AWmusic

A couple of weeks ago, Oliver did a Top 10 Nostalgic Hip Hop albums, it gave me the idea to do an R&B list. Tonight, he brings the part back to the 80s, I’ll take on the 90s then. I usually write about electronica/rock, but I started my listening career in R&B and 80s Pop, Hip-Hop, then started venturing out into other genres as I got older. And now, everything kinda mixes into each other. You have R&B that borrows from Electronica, Hip-Hop that takes from Rock, and vice-versa. A lot of people who say they listen to everything, that usually means pop, is in fact listening the now mixed-fusion of pop, which is clearly a combination of Hip-Hop beats sometimes sped up to Dance, R&B style singing, and Rock influenced guitars. Is Britney a good enough example?

Along with the fusion sound, there are sub-genres to the Pop category. For example, Kelly Clarkson is Pop/Rock while Beyoncé is Pop/R&B. I once had a discussion about whether or not Muse could be considered Pop/Rock, or Pop at all. After selling out the Wembley stadium, I don’t really think there’s an argument there. Sometimes, being Pop/Something is not determined by your sound but by your popularity.

With all this being said (I know, I digress), when I’m making this R&B Nostalgic Albums list, I’m keeping this argument in mind. I’m not making a Pop-sounding R&B list, you won’t find Justin Timberlake here. But, there may be a gone Pop by popularity, such as TLC, album. I’m also not going far back to its roots (sorry), I’m keeping the list in the “New Jack Swing” era (90s) before the contemporaries (more Pop influenced) takeover. I will be honest and tell you that I loved R.Kelly’s 12 Play album, but I refuse, absolutely refuse to put that pedophile on any of my list. I don’t care. I don’t do misogyny (okay, once in a while I enjoy the odd song here & there, but I don’t condone violence against women) and I don’t do pedophiles. Not cool. These R&B albums were produced before the time of the video vixens, before women were referred to as ‘gold diggers’ or ‘baby mamas’, and the B word appeared in every other song.

I will do a singles list another day. Today, it’s the albums. The R&B albums that remind me hanging out with my friends pretending we were grown-ups and understood the weight of the world. What a joke? As a grown-up, I still don’t have a clue. Who lied to us?

Enjoy the albums.

In no particular order (as usual).

1. Aaliyah – One In A Million (1996) I could put Aaliyah’s last album on this list also, it moves in an entirely different direction that sadly we didn’t get to fully experience. This album gave us our first full length Timberland/Missy production and a taste of Aaliyah’s emerging style. For a lot of 90s R&B lovers, this album is a favourite, especially the title track.

My favourite: 4 Page Letter, One In A Million.

Aaliyah – One In A Million

2. Mary J. Blige – What’s the 411? (1992) The intro of the Queen of R&B/Hip-Hop. The title came to her before she even proved herself, but yet it just fit. Mary J. at that point, a young girl from N.Y. came stomping with her real love and her combat boots.

My favourite track: What’s the 411?, Love No Limit, Reminisce
Mary J. Blige – Real Love

3. TLC – Crazy Sexy Cool (1994) Do I really need to get into this one? It’s a classic. Crazy, Left Eye (miss), Sexy, Chili and Cool, T-Boz. Oh, we so wanted to claim any or all of those titles. But, like TLC, we each were only one of those things. Sadly, they never produced this kind of collaboration again, and L (Lisa Lopez) passed away.

My favourite track: Creep, Sumthin’ Wicked This Way Comes
TLC – Creep

4. Monica – Miss Thang (1995) I’ve always believed that of the R&B teenager singers that came out in the 90s, Monica had the best voice. She recorded most of this album when she was only 13, which is quite disturbing considering the subject matter.

My favourite track: Like This & Like That, Before You Walk Out of My Life
Monica – Don’t Take It Personal

5. Brandy – Never Say Never (1998) I know this album came out much later in the 90s, and generally is not a part of the New Jack Swing era. However, her first album Brandy didn’t contain enough of Brandy, not even a glimpse. Never Say Never was a well-rounded, well-produced and insightful album that showed Brandy’s true emerging talent. She later recorded and produced Full Moon which is also a great album.

My favourite track: Angel in Disguise, Almost Doesn’t Count, The Boy Is Mine
Brandy & Monica – The Boy Is Mine

6. Jodeci – Diary of a Mad Band (1993) There’s always talk of a comeback album. Let’s just say I won’t be holding my breath. Jodeci’s formula was simple. K-Ci & Jo Jo were the voice. DeVante was the brains. Dalvin was, I think, the looks. This album was 1/2 slow jams, 1/2 groove tracks with the introduction of Missy Elliot (then known was Missy Misdemeanor) and Timbaland.

My favourite tracks: My Heart Belongs To You, Feenin’
Jodeci – My Heart Belongs To You

7. En Vogue – Funky Divas (1992) We can trace back the R&B/Pop girl group phenom all the way back to the Supremes,Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Funny enough, En Vogue is actually a manufactured girl-group comprised of 4 classically trained vocalists. I once had an argument with someone telling me they couldn’t sing, just because they were classically trained didn’t mean much. While I usually would agree with the latter statement, I strongly, strongly, disagree with the former statement. Funky Divas is absolutely proof of their vocal abilities, as it is of their versatility. This album is one of the first to experiment with R&B, Rock, Reggae-vibes, and A ccapella harmonies.

My favourite tracks: Free Your Mind, My Lovin’, It Ain’t Over Til’ The Fat Lady Sings.
En Vogue – My Lovin’

8. Faith – Faith (1995) At the time this album came out, it was unheard of to have a female R&B vocalist also be her own writer. Mary J.’s albums were entirely produced by Puffy and his team. At the time, Faith had already recorded back-up vocals for Mary J.’s first album (above), and written on Usher’s self-titled first album. Then, she was only known as Biggie’s wife (sad but true) with an appearance on his video One More Chance. This album put her into our lives as an artist on her own.

My favourite tracks: You Used To Love Me, No Other Love.
Faith – You Used To Love Me

9. Boyz II Men – II (1995) I feel like I have to put this on the list because it impacted R&B so much. But, honestly, it never was one of my favourites (like at all). I recognized that BoyzIIMen brought back the harmony-a ccapella focus to R&B and that’s great. I mean, Backstreet Boys always quote BoyzIIMen as one of their inspirations (you see what I’m saying). Anyway, the album was entirely produced by Babyface and the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis team with lots of get on your knees type of love songs. Ugh.

My likes: Water Runs Dry
Boyz II Men – Water Runs Dry

10. SWV – It’s About Time (1992) This group is Mary.J. times 3. The homegirl girl group, not quite as polished as En Vogue but killed the vocals every single time. Their tracks were so ‘around the way’, which I still have no idea what it means because I’m not from those parts of town. Anyway, the music is great and Coko (Cheryl Gamble)’s voice is absolutely beautiful and amazing.

My favourite tracks: Weak, It’s About Time, You’re Always On My Mind, Anything, Right Here.

SWV – Always On My Mind

Honourable Mentions

Xscape – Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha (1993)
Blackstreet – BLACKstreet (1994)
Toni Braxton – Secrets (1996)
Mariah Carey – Daydream (1996)
Michael Jackson – Dangerous (1991)