By Trey Alessio
Frank Ocean recently released the follow-up to his stunning debut with the long-awaited album, “Blonde.” It was weird and just the right amount of outside-the-box to be a beautiful album. But “Blonde” made me realize something. It allowed me to look back and ponder how many great R&B projects we have received in the past couple of years.
After this epiphany, I attempted to find an origin for this soulful greatness and break down of how the culture has taken it all in.
My opening thesis statement goes like this: The quality of R&B has gotten better as the quality and popularity of hip-hop has gotten better. As I looked back and did some digging, I landed on an unlikely moment for the R&B genre and a more obvious event for hip-hop.
On August 14, 2013, Big Sean released a promotional song entitled, “Control.” The song featured Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. Whether you like to admit or not, this song changed the rap game and its sub-genres for the better. On “Control,” Big Sean and Jay Electronica spit bars but Kendrick Lamar’s verse was the key factor and may even be the greatest verse of all-time. Kendrick name-dropped J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electronica, Tyler the Creator and Mac Miller and challenged all of them to set up their game. Kendrick said, “What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high. Who tryna jump and get it?” It was a healthy dose of bravado and showmanship. Kendrick was asking all of his fellow rappers to push each other to be better, and I think it’s safe to say it worked.
Ever since Kendrick set the Internet on fire with his “Control” verse, hip-hop, as a genre, has improved, and with the improvement of hip-hop has come the improvement in one of its sub-genres, R&B.
After this epiphany, I attempted to find an origin for this soulful greatness and break down of how the culture has taken it all in.
My opening thesis statement goes like this: The quality of R&B has gotten better as the quality and popularity of hip-hop has gotten better. As I looked back and did some digging, I landed on an unlikely moment for the R&B genre and a more obvious event for hip-hop.
On August 14, 2013, Big Sean released a promotional song entitled, “Control.” The song featured Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. Whether you like to admit or not, this song changed the rap game and its sub-genres for the better. On “Control,” Big Sean and Jay Electronica spit bars but Kendrick Lamar’s verse was the key factor and may even be the greatest verse of all-time. Kendrick name-dropped J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electronica, Tyler the Creator and Mac Miller and challenged all of them to set up their game. Kendrick said, “What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high. Who tryna jump and get it?” It was a healthy dose of bravado and showmanship. Kendrick was asking all of his fellow rappers to push each other to be better, and I think it’s safe to say it worked.
Ever since Kendrick set the Internet on fire with his “Control” verse, hip-hop, as a genre, has improved, and with the improvement of hip-hop has come the improvement in one of its sub-genres, R&B.
Top Hip-Hop Albums from 2013
- “Nothing Was the Same” – Drake
- “Marshall Mathers LP 2” – Eminem
- "Born Sinner" – J. Cole
- “Magna Carta Holy Grail” – Jay Z
- “Watching Movies With the Sound Off” – Mac Miller
- “Yeezus” – Kanye West
- “My Name Is My Name” – Pusha T
Top R&B Albums from 2013
- “The 20/20 Experience” – Justin Timberlake
- “Love In The Future” – John Legend
- “The Electric Lady” – Janelle Monáe
- “Black Panties” – R. Kelly
- “Blurred Lines” – Robin Thicke
- “Lift Your Spirit” – Aloe Black
Top Hip-Hop Albums from 2014
- “2014 Forest Hills Drive” – J. Cole
- “Under Pressure” – Logic
- “Oxymoron” – Schoolboy Q
- “Run the Jewels 2” – Run the Jewels
- “PRhyme” – PRhyme
- “Cadillactica” – Big K.R.I.T.
- “My Krazy Life” – YG
- “Mastermind” – Rick Ross
- “Cilvia Demo” – Isaiah Rashad
Top R&B Albums from 2014
- “GIRL” – Pharrell Williams
- “Talk Dirty” – Jason Derulo
- “Art Official Age” – Prince
- “Aquarius” – Tinashe
- “PARTYNEXTDOOR 2” – PARTYNEXTDOOR
- “Trigga” – Trey Songz
- “Testimony” – August Alsina
- “Beach House EP” – Ty Dolla $ign
- “Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?” – K. Michelle
- “VII” – Teyana Taylor
Top Hip-Hop Albums from 2015
- “To Pimp a Butterfly” – Kendrick Lamar
- “The Incredible True Story” – Logic
- “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” – Drake
- “GO:OD AM” – Mac Miller
- “Compton” – Dr. Dre
- “The Documentary 2 & 2.5” – The Game
- “At.Long.Long.A$AP.” – A$AP Rocky
- “B4.DA.$$” – Joey Bada$$
- “Summertime ‘06” – Vince Staples
- “Tetsuo & Youth” – Lupe Fiasco
Top R&B Albums from 2015
- “TRAPSOUL” – Bryson Tiller
- “Late Nights” – Jermih
- “Beauty Behind the Madness” – The Weeknd
- “Wildheart” – Miguel
- “But You Caint Use My Phone” – Erykah Badu
- “Ego Death” – The Internet
- “Free TC” – Ty Dolla $ign
- “In Another Life” – Bilal
- “This Thing Called Life” – August Alsina
Since Kendrick’s “Control” verse, we’ve been blessed with my personal favorite album of all-time, Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” The Weeknd topped the charts and snagged a GRAMMY for “Beauty Behind the Madness,” Logic took us to outer space with “The Incredible True Story,” Bryson Tiller burst onto the scene with “TRAPSOUL,” Dr. Dre came out of the shadows and released “Compton,” J. Cole went double platinum with no features and became a popular Twitter phrase with “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” Pharrell made everyone happy with his single, “Happy,” gangsta rap had its rebirth with great albums from Pusha T, Schoolboy Q, YG and others and Justin Timberlake stole our hearts with “The 20/20 Experience.” I’m out of breath just typing everything and that’s just naming a few moments.
There were a lot of amazing pieces of work from both hip-hop and R&B from 2013-2015, but 2016 has been amazing. We’ve already been blessed with Anderson .Paak’s “Malibu,” Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book,” Frank Ocean’s “Blonde,” Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo,” Beyoncé’s “LEMONADE,” Drake’s “VIEWS” and Rihanna’s “ANTI.” And again, that’s only naming a few out of the massive amount of great projects that have dropped in 2016. Plus we still have the fall and the winter to look forward to.
But to reaffirm my previous thesis statement, I believe R&B has gotten better as hip-hop has gotten better. It started with “Control.” It peaked with “To Pimp a Butterfly.” I truly think Kendrick Lamar proved he’s one of the greatest with his album, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” It was a message of hope amongst the dark days of police brutality on black males in America, and I felt the same way I did when I first watched “The Shawshank Redemption” when I listened to “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Rap’s greatness was followed by some R&B greatness. Beyonce’s “LEMONDADE” blew up the Internet and made all men scared to do any wrong to their female companion. I think Beyoncé’s “LEMONADE” album and the HBO short film to coincide was the female equivalent to Kendrick’s “To Pimp a Butterfly.” So, I think it’s safe to say the quality has only gotten better in both genres. As of right now, I’d argue that Anderson .Paak’s album, “Malibu,” is standing atop the list for best albums of 2016 so far. Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book” is up there as well. We have just been bombarded with great music, and it’s been awesome.
I think the reason why the quality of the music we love has gotten better and better is because artists aren’t afraid to express themselves and tell their story in different ways. Beyoncé premiered her album within a short film on HBO, and Frank Ocean put out the illusion of a live stream for a visual album and turned around a dropped a traditional album the next day. Artists are using the element of surprise when dropping albums. They’re also using the stream wars to their advantage. It’s really a free-for-all out there.
In 2016, the possibilities are endless, and it’s great to be a fan of music, in general. I’ll be interested to see what kind of mediums and other methods artists will use to give fans their music. I guess there’s only one phrase that sums up the music world right now: What a time to be alive!
There were a lot of amazing pieces of work from both hip-hop and R&B from 2013-2015, but 2016 has been amazing. We’ve already been blessed with Anderson .Paak’s “Malibu,” Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book,” Frank Ocean’s “Blonde,” Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo,” Beyoncé’s “LEMONADE,” Drake’s “VIEWS” and Rihanna’s “ANTI.” And again, that’s only naming a few out of the massive amount of great projects that have dropped in 2016. Plus we still have the fall and the winter to look forward to.
But to reaffirm my previous thesis statement, I believe R&B has gotten better as hip-hop has gotten better. It started with “Control.” It peaked with “To Pimp a Butterfly.” I truly think Kendrick Lamar proved he’s one of the greatest with his album, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” It was a message of hope amongst the dark days of police brutality on black males in America, and I felt the same way I did when I first watched “The Shawshank Redemption” when I listened to “To Pimp a Butterfly.” Rap’s greatness was followed by some R&B greatness. Beyonce’s “LEMONDADE” blew up the Internet and made all men scared to do any wrong to their female companion. I think Beyoncé’s “LEMONADE” album and the HBO short film to coincide was the female equivalent to Kendrick’s “To Pimp a Butterfly.” So, I think it’s safe to say the quality has only gotten better in both genres. As of right now, I’d argue that Anderson .Paak’s album, “Malibu,” is standing atop the list for best albums of 2016 so far. Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book” is up there as well. We have just been bombarded with great music, and it’s been awesome.
I think the reason why the quality of the music we love has gotten better and better is because artists aren’t afraid to express themselves and tell their story in different ways. Beyoncé premiered her album within a short film on HBO, and Frank Ocean put out the illusion of a live stream for a visual album and turned around a dropped a traditional album the next day. Artists are using the element of surprise when dropping albums. They’re also using the stream wars to their advantage. It’s really a free-for-all out there.
In 2016, the possibilities are endless, and it’s great to be a fan of music, in general. I’ll be interested to see what kind of mediums and other methods artists will use to give fans their music. I guess there’s only one phrase that sums up the music world right now: What a time to be alive!
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