R&B from the Mid 2000s

R&B artists from the mid 2000s  focused more on creating music that was more appealing to the youth. It is great that these artists have overcame many obstacles within their lives before obtaining fame, but the music they produce is not really helping the future generations. Why Not? If all the songs the artists release is centered around a false notion of what love is supposed to encompass, then they are ultimately letting down the future generations. By teaching them to perform in risky behavior. The catchy rhythm and beats distract listeners from what is actually being said. I know several people who would vouch that just by liking the beat to a song they are reeled into unconsciously singing along to the promiscuous lyrics of a song. Listeners are ultimately producing what they meditate on.

R&B music shifted drastically in the mid 2000s when artists started becoming very explicit with their lyrics. Instead of foreshadowing and leaving room for an individual’s imagination, artists state exactly what they mean; which is not necessarily the best thing to do, it takes away from the romantic aspect of R&B music and distorts the model relationship. R&B music without profanity, sex, money and obnoxious fans, that then places record companies at risk for a decline in record sales. This is why R&B artist desert the foundational roots of this genre of music because it is more based less on the quality of music and more on the quantity to profit the record company. The managers and labels of artists strip them of their authenticity.

Prominent R&B artists of the mid 2000s were Chris Brown and Trey Songz . They served as the leading men for each age group of women. Each of their music was aimed toward getting a woman/girl to talk with them, so they could ultimately have intimate relations with them. Sex symbols are what these R&B artists were and still are. Chris Brown mainly sang about fun teenage love, which was not really love because he was only focused a girl’s physical appearance. Songs like “Poppin” and “Take You Down” by Chris Brown show the transition from sixteen-year-old lyrics foreshadowing sex to his lyrics at eighteen-year-old that explicitly state what his intentions are with a woman. In “Poppin” Chris sings “See, this is the first time I had a girl who looks set me on fire. I’m really tryin’ a get to know you better, girl you ain’t gotta act like you shy, cause we gon do something” he is implying that this girl is turning him on sexually. While in “Take You Down” he sings, “It ain’t my first time, but baby girl we can pretend. Hey let’s bump and grind, girl tonight will never end,” here Chris explicitly states his intentions with the girl. A majority of his songs are laced with endearing words that reel female listeners in, but they fail to realize what his end goal is, which is to just sleep with them, to “take them down” on his bed and not home to his mother. The influence these songs have had on society has not been great because young girls feel that they need to act, look and speak a certain way in order for a male to have interest in them as a person and not just for their bodies.

Trey Songz on the other hand music was aimed for women in their early twenties. The route Trey took was a more clever approach because he actually kept the roots of R&B in his songs. He used beats from his predecessors who paved the way from him, which also paid homage to them. In using original R&B beats he added his own touch to the music. The second song from his debut album titled “Gotta Make It” was aimed at him working strenuously to provide for his woman and to bring her happiness. The fault in this is that he wanted to provide for her with materialistic things. He sings “One day soon, you gon’ walk outside and see a Mercedes and I’m gon’ give you the keys and tell ya to go shopping” yes this sounds good, but it is teaching women to depend on a man to provide for them. He is not even suggesting that he is going to be there for the long haul. In other songs he talks about if his woman doesn’t confide in him, he’ll eventually cheat on her. In his song “Kinda Lovin” he serenades a woman telling her that his love is so deep for her that he will give up his old foolish ways; one album later in his song “No Clothes On” he sings about how he can picture an attractive woman he see with no clothes on. So he is lusting after a woman he does not know and lacks wanting to get to know her personally, but exhibits great interest in getting to know her sexually. He sings “ I can picture you with no clothes on. Girl I gotta have it, I’m attracted, the way you dancing, lookin back at it. No clothes on everybody leanin, I wouldn’t mind seein, you snappin out them jeans like you got no clothes on” which shows that he foreshadowed just as Chris did and now he is explicitly stating what his ultimate motive is with women.

These artists are laying out the platform in which future artists are going to follow. With R&B music being combined with the genre Hip-Hop, creating a new genre referred to as Hip-Hop and R&B. The increase of the promiscuity in songs will increase tremendously. It is very unclear as to whether on not the future of R&B will continue to objectify women. There is a hope for the future of R&B music and that it will stop exposing people to risky sexual interactions.