High Notes
Chronicle #7
Ain’t no other kings in this rap thing, they’re siblings, nothing but my children” - Christopher “The Notorious BIG” Wallace
Last week Jacquees had the internet bubbling when he went on to say that he’s the King of R&B. Although he said he’s the king of his generation...a lot of old timers felt disrespected or even challenged by that statement. But overall, whatever his intentions were, it sparked a great conversation. We are very used to that debate when it comes to Hip-Hop. You know, who’s top 5, who’s the best lyricist, who’s this and who’s that. But to have that same convo in R&B with all the heat surrounding the genre is interesting and unusual. Jacquees is a good artist, but that king title can’t be thrown around like that. There’s still a lot of work you have to put in if you want to be even considered at least top 20.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane: in the late 80’s and early 90’s (that’s the furthest I’m willing to take it with this R&B stuff, everything before that decade I’ll simply consider it Soul or Funk) we had dudes like Bobby Brown (all-time contender number 1), Guy, Keith Sweat (who Jacquees ran into a few days ago and had the nerve to claim king status, like, what the fuck?), Jodeci, R. Kelly (all-time contender number 2) to name a few. Mid to late 90’s brought us guys like Ginuwine, Usher, Tyrese, Tank, Jaheim, Case, Carl Thomas, 112, Jagged Edge, etc. Early to mid 2000’s we had Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Ne-Yo, The-Dream, so on and so forth and I’m gonna leave it there. I say all of that to say this: with all of these guys with mega discographies, classic albums under their belts, sold out tours in and out of the USA, marvellous pen game (translation: amazing songwriting), voice ranges that go to the moon and back and with their careers still flourishing why would a newcomer in the game try to claim the crown? No disrespect to Jacquees, who, I believe, can have a great career path if he makes the right moves and decisions, but you still have to pay your dues my guy, even for your generation. It’s too early for that.
Learn one thing kids, no matter what you do, greatness is a process.
Catch y’all next time. Peace!