Once upon a time, there was a young multi-racial, multi-talented girl from Long Island, New York. Born to an Irish-American mother and an Afro-Venezuelan-American father, she would grow up to have one of the best voices the music world would ever hear, a witty way with words and a masterful gift of […]
In May of 1990 Long Island native Mariah Carey “realized a dream, and visualized the love that came to be“. “Vision of Love,” her “first single – ever,” was released in advance of her self-titled debut album. “Vision of Love” spent 4 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 that summer, the […]
The Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul While Hip-Hop saw during the 90s a handful of women who gave the genre a breath of fresh air with their fierceness, the R&B world welcomed a different kind of Queen, one that was able to merge two worlds. Mary J. Blige was the woman to […]
February 11, 1997. Before she told ya to call “Tyrone,” before she was the “Bag Lady,” before she got up from her “Window Seat” and showed her whole ass, Erykah Badu introduced herself to the world with Baduizm 20 years ago today. For that, the world should be forever grateful. Baduizm in Context Let’s put this […]
1999 + 2017 = “I Don’t” Picture this: it’s 1999, and contemporary, yet soulful R&B is married with hip-hop, and is dominating the airwaves. Dozens of crooners are scoring hits with this sound, ranging from emotional ballads, to quiet storm ready mid-tempos, to uptempo bops. Enter Donell Jones’ “Where I Wanna […]
These days, it’s rather uncommon to see some of the biggest names together for a hot feature. Sure, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video had a guest verse from Kendrick and a host of cameo performances, and Madonna called together her friends and their blank walls for “Bitch I’m Madonna.” Considering […]
May 1, 2001. Long before Kelly aired her “Dirty Laundry,” before Michelle had a Journey to Freedom, and before Beyoncé turned her lemons into Lemonade, Destiny’s Child at just 19 and 20 years old stepped out as voices of empowerment for our generation. It’s hard to believe two decades have […]
Rhythm and Blues has always been evolutionary. Deeply rooted in gospel, jazz, and the blues, R&B has become one of the main expressions of the African-American experience throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Whether the subject matter ranges from civil disobedience, to love, family, or to sex, what is […]
Mariah Carey was a fan of the 1992 Kriss Kross hit “Jump” and wanted to work with the producer of the track, Jermaine Dupri. Carey got to collaborate with Dupri a few years later on two songs for her Daydream album: “Always Be My Baby” and “Long Ago.” In their […]
The year 1995 was the pinnacle of Mariah Carey’s commercial success. “Fantasy” had become the first song by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 and only the second one in the history of Billboard (the first was Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” a few […]
