Alternative R&B

Alternative R&B (also referred to as PBR&B, indie R&B, or experimental R&B)[2][3]) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B.[4][5][6][7]

Etymology

"Alternative R&B" was once used by the music industry during the late 1990s to market neo soul artists, such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Maxwell.[8] 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".[9][10] 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)[11] and R&B. The first use of "PBR&B" was on Twitter by Sound of the City writer Eric Harvey on a March 22, 2011, post.[12][13][14] 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.[15] Slate suggests the name "R-Neg-B", as a reference to "negging".[16] The genre has sometimes been called "noir&B".[17][18] However, the terms are often criticized for "pigeonholing" artists into hipster subculture and being used in a derisive manner.[19][20]

Characteristics

Alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012

Barry Walters of Spin characterizes the unconventional style as an "exchange between EDM, rock, hip hop and R&B's commercial avant-garde", and cites The Weeknd's House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, Miguel's Kaleidoscope Dream, Kelela's Hallucinogen, Holy Other's With U, Drake's Take Care and Kenna's Make Sure They See My Face are works associated with alternative R&B.[2]

Brandon 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.[21] Neasman finds the subject matter of "these new-wave artists" to be more "relatable" and writes of alternative R&B's characteristics:

[A] lot of the production is echo-laden and lofty, often using a lot of synthesizers and filtered drums—sonically giving a nod to Prince's vintage '80s sound. Additionally, for the most part, it doesn't feel as if these artists are selling sex as their main entrée. Granted, they still sing about the topic, and in explicit detail, but it's in equal proportion to drugs, spirituality and personal philosophies. You don't get that same diversity in subject matter from the majority of modern R&B singers.[21]

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."[11] Gerrick D. 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."[22] Janet Jackson's sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997) is cited as one of the genre's stylistic origins.[23]

Response

Frank Ocean states that he does not like being called an R&B musician and he does not like being confined to one genre.[24][25] How to Dress Well is not offended by the term "PBR&B", but finds it "tacky".[26] He later stated that "99% of this 'alt-R&B' stuff is absolute garbage."[27] Miguel has said that he is "comfortable" with the term "indie R&B" because it "insinuates a higher art. Or a deeper or somehow more artistic delivery of rhythm and blues music. It suggests there's more artistry within a genre that has become more of a cliche of itself."[28]

In an interview with The Guardian, FKA Twigs rejected the term by declaring, "Fuck alternative R&B!" She further explained, "It's just because I'm mixed race. When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: 'I've never heard anything like this before, it's not in a genre.' And then my picture came out six months later, now she's an R&B singer."[29] The Fader echoed FKA Twigs' sentiment, stating, "By adding the prefix, it sidelines R&B itself by implying it's not experimental, boundary-pushing or intellectual. It throws side-eye at the genre, while at the same time claiming to have discovered something worthy within it."[30] Meanwhile, Stereogum described the genre as a "fad" that reached its saturation point in early 2014.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 DeVille, Chris (April 30, 2014). "Indie Rock's R&B Movement Reaches Its Saturation Point". Stereogum.
  2. 1 2 Walters, Barry (August 22, 2012). "Frank Ocean, Miguel, and Holy Other Usher in PBR&B 2.0". Spin. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  3. ↑ Phull, Hardeep (November 25, 2012). "What's that Racket?". New York Post. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  4. ↑ Abebe, Nitsuh (August 14, 2011). "PBR&B Ten Pack". New York. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ Murray, Nick (December 21, 2011). "Underwhelmed And Overstimulated, Part IV: The Joys Of Nicola Roberts And The Problem With Odd Future". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Beasley, Corey (December 8, 2011). "The Best Producers of 2011". PopMatters. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ Asaph, Katherine St (December 23, 2011). "Underwhelmed And Overstimulated, Part Seven: The Sorrows (And Fantastic Sound System) Of Young Drake". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  8. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (June 3, 2000). "Reinventing The Real: R&B Gets Its Groove". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 23. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ Richards, M.T. (August 19, 2013). "10 Unconventional R&B Acts You Should Listen To". Vibe.
  10. ↑ "Discussion: Hipster R&B Or Alternative R&B – Should The Genre Exist?". ThisIsRnB. April 6, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Hoby, Hermione (November 8, 2012). "The Weeknd: Sounds and sensibility". The Guardian. London. section G2, p. 12. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  12. ↑ Fennessey, Sean (March 23, 2011). "Love vs. Money: The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&B's Future Shock". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ Harvey, Eric [@ericdharvey] (March 22, 2011). "Okay, so out of the nascent PBR&B thing of Weeknd, How to Dress Well, Frank Ocean, it's not even a question that Ocean is the best, right?" (Tweet). Retrieved July 25, 2017 – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Barshad, Amos (March 24, 2011). "Hilarious New Subgenre Alert!". Vulture. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  15. ↑ Harvey, Eric (October 7, 2013). "I Started a Joke: "PBR&B" and What Genres Mean Now". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Carl (December 28, 2011). "Why was there so much whistling in pop this year?". Slate. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  17. ↑ Merchand, Francois (June 22, 2015). "Weekend Extra: On the road again to B.C.'s summer music festivals". The Vancouver Sun.
  18. ↑ Hudson, Alex (August 28, 2015). "The Weeknd 'Beauty Behind the Madness' (album stream)". Exclaim!.
  19. ↑ Cummings, Jozen (March 30, 2011). "You Say Hipster R&B, I Say Nappy-Headed Pop. Either Way, It's Offensive". The Awl. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  20. ↑ Macpherson, Alex (March 29, 2011). "Ready for the Weeknd? Most R&B fans have better things to listen to". The Guardian. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  21. 1 2 Neasman, Brandon (October 4, 2012). "Changing of the guard: How Frank Ocean, Miguel and more helped R&B find its soul again". The Grio. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  22. ↑ Kennedy, Gerrick D. (November 11, 2012). "Miguel helps lead the charge for an edgier kind of R&B artist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  23. ↑ DJ Louie XIV (June 16, 2015). "Can Janet Get a Hit?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ Bradshaw, Melissa (November 22, 2011). "'Imagery, And A Little Bit Of Satire': An Interview With Frank Ocean". The Quietus. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  25. ↑ Baker, Ernest (March 18, 2011). "Genre Boundaries – Who Is Frank Ocean?". Complex. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  26. ↑ Diep, Eric (September 18, 2012). "His Thoughts on the Term "PBR&B" – Who is How To Dress Well?". Complex. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  27. ↑ Marsland, Danielle (January 2015). "Interview: How To Dress Well". Acclaim. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  28. ↑ Jonze, Tim (February 8, 2013). "Miguel: the slow-burn success of a new R&B superstar". The Guardian. London. The Guide section, p. 10. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  29. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (August 9, 2014). "FKA twigs: 'Weird things can be sexy'". The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  30. ↑ Cliff, Aimee (September 12, 2014). "FKA Twigs Is Right, "Alternative R&B" Must Die". The Fader. Retrieved July 25, 2017.

Further reading

  • Abebe, Nitsuh (August 14, 2011). "PBR&B". New York.
  • Cabral, Jeanette (February 27, 2012). "PBR&B – A subgenre is born". CBC Music. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016.
  • Fennessey, Sean (March 23, 2011). "Love vs. Money: The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&B's Future Shock". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
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