It’s interesting, I was speaking with a vocalist friend of mine the other day about the current state of Rhythm and Blues. She was of the opinion that it is pretty much dead and had been declining since the late 90’s. I however strongly disagree.
Now my expertise isn’t in Rhythm and Blues, I however do come from a strong Jazz, Funk and Rock background so I do have an opinion that might contain some merit on the matter of Rhythm and Blue’s current state. Just like the other non-mainstream genres, Rhythm and Blues is actually quite alive and well. Actually if anything it is much better than where it was in the 90’s mainstream. Sure there were more hits on the radio back when I was in high school but those hits were forced by a once strong music industry.
Today the genres where people actually take the time to write and perform are superior to the past mainstream hits. The reason for this is due to the fact that those involved are doing it firstly out of love and passion for the music instead of the executives of yesteryear who controlled everything we heard. Today the market is very different. Artists have more control with less interruption and without the pressures of mass marketing. What this means is now the musicians, writers, engineers and producers are allowed to be as creative as they want to without dumbing down their work in order to reach the largest audience as possible. Instead they hone in on smaller more appreciative audiences while still being able to make a living. Sure it isn’t as lavish a living as it would have been back in the day when the music industry was run by suits, but the reward of a very satisfying creative freedom more than makes up for it. True wealth in my opinion is being at peace doing what you love freely and sharing experiences with others. There is always an audience and they will find you by looking in the right places. Wouldn’t you prefer fans who are greatly invested in you and your work?
I say Rhythm and Blues is better than ever (not dissin’ on Motown mind you, some of the greatest songs came out of that scene). The music today is intelligent, thoughtful, passionate, honest brilliantly produced. You just have to find it. Allow me to assist.
My good friend Matthew Shell of MTS Music is a champion of modern day Rhythm and Blues. I am incredibly fortunate to know him and have him send me great work throughout the year, I’ve gone on and on about his skills as a producer and musician but perhaps haven’t said enough about his writing abilities. One of his latest masterpieces is called “My Baby,” which he wrote for his wife. It features amazing vocals by Washington D.C. based singer and writer Ihsan Bilal and is cowritten by D.C. Don Juan and Honore’.
The track was released earlier this year with Soundcloud recently promoting it. With over half a million plays on Soundcloud, this is officially the most played song I’ve ever written about (except for when I write about Prince – I haven’t written about his latest releases yet; I’m still debating about doing it even though they are awesome). Wow I managed to get Prince into this article. Trust me my friends are very tired of me talking about “The Purple One.” Back to Matthew and Ihsan…
The video for “My Baby” is about to come out. I’ve fortunately seen it already and I absolutely love it. It is very beautifully filmed and Ihsan Bilal looks gorgeous in it. This video will greatly propel Matthew Shell, Ihsan Bilal,D.C. Don Juan and Honore’ into further great professional success.
Today I have a couple videos to share before the official release of the “My Baby” video. First is a lovely little interview with both Matthew and Ihsan on Sirius XM’s “Maggie Linton Show.”
The second video is a short teaser Matthew Shell sent to me and allowed me to upload to the TGBE YouTube account.
I will definitely promote the video once it is officially released so stay tuned.
I’ll end this article with the huge hit song streaming on Soundcloud.