Today the charts are saturated with the likes of Akon (is that really singing?), T-Pain (Please!), Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Omarion, Bobby Valentino, Mario, Lloyd and countless others. Where is the singer who will be remembered for his vocal ability alone amongst the current crop of R&B stars? John Legend is the probably the only voice to have emerged from a major label in the past few years to do well. All the other great voices to be heard on the charts are established artists from the 90’s like Brian McKnight, Joe, Anthony Hamilton and Carl Thomas for example. This must be the poorest set of R&B vocalists ever! The talent must be out there, but the market has changed so much there is just no place for them. It is not about vocal ability anymore, but marketability. Major labels would rather stay with the tried and tested, established artists with Platinum records behind them in this adult contemporary area rather than find new vocal talent and build a fan base for them.

There is too much emphasis on being an “entertainer”. Michael Jackson was the ultimate entertainer, but he has an outstanding voice along with his other talents. The same can’t be said for the MJJ followers like Bobby Brown, Usher and the new challenger for the title, Chris Brown. They do not have great voices by any stretch of the imagination. There is always room for such an artist, and I have nothing against them, it is just nearly everyone is going for this all dancing, all singing approach at the moment. Just sing dag nam it! You have to rate Beyonce as at least she has pipes for days, the Male equivalents don’t however (and nor do many of her Female rivals like Rihanna for that matter, but that is another discussion).

So what is out there besides the Independent artists trying to make an impact. Look out for CJ on Capitol and Noel Gourdin on Sony. Their albums are a long time coming, but these boys can really sing and hopefully their labels do the right thing by them.

To follow on from the above, I wanted to take a look back at my era as a youngster as a comparison (but you could take any prior era).

Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s New Jack Swing brought some serious new vocal talent with it. Before the emphasis switched to just looks and dancing ability, straight up singers like Aaron Hall, Big Bub, Darryl ‘Dezo’ Adams (of Basic Black) & Christopher Williams sprung up whilst Johnny Gill blossomed into a tour de force with New Edition after his earlier albums. You also had the softer voices of Al B. Sure!, Kevon Edmonds (of After 7) and Tony Thompson of Hi Five (RIP). Every other solo artist or group contained a special voice in some form or another and that is where a lot of the emphasis lay.

The likes of Luther, Alexander O’Neal & Gerald LeVert continued to shine in this era and many other great Soul voices appeared… Raphael Saadiq, Stokley (of Mint Condition), Keith Washington, Rodney Mannsfield, Gene Rice, David Peaston, Frank McComb & Eric Gable. Real singers with great voices that could send shivers down your spine and cover you in goose bumps like the greats of the past.

As the New Jack era faded out the next phase of R&B singers just kept on coming as a result… K-Ci & Jo-Jo, Kenny Greene (of INTRO), Horace Brown, R.Kelly, Dave Hollister, Levar “Lil Tone” Wilson (of Ladae), Gary Jenkins (of Silk), Jason Champion (of Men At Large), Brian McKnight, Eric Benet, Wanya Morris (of Boys II Men), Joe, Dino (of H-Town), Tevin Campbell amongst countless others.

I won’t even continue into the “Neo-Soul” generation that brought us D’Angelo, Rahsaan Patterson, Bilal, Maxwell, Kenny Lattimore, Solo, Malik Pendleton, Jamie Hawkins & Anthony Hamilton either. Some truly stunning voices amongst them and some of the late 90’s/early 2000’s R&B singers were no slouches either. I wanted to keep this next question strictly to artists who emerged between 1987-93.

Who is your favourite Male R&B singer to have emerged between 1987-93?

To answer my own question – HORACE BROWN – The impression that man’s voice had on me and my Brother is ridiculous. When I first heard “Taste Your Love” in 1993 it blew me away. He may not be everyone’s choice, but he is bar far and away my favourite.

Let me know your answer!

Cheers,
Greg