Best British R&B singer ever?

[User 301X/5.1]

you're talking rubbish, obviously, but i can't tell yet if you know it or not.

You are right, I was just talking rubbish. But R&B roots are in so many music genre's, I don't know if you can actually put a number to that, I guess an interesting question is how many original "uber" music genre's exist?

Don't know if this can be answered? I guess you have Classical and R&B for starters?

 

[art of fact]

beverly knight

 

[Dubversion]

You are right, I was just talking rubbish. But R&B roots are in so many music genre's, I don't know if you can actually put a number to that, I guess an interesting question is how many original "uber" music genre's exist?

Don't know if this can be answered? I guess you have Classical and R&B for starters?

Classical so broad a term as to be pretty meaningless. And R&B has its roots in other musical forms, same as any other genre.

 

[User 301X/5.1]

Classical so broad a term as to be pretty meaningless. And R&B has its roots in other musical forms, same as any other genre.

I guess it's all too complicated and interconnected to try and simplify into simple pigeon holes of music type.

There was only one man would have ever qualified for the role of defining and catorgorising music genres once and for all, John Peel, and he's is no longer with us so I guess we will just have blunder onwards without a robust and defined framework of Music catergories. What a shame.

 

[Magic Sam]

Dusty Springfield? Eric Burden?
Depends how you define best = most authentic?
(well once you have established what is/isn't R&B)

 

[kained&able]

I'd go with either beverly night, jamelia or the lead singer of eternal who i can't remember the name of at all.


dave

 

[Dubversion]

There was only one man would have ever qualified for the role of defining and catorgorising music genres once and for all, John Peel, and he's is no longer with us

I think if you'd asked him to do such a thing he'd have told you to fuck off

 

[twister]

yup beverley knight's up there. she's come up with the goods for a long time now. flava of the old skool, made it back, sista sista, shoulda wouda coulda, greatest day. one hell of a voice.

also, in more recent years i've really liked floetry and fried..

again, none of these are the best ever really. we've not really had many this side of the water to compare with the greats of the US of A.

 

[JTG]

Questionable whether you can call Portishead R&B per se, but Beth Gibbons has a voice which really haunts me.

it's not questionable, it's just wrong. it would be the opinion of someone without the use of their ears

 

[Boogie Boy]

Best in what way? The quality of the voice? The ability to connect with an audience? The ability to appeal beyond a black audience - (for better or worse) - and reach the mainstream?

BB

 

[kained&able]

Oh yeah forgot about Marsha Ambrosius out of floatry. She is quality and is turning up on bare hip hop tunes. Apparently dr dre is doing her album(possibly with someone else now) which could be genius as long as the guests are good.


dave

 

[Boogie Boy]

Oh yeah forgot about Marsha Ambrosius out of floatry. She is quality and is turning up on bare hip hop tunes. Apparently dr dre is doing her album(possibly with someone else now) which could be genius as long as the guests are good.


dave

I really disagree with you there, I think that the quality of their material (other than the demo version of 'Butterflies') is seriously questionable - and the fact that the quality of her album is dependent on the guest artists also undermines her case to be the best R & B singer the UK has managed to produce.

Sorry fella.

BB

 

[kained&able]

Ahh but it only depends on the guests beacuse i don't listen to RnB and demand lost of rappers on the tracks the stuff she does with busta rhymes and the game i really really love but im never likely to listen to a floatry album.

Tis similer with akon can't really be arsed with his albums but the stuff he does with eminem, obie trice, styles p, snoop etc i really really like. Just don't like RnB generally other then the odd tune and there is a very high turnover of rnb singers doing 2 songs and then getting dropped or never being heard of again.


dave

 

[Boogie Boy]

Ahh but it only depends on the guests beacuse i don't listen to RnB and demand lost of rappers on the tracks the stuff she does with busta rhymes and the game i really really love but im never likely to listen to a floatry album.

Tis similer with akon can't really be arsed with his albums but the stuff he does with eminem, obie trice, styles p, snoop etc i really really like. Just don't like RnB generally other then the odd tune and there is a very high turnover of rnb singers doing 2 songs and then getting dropped or never being heard of again.


dave

Fair point Dave. I think its worth mentioning that many R&B singers who manage to attain some mainstream chart presence very often continue to record once this initial interest has died down - or when the record labels decide to dump them for not being commercial enough. This is certainly the situation within the UK - the number of black recording artsts who have been 'dumped' by their labels is quite telling (and usually attributed to budget cutting). This general lack of support can also be seen in the demise (or at least continuing diffilculties) experienced by radio stations such as Solar.

The other factor is that for some individuals, an 'Amy Winehouse' will be a far more atractive proposition commercially than an artist that might be considered to have less mainstream appeal. That isn't to deny the fact that Winehouse has some talent - rather it recognises that commercially she is going to be far easier to market to a broader audience who might find the real thing slightly less palatable. Artists such as Omar (a personal favourite) have continued to write and produce credible soul music after the mainstream has moved on after not searching any further than 'There's Nothing Like This' - which is over 10 years ago. I also get annoyed when I read a review (lets take Winehouse as an example) that starts something like 'close your eyes and you hear the voice of a 40 year old black woman'. Rather than supporting Winehouse, how about supporting the 40 year old black artist that she supposedly sounds like? Why settle for an imitation of the real thing? Because it is too hard to actually go and find and listen to the 40 year old?

This isn't a rant at you Dave, I'm just a little annoyed at the attempts to elevate some artists at the expense and hard work of others who truly deserve recognition.

BB

BB

 

[Dubversion]

Artists such as Omar (a personal favourite) have continued to write and produce credible soul music after the mainstream has moved on after not searching any further than 'There's Nothing Like This' - which is over 10 years ago.

whereas, having been in the business when that record came out, i saw Omar as a fairly talentless artist who had a lucky break (with an awful single, IMO ) and then refused to go away, blaming his lack of success on everything from lack of label support to implicit industry racism for the fact that people just didn't buy his records.

 

[Boogie Boy]

whereas, having been in the business when that record came out, i saw Omar as a fairly talentless artist who had a lucky break (with an awful single, IMO ) and then refused to go away, blaming his lack of success on everything from lack of label support to implicit industry racism for the fact that people just didn't buy his records.

I really couldn't disagree more with your view of him. Its also worth considering that the experiences that he has mentioned are not unique to him as a black recording artist.

BB

 

[Dubversion]

I really couldn't disagree more with your view of him. Its also worth considering that the experiences that he has mentioned are not unique to him as a black recording artist.

BB

No, of course, I also don't doubt that there is racism in the industry. However, Omar was someone who transparently tried to link his failing career to this racism and it just stank, to be honest.

 

[Boogie Boy]

No, of course, I also don't doubt that there is racism in the industry. However, Omar was someone who transparently tried to link his failing career to this racism and it just stank, to be honest.

Have you ever met him Dub? I'd be interested to know what you thought? I think we are just going to disagree about the reasons why he spoke out - to be fair to him he probably also knew that once he did speak out there was likely to be some kind of effect. I suspect that other artists might have considered his stance quite brave - whilst lacking the integrity (or even courage) to speak out too. Whether this actually had an impact on his record sales is difficult to substantiate (although I also recognise that his material isn't always consistent in qualitative terms), I'm sure that some working in the recording industry would have resorted to considering his stance confrontational and slightly aggressive - the stereotype of the angry black man.

BB

 

[longdog]

Lee Brilleaux. (RIP)

Anyone who says he wasn't or that Dr Feelgood weren't R & B is a fucking ididot