I can't deny that a lot of the tracks knock...hard. That MMG influence. I like the songs minus the features, the best. He could have cut down on some of the guest artists. Still, Flight 69, Revival, Guilty, Layover, Downtown, and Flatline are good.
I actually need to listen to Sky Miles 1.
Things I didn't know: Mya released music this year. o.0
Bucket Mouse
Member
Devotion by Jessie Ware was a pretty good throwback RnB record this year. Old school, classy sound; almost a pastiche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlFWmvgeVI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlFWmvgeVI
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
or is it just me?
For the past few years, R&B was pretty much dominated by Trey Songz, Ne-Yo, and Usher. Their output has been pretty average to just bad as well. Trey Songz just comes off as too much as a low budget R. Kelly to me. Ne-Yo can make great singles without a doubt, but his last two albums I thought had pretty bad singles and his albums weren't good either. Not to mention Ne-Yo has the nerve to accuse other R&B singers for selling out to Europop when his singles does the exact same thing. Then, there's Usher who just makes forgettable stuff in the past few years as well, but of course he still sells.
R&B just felt like it was stagnant, like there was no one shaking up the game really and forcing other singers to step it up. There's definitely The Dream who makes really really great albums, but for whatever reason his albums don't really catch everyone's attention.
Now all of a sudden this year it seems like people have really started to try harder with their music. I think this is the best year R&B has had in a long time and who do I believe I need to thank for it? Frank Ocean and The Weeknd.
Both artist dropped free albums last year that caught a lot of singers' attention and the production of their material was pretty different. Frank Ocean didn't have the most original production, but in comparison to what R&B was sounding like for the past few years, it made his stuff sound really fresh. Not to mention dude is a great songwriting and has some great lyrics. You can say the exact same thing with The Weeknd but I'd say his production was way much more original and out of the box. While The Weeknd's songwriting wasn't all that great during House of Balloons, I believe he improved quickly by the time Echoes of Silence came out. It showed that he might has what it takes to be a great(Although I absolutely love EoS).
Now maybe I am jumping the gun a bit with that and feel free to disagree with me, but I do believe they played a big part in making others' step up their game.
So here we are in 2013 the R&B albums/mixtapes that I've enjoyed.
Jeremih - Late Nights With Jeremih
This was quite a surprise from me. He kind of channels chocolate factory era R. Kelly so expect this to have a bit of a party vibe to it though not as smooth or catchy
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This is a free mixtape/album so feel free just to get it here and post what you think
Arima Ederra – Earth To Arima
Really if you are into Erykah Badu and Lauren Hill then you should definitely check this out. Has a really chill vibe to it.
Sample Track
This is also a free mixtape/album so again feel free to just get it here and post what you think.
Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream
Probably surprise of the year for me. I always thought Miguel made catchy music, but I often found him to be a bit too cheesy for me. I think he found a great balance on this album though.
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Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE
Great album. It definitely seems to be a love/hate type of thing. It's a very mellow album and the production doesn't stand out as much which wouldn't be a bad thing if Frank Ocean actually put his all into singing like he does on songs like Bad Religion, but regardless it's an album I think any R&B fan should check it.
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Elle Varner - Perfectly Imperfect
Don't let Refill fool you into believing this chick can't sing. She truly has a beautiful voice and the point of Refill is for her voice to sound like she is pain.
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Usher - Looking 4 Myself
This is without a doubt Usher's strongest album in who knows how the fuck long. Some pretty interesting electronic production too. Works really a lot better than I expected.
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There are definitely even more stuff this year that makes me feel this way, but I feel it'd be cool if others posted R&B albums they've really enjoyed this year or I'd just make separate posts with other albums.
2013 is sounding like it could be a great year as well. D'angelo is said to drop an album sometime soon and while I still cannot get into VooDoo, I can't help but get excited. I figure The Weeknd will drop an album that year too since he didn't drop anything this year but a re-release.
There's also this singer I found called Kat Dhalia that is signed to Epic Records that might drop an album in 2013. She has an incredible voice too, check out her single. I love it a lot.
Feel free to disagree!
lets fucking hope so.
I was never a big fan of r&b but I damn sure dont like this techno-pop garbage that has replaced it.
And that is coming from someone who has been big on electronic music in the last decade.
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
Yep. I don't really do the stan thing, but I sure as hell would for her.
It's weird, I kind of like the airy, static-y feel of the unmastered Weeknd songs as much as I do the cleaner and more powerful sounds in the remaster, even though I thought the dirtiness of the originals was a huge part of it's charm.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
Arima Ederra Earth To Arima
Really if you are into Erykah Badu and Lauren Hill then you should definitely check this out. Has a really chill vibe to it.
Sample Track
This is also a free mixtape/album so again feel free to just get it here and post what you think.
Fav' out of all the ones you posted. That vibe.
I was about to flip my shit and write an angry post
then I saw that you didn't forget elle varner :3
I noticed this also, even though I haven't listened to some of the records you listed. But I will change that!
oh yes I almost forgot about this. Love it.
then I saw that you didn't forget elle varner :3
I noticed this also, even though I haven't listened to some of the records you listed. But I will change that!
oh yes I almost forgot about this. Love it.
The Return of
Banned
The World Famous Tony Williams - King or the Fool
He has worked with Kanye since College Dropout. Ignore the "The World Famous" in his name. This is a pretty great album, although I hate how many skits are on it, but thankfully the skits are actually their own tracks and not blended into songs, so you can just delete it and have the album play. (shout out to peterboy)
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JMSN - †Priscilla†
This isn't amazing or anything but it's definitely pretty decent. There are comparisons between him and The Weeknd, but I feel like there is enough difference between the two. Has potential though and this is free
Link
He has worked with Kanye since College Dropout. Ignore the "The World Famous" in his name. This is a pretty great album, although I hate how many skits are on it, but thankfully the skits are actually their own tracks and not blended into songs, so you can just delete it and have the album play. (shout out to peterboy)
Sample Track
JMSN - †Priscilla†
This isn't amazing or anything but it's definitely pretty decent. There are comparisons between him and The Weeknd, but I feel like there is enough difference between the two. Has potential though and this is free
Link
I think you might dig B.J. The Chicago Kid album too.
Glad you like it! I was curious if anyone was going to post about it cause the lane she is in is rarely approached by new singers I feel.
Well, haha, I've honestly forgotten a quite a few albums from this year, that's why I just put 5 in OP and I figured I'd update every now and then with another album or two. This thread has helped me organized my music a bit too.
Jayayess1190
Member
The Return of
Banned
Fuck how did I forget that Melanie Fiona, definitely a great album and I'm going to have to check out Brandy at some point, but damn thanks for reminding me about that album. Seriously this has been a great year.
It is one of my favorite releases this year with really catchy tunes.
I'm now taking some time to listen to The Weeknd stuff and it's sounding great. I saw them live at Primavera Sound but It didn't get to me at that time. Pretty nice production on most of the songs, anyway. Channel Orange is also one of my favorites this year.
There's a lot of good stuff in here.
I'll add this since it hasn't been mentioned yet.
You can listen to it here.
Also, check out Bei Maejor if you haven't yet. He's an R&B/Rap hybrid, but his R&B stuff is really good.
Upscale came out earlier this year, and maejorMaejor came out late last year.
They're all free to download.
I'll add this since it hasn't been mentioned yet.
You can listen to it here.
Also, check out Bei Maejor if you haven't yet. He's an R&B/Rap hybrid, but his R&B stuff is really good.
Upscale came out earlier this year, and maejorMaejor came out late last year.
They're all free to download.
Leona Lewis
Banned
ShineALight
Member
The World Famous Tony Williams - King or the Fool
He has worked with Kanye since College Dropout. Ignore the "The World Famous" in his name. This is a pretty great album, although I hate how many skits are on it, but thankfully the skits are actually their own tracks and not blended into songs, so you can just delete it and have the album play. (shout out to peterboy)
Sample Track
I believe that Tony Williams is actually Kanye's cousin. I'm only familiar with "Another You" but that's great track, probably the best thing Ye was on this year.
I read more that one user review (critics generally thought highly of it) that complained that "Losing You" outshone all the other tracks, that they were basically filler. I could see how someone would think that after one or two listens, but the EP as a whole really grow on me, now I love every track.
It's very true that RnB (especially of the male variety) enjoyed kind of a renaissance this year, in terms of both creative output and acceptance. The success of some projects, like How to Dress Well, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, demonstrate how the barriers that used to exist in the minds of "indie"/rock listeners or "urban" listeners is starting to become eroded. Of course, there are still some people that will reflexively:
To contribute, here's a track off of a 2013 EP by Inc. (formerly Teen Inc.), that I'm really looking forward to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voeZiioqR5s
and another off of their last EP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXwdgRRNyFs
it never went away
ctrl-F: nikkiya, kalenna, diddy dirty money, jade alston… smdh. dawn richard is here at least. frank ocean & HTDW... lmbo
why is it so difficult for ppl to write about frank ocean /miguel / the weeknd without almost always including a dig or dismissive sweeping statement about r&b included too, or some unhelpful OTT praise about how they were changing music (hint: it is never, ever a good idea to write that anything is "changing" music).
so many ~thinkpieces~ on this ish as well: 1, 2, 3, 4.
ctrl-F: nikkiya, kalenna, diddy dirty money, jade alston… smdh. dawn richard is here at least. frank ocean & HTDW... lmbo
why is it so difficult for ppl to write about frank ocean /miguel / the weeknd without almost always including a dig or dismissive sweeping statement about r&b included too, or some unhelpful OTT praise about how they were changing music (hint: it is never, ever a good idea to write that anything is "changing" music).
so many ~thinkpieces~ on this ish as well: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Leona Lewis
Banned
akilshohen
Member
When did he say that? I've been only playing Archandroid on repeat for the past 2 years and just downloaded Frank Ocean this summer.
Thanks for the recommendations.
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