I was reading an article on HIPHOPDX by Kennedy Edgerton about Usher and his plan to “Wake up R&B” which made me chuckle a bit.
For the past five years or so there have been numerous discussions about the “demise” of R&B and where it is going. For people like me who love R&B, I would say that it is alive and well. For people like me who love R&b, I would also say that there is something missing.
In the woman’s division I’ve been watching acts like Jazmine Sullivan slowly get the attention that she deserves, SZA continue to dominate, Ari Lennox and Summer Walker continue to put out quality projects, and there are newcomers that are slowly becoming more popular.
I would agree though, that other than SZA who was out of the spotlight for a hot minute before this previous album was released, there weren’t a handful of names getting that “push” as far as their music and attention is concerned.
In the men’s division I do believe things are a bit different- Rappers are singing, singers are rapping and it feels like the music genres aren’t really defined. An artist like Drake dives into both worlds effortlessly, but hasn’t made a full project of either, that one guy is in jail, Chris Brown continues to put out good music but the things he did won’t allow the media to forgive him. In my opinion there isn’t a top face, but there are great names that can, such as Lucky Daye, Giveon, and Brent Faiyaz.
Then there’s the one… Usher, who hasn’t put out an album since 2016, but has continued to stay in the public eye with his Vegas residency, Tiny Desk performance, and the rumors of his next release, Confessions ll. Before this article, I read something about Larry Jackson and the new endeavor he was involved with, which includes some sort of partnership with Usher – once I read that, I knew that was going to get the ball rolling as far as the new album being released some point this year.
If there is one person that can “bring R&B back” it’s Usher