Home » Music » Hip-Hop Music & Culture » R&B, Here We Go Again

R&B, Here We Go Again

© Steve Juon

"That's why they call MC's to make they remixes hype" --> Tash

Who's using who, or as KRS-One might say, who are the hoes and who are the pimps? In the music industry, hip-hop gets pimped on the regular by corporate executives out for a profit. AMONG the music industry, artists pimp each other for their own profit. And to the critical observer, R&B and hip-hop pimp each other for hits.

On the one hand, you have O.C. I've followed O.C. since his debut on Organized Konfusion's "Fudge Pudge" and have always respected his talents as a lyricist, especially when he espoused the stance "I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect" on the hardcore hip-hop anthem "Time's Up" from his debut album Word...Life. Known mostly to heads, his album never sold well. Suddenly, O.C. has a new song with Yvette Michelle, and it's charting -- not only that, his new album Jewelz is #6 out of the top 12 best sellers at my local record store. Now believe me, if people bought this album because of Yvette Michelle they'd be getting hardcore hip-hop instead: O.C. produced another fantastic album. The crossover success here confuses me though as does the angle: did O.C. pull an R&B singer on purpose to boost rather mediocre sales? Would he turn his next album into a series of R&B duos instead of sticking to dope pure hip-hop tracks?

Then there's Common Sense. He's not charting yet, but his new single "Reminding Me (of Sef)" does feature the vocal talents of Chantay Savage. Neither of these songs are particularly BAD in terms of music or lyrics, but both of them have an R&B hook with an at least semi-famous R&B vocalist. Common, like O.C., is well recognized as a champion of underground hip-hop - including his now classic anthem "I Used to Love H.E.R." (Hip-Hop in it's Essence and Reality). Are R&B duets suddenly the answer for hip-hop's underground artists who are starving for a taste of success?

You can't front on the hoes reversing the tables on the pimps though. R&B singers have been stealing hip-hop clothes, styles, beats, and MC's for years "to make they remixes hype." Even today you have Mariah Carey borrowing the entire Bad Boy staff, or K-Ci and JoJo borrowing Snoop Doggy Dogg. It continues to happen and their records continue to sell. People seem to be diggin on the genres mixing in general.

What bothers me is that many of these songs are done with little taste or thought as to whether they SHOULD be done. Some R&B songs with hip-hop artists are good, but many are very awful; and vice versa. In particular it offends me that a five minute song of singing features 20 seconds of inane rapping by a well-known MC.

The copyright of the article R&B, Here We Go Again in Hip-Hop Music & Culture is owned by . Permission to republish R&B, Here We Go Again in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.