The 1990s were pivotal for various industries, especially fashion, film, technology, and music. This feat is not surprising for a decade that birthed baby millennials and the OGs of Gen Z. The wave of 90s nostalgia is evident in today’s popular culture ranging from music samples to themed events to several 90s movie remakes. The unwavering impact of 90s pop culture shows how exceptional the 90s were indeed.
Several genres of music flourished in the 90s, with hip-hop, grunge, pop, nu-metal, electronic music, and country music forming part of the more popular genres. However, the R&B (also stylised as ‘RnB’) genre- particularly R&B love songs, arguably dominated the 90s and has since held up well. From TLC’s witty chart-topper, No Scrubs (yes, I believe it is a love song as self-love is love too) to K-Ci & Jojo’s charming love ballad, All My Life, emotional openness and confessional lyricism shine through them all.
Music has a variety of uses. It is a means of expression and can serve as a channel for comfort and healing for many. Music is the medium many people use to describe emotions expressing love. Whether you are searching for an affectionate song to express your feelings, a sensual tune to make love to, a break-up anthem, or an upbeat track to vibe to, love songs are there for us. They aim to elicit the complex feelings associated with love ranging from the fluttery feeling in the tummy to the achy feeling in the chest after a break-up and everything else in between. Passion, openness, relatability, and imagination characterise love songs. And these elements were and still are very prevalent in R&B love songs.
In the 90s, R&B tracks were romantic, cheesy, and frankly, just in a league of their own. The artists gave smooth vocals, lyrical range, impressive choreographies, and even crying in the rain. It used to be much easier to differentiate R&B from other genres, but now it has become challenging. Unlike past R&B love songs, which thrived on formulaic lyrics, generic story-telling and more straightforward production, artists today are experimenting more with diverse sounds, carving their path, and broadening rhythmic boundaries. The simplicity in 90s R&B songs is no longer present in today’s hits, and R&B songs now have a more complex presentation. Though the themes are essentially still the same- falling in love, heartbreak, loss, anger, forgiveness and devotion, new styles of expression have emerged. The R&B style is now being employed in other genres as hip-hop artists flex their vocal prowess and dip their toes in the R&B field.
A few recent R&B artists who fuse elements of R&B music with other music genres are:
• The Weeknd, Solange, Janelle Monae, Frank Ocean (also a neo-soul singer), and NAO are alternative R&B artists.
• Drake, Bryson Tiller, 6LACK, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Brent Faiyaz are hip-hop artists but fuse hip-hop with R&B.
• Ari Lennox, SZA (who also does contemporary and alternative R&B), and SiR lean towards a more neo-soul sound.
• Jazmine Sullivan, Jeremih, Jhene Aiko, H.E.R, Snoh Aalegra, Summer Walker, RAYE, Kehlani, Teyana Taylor and Giveon have deviated from the traditional R&B music and are producing more contemporary R&B.
• Tiana Major9 fuses R&B with jazz.
• Miguel fuses R&B with hip-hop, funk and rock.
• FKA twigs fuses contemporary R&B with electronic music and pop.
• James Fauntleroy and Greentea Peng fuse R&B with psychedelia
And we appreciate this evolution of R&B music because, after all, music is dynamic.
Besides the difference in simplicity between 90s R&B and today’s music, another notable difference would be the music videos. The 90s gave us many iconic videos such as Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine, Erykah Badu’s On and On, D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar, Michael Jackson’s Remember the Time and Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, to name a few. However, artists have abandoned the fantastic dance moves and melodrama of past R&B videos. They have embraced a more sophisticated/stylish approach while still maintaining creativity. Music videos can give people a different perception of music. After watching the music video of a song, scenes from the video come to mind every time it is listened to. The brain associates the messages conveyed by the music video with the song. This shows how lasting their impressions can be. It doesn’t matter what the theme of a music video is; its reach goes way beyond the music.
90s R&B lyricism and songwriting style are notable aspects of the era. Artists focused more on story-telling and conveying meaningful messages, not just romance alone. Two examples of these are Lauryn Hill’s critically acclaimed Ex-Factor and TLC’s socially conscious Waterfalls. Ex-Factor is one of the most popular songs from Lauryn Hill’s debut solo studio album. It details the frustrations she experienced while navigating her separation from a person who she loved a lot but hurt her. This is a prevalent emotion experienced in relationships. She carefully articulates her feelings as she shares her struggles and bares her heart while giving flawless vocals. Even though it was released about 24 years ago, Ex-Factor has profoundly impacted modern-day R&B and hip-hop. Several artists like Drake (Nice for What), Cardi B (Be Careful), and Omarion (Show Me), amongst others, have sampled it.
Waterfalls, which is considered TLC’s signature song, is a commentary on two social issues that plagued the 1990s- the illegal drug trade and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. One of TLCs’ members, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, mentioned that it was essential to pass the message across without seeming like they were preaching. This is undoubtedly one factor contributing to the song’s success and longevity. The catchy chorus, which goes, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to”, almost makes you forget the heavy subject matter. It falls under both categories as it brilliantly tells a story and conveys meaningful messages. These days, R&B artists are more concerned with trying out different sounds and styles in their music rather than showing their vocal abilities, telling stories, or conveying any messages. As long as they keep giving us hits, we don’t judge them for it.
R&B music is an integral part of popular culture. It is the soundtrack to people’s love lives, irrespective of the era. As I mentioned earlier, it can never go out of style because we love to love. Despite the differences between the 1990s and 2010s, and 2020s, R&B songs have helped interpret and express emotions that are hard to explain across generations. R&B artists have never stopped singing about love but have moved with the times and shown us how flexible the genre is and how much more to explore. Artistes act as a mirror since their music represents what is going on in society. If the standards of love now are no different from how they used to be in the 1990s, then the music would show that, but they have changed, so definitely the music has as well. Love is still in the music, and it is simply the expression of it that has changed.
I have curated a Spotify playlist to showcase the evolution of the R&B sounds since the 1990s.
