Half dance/half urban albums by former urban artists

by **Timmy94** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:56 pm

It seems like today every former urban artist follows the same route... Everything is so predictable.
At first a dance/house track, than other RN'B-single that's been heard many times before, followed by a club-banger...

It seems like the records are very equal and there's no characters anymore because everyone seems to copy each other, may it be Jason Derulo, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj or Usher - they all follow the same old formula which seems to be normal in 2011/2012 :roll:

.

by **Titan3510** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:07 am

Well...Rihanna's a little different.

Her dance music has a distinct Caribbean flavor to it...like I could've sworn that I can hear ska rhythms in We Found Love.

But yeah. I know what you're saying.

R&B is just dying because 1) people pretty much refuse to listen to music with substance and B) people are simply not putting in the effort anymore.

And it was like this in 2009 and 2010 too...

by **biscuits** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:11 am

Rihanna's dance music is just the same as everybody else's (IMO of course).

Thank goodness for artists like Monica and Jill Scott who are keeping real R&B alive.

by **neoepzilon** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:16 am

Rihanna's Dance music is just like the others. I'm happy she still makes urban music, but I feel like she is still scared to do what she really wants to do and do it all the way.

by **Titan3510** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:22 am

Well, if you're talking about stupid songs like S&M and Only Girl, then yeah: her dance music sounds the same as everyone else's.

If you're talking about songs like Don't Stop The Music, We Found Love or Where Have You Been, then no: her dance music does not sound the same as everyone else's.

biscuits wrote:Thank goodness for artists like Monica and Jill Scott who are keeping real R&B alive.

Yeah but don't you think you think Monica's new album is uneventful...

Melanie Fiona's The MF Life >>>>>>>>

by **biscuits** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:26 am

Yeah, 'New Life' is kinda bland, but still...

New Life >>> all these fake R&B albums

by **neoepzilon** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:32 am

Titan3510 wrote:Well, if you're talking about stupid songs like S&M and Only Girl, then yeah: her dance music sounds the same as everyone else's.

I Loved Only Girl, I could tell she was really feeling it.

We Found Love wasn't amazing until the video, but her falsetto smashes in it.

by **NothingFails** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:37 am

Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

by **biscuits** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:40 am

NothingFails wrote:Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

I agree with this. Plus, Kelis was touching dance music in 2003, before it was even mainstream.

Website · by **LonelyDreamer** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:41 am

NothingFails wrote:Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

THIS.

by **neoepzilon** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:58 am

NothingFails wrote:Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

Quickly becoming my favorite poster, always making sense.

by **Timmy94** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:14 pm

I agree with Kelis, in her case you can see that she likes that type of music and not just do it because it's the trend unlike e.g. Kelly Rowland, Ne-Yo or Chris Brown.

by **mattsky** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:25 pm

NothingFails wrote:Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

Exactly. Kelis has always been innovative.

by **tada** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:57 pm

i guess new Usher's album will fit this category perfectly

by **BLover** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:00 pm

NothingFails wrote:Kelis IMO did the best makeover into dance music of the urban artists going electronic in recent years. A listen to "Flesh Tone" shows that she is genuinely a fan of EDM and took it seriously. It was an album for EDM fans, not pop/r&b fans and its chart performance proved that, but if you asked any serious dance fan if they preferred her album, or LMFAO (which IMO embodies every stereotype people hold against dance music as being mindless and about nothing but partying and having fun), the majority will say Kelis.

Exactly. The same happens with Wynter Gordon.

by **mrjuvenille** » Tue May 01, 2012 5:47 am

i think Wynter Gordon has found her 'sound' with Still Getting Younger. Her passion project will be her.

The dance tracks (Even though she is REALLY good with her voice on dance) is only because Dirty Talk became huge. But her dance tracks are definitely hot.

by **danbarj** » Tue May 01, 2012 4:56 pm

I think there's a difference with alot of the names mentioned:

Kelis - has always been eclectic!
Rihanna - has always been eclectic. Her albums have always been very fused, even as "her sound" has matured, she remains fused. She's a pop star (in the general sense) but her "music" is what it is from song to song.
Usher - used to dominate with his more R&B music ONLY to both pop and urban audiences. As music, fans, industry and radio became more polarized he had no choice but to cater to his urban fanbases and also to his pop fanbases.
Ne-Yo/Chris Brown - trends when it comes to this!
Beyonce - has always had fused albums and, like Usher, used to smash with singles that were very urban, yet crossover. Now, she can't pay a person to buy her urban music right now, but if she releases a IIWAB, Halo or SD, they'd be running!

That's about it. Everyone else is primarily singing straight pop (Gaga, Perry) or purer R&B (Mary J., Monica).

Now, the rappers (particularly the Cash Money crew) don't necessarily live by the formula. The label has ALWAYS been album-driven, and not single driven. So, they release buzz singles, jump on collabs, etc., THEN pick ONE urban song that is supposed to be "their smash" and promote that while they release ONE crossover (Wayne - How To Love, Drake - Take Care) that pulls in the other casual (pop) buyers. They ultimately sell lots of albums in the US.

I think it's necessary or we'll have no Beyonce's and Usher's seeing success, and everyone will be the next "LMFAO, Derulo, Flo Rida, etc."

by **Pawlu84** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:15 pm

I hope Mariah and Janet 2 of my fave artists never do this. I prefer them to flop but stay "true" to there roots,even though how things are going in Janet land this trend will faid and she would still release nothing. :lol:

by **biscuits** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:42 pm

Well...Janet's always been considered somewhat of a dance artist (especially in the US where the definition of dance is different to Europe).

And on 'Discpline' she dabbled with the electro/house sound (Rock With U / So Much Betta). But this was BEFORE it became mainstream, so she was actually setting the trend once again. 8-)

by **jpguy** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:42 pm

IMO , Rihanna's music is the same as everyone's, EXCEPT for the fact that SHE is doing much, much, much better than anyone out there...
she started this amazing trend with Dont Stop the Music, then kept it with Only Girl and Where HAve you Been is just cementing her status as a Dance diva... I actually love her singles

by **biscuits** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:55 pm

'Where Have You Been' is one of Rihanna's better songs, but it is not unique or Caribbean at all.

by **Timmy94** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:16 pm

biscuits wrote:'Where Have You Been' is one of Rihanna's better songs, but it is not unique or Caribbean at all.

Yes, Where Have You Been also includes this dull break that several singles by former Urban artists had, too (Starships, Turn Up The Music, Give Me Everything, The Time).

No one is saying that Rihanna should stay at one genre but it's of course "just a fortune" that she does those dance songs now while it's a trend :roll:

.
I'd say she should be less depending on trends, do something which is completely against them (OK, we could say Rockstar 101 or Man Down weren't trendy, but you know what I mean) and so goes away from the crowd of trend-following artists (and to be honest, there are really a lot atm) and has her own profile.

---

What I also don't like is when those artists have albums that appear so calculated. Like the notorious crossover singles, then a "pop single" and an "urban single". They try to serve everyone but do it halfhearted...

by **Hermes** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:37 pm

The main thing about a trend is that it obviously works most of the time. Rihanna could try to bring a whole different sound with her new album ( and I think she can, considering her career is successfull by now ). The problem is that it's risky. She tried it one time with Rated R, it was really different from GGGB because she pulled her true feelings on it, it was really deep but that wasn't sufficient because it was considered as too dark/gloomy. Although the success was correct, it was nothing compared to her previous album sales ( 8-9 million, I think ? ). But ironically, it's probably the most favourite album by her.

It also goes for Usher, he was still doing urban songs I guess since Here I Stand. Again, the sales weren't impressive so he tried to catch up. Right now, I'd say he managed to find back his identity as an urban artist but still eager to top the charts ( Scream, for example ). It's sad because some songs can do really well without the Dance stuff ( We are young, Somebody that I used to know ).

As for the others, such as Nicki or CB, I don't really know why they are doing this, as their records were good and successful.

by **biscuits** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:56 pm

Jennifer Lopez

by **Wardo** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:52 pm

I agree about Kelis.

Kelly Rowland, in the other hand, didn't seem to blend that well urban and dance.

What the hell is 'Commander' or 'Down For Whatever'?

She still got nice 'Motivation'-styled tracks to offer, but after the successful 'Love Takes Over', I'm afraid her music went downhill.