Whatever happened to the covers? Read more…

You know who he is. He is a man that needs no introduction: Timothy “Timbaland“ Mosely, the most influential producer in hiphop and R&B for the past decade. But what goes up must come down, and it is time we acknowledge the fact that Timbaland is in a serious decline - maybe not success-wise, but surely quality-wise. Read more…

Let’s talk about Mariah Carey. I think she is a perfect example of what differs the musical ideals of contemporary rnb from those of older soul music. You see, Mary J. Blige - that’s a soul singer. Mariah Carey isn’t. But in my book, Mariah’s best songs easily outshines those by Mary. Soul music is about expressing inner conflicts and drama. That’s not what Mariah Carey does - what she does is make music as a form of escapism. She paints the sky with a rainbow of beats and melodies, and lets that rainbow hit the dancefloor. Read more…

Stargate, I hate that I love you. No, actually, it’s more complicated than that: I don’t love Stargate and I’m surprised by the fact that they don’t appeal to me more. After all, I am a sucker for sweet melodies, strong hooks and sophisticated chord changes. And Stargate deliver in all these categories. They are the spearhead of the pop-oriented wave of new rnb that has been washing over us the latest years. Ever since Ne-Yo’s ‘So Sick’ – their big breakthrough as a production team – they have been growing steadily. By now they are one of the biggest and most reliable go-to teams in the industry. Basically, the Stargate duo of Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen are for rnb today what The Neptunes were for rap during the first years of this decade. But do they deserve their status? Read more…

The day Barack Obama won the US presidential election, I was filled with overflowing joy. I needed something that could channel the bubbling emotions inside me, and I knew that the right person to go to was R. Kelly. Although curiously absent from the myriad of artists and celebrities that had spent the last year embracing Barack Obama and his intoxicating agenda of hope and change, R. Kelly is actually the only artist whose over-the-top music equals the glorious path of the Obama campaign. Read more…

This year has not only been a great depression for the world economy, it’s been a disaster in a aspect of rnb as well. Sure we’ve heard some fantastic songs, but in comparison with the last couple of years the lack of strong albums and hits is getting very obvious as we’re closing in on 2009. I put the blame on an identity crisis. Read more…