The Show, The After Party, The Hotel 10.21.09: A History of New Jack Swing - Part 4
Posted by Weng Yu on 10.21.2009
The concluding part of my New Jack Swing series. This week, I discuss the revival of the girl group, and the rise of LaFace records. Plus new promos from Toni Braxton, Timbaland, Wale and N.E.R.D are reviewed this week.
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This week sees the last of my series on the history of New Jack Swing. I hope its been an education for my readers, I've learned a lot in the course of writing it!
She's waiting at the finish line.....
A History Of New Jack Swing - Part 4
So last week I left off with Michael Jackson dominating the music scene. This week I'm going to cover the rise of LaFace records, the comeback of the girl groups, and also talk about a duo that went on to become two of the biggest players in the entertainment scene. Before that, I'm gonna make a quick diversion to discuss someone who's been in the news a lot for all the wrong reasons.
Robert Sylvester Kelly was first noticed performing in a group called MGM, on a talent show called Big Break in 1990. Shortly afterward, he he was signed to Jive Records, and he formed a group of back up singers and dancers called Public Announcement. Together, they released the album Born in the 90's in 1992. The album was notable for bringing the singing and songwriting talents of R.Kelly to the world, and spawned the worldwide hit and new jack swing classic "She's Got That Vibe". Since then Kelly has gone to become one of the most successful artists of the modern era, but he's also been dogged with controversy, including surviving a trial for possessing and taking part in child pornography, an alleged marriage with (at the time) 15 year old Aaliyah, and rumors of underhanded treatment against other artists also on Jive Records.
Anyway, I'm going to leave R.Kelly behind and talk about a number of female girl groups who all started out in the early 90's. One of the first was En Vogue. The group was originally put together by the production duo of Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, who wanted a modern group that could sing like the classic r'n'b groups of the Motown era. Between 1990 and 1992, the group released two albums, Born To Sing, and Funky Divas. With a sassy attitude, and a combination of huge voices, En Vogue went on to become one of the biggest girl groups of all time, with sales of over 20 million records worldwide.
Hot on their heels were the feisty young group TLC. Signed to LaFace Records, the group were something completely fresh, combining the deep funk vocals of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, the r'n'b sound of Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and the hip hop influence of rapper Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes. Their debut album was Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip featured production from Babyface and Dallas Austin, and was released in February 1992. It became a huge hit, going quadruple platinum and producing a number of hits, including "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", and "Baby Baby Baby". The group were recognized not just for their music, which didn't conform to the traditional themes of r'n'b music, but instead followed themes of female empowerment, and also for their brightly colored and often unusual clothing. They were seen as a breath of fresh air, as their approach to music was energetic and playful, rather than serious and sexy.
The third female group to come out in that period were SWV. Signed to RCA by Teddy Riley, they released their debut album It's About Time in the autumn 1992. The album was a success, selling 6 million copies worldwide, and producing hits like "I'm So Into You" and "Weak", which went to #1. However their worldwide success came with the re-release of their first single "Right Here", which was remixed to include a sample from Michael Jackson's "Human Nature".
Going back to TLC, their success was a huge boost for LaFace, as they were the first major act on the label to make it big. The second act was a young lady called Toni Braxton. Originally part of an group with her sisters, they found little success, but did enough to make L.A Reid and Babyface take notice of Toni - they soon signed her to LaFace and went about producing her self titled first album, which was released in the summer of 1993. The release was a huge success, topping the Billboard charts, selling 15 million copies world wide, and producing 3 top ten singles. Braxton also won three Grammys and two American Music Awards for her vocals.
With all this talk about ladies, I want to finish off my piece with a quick look at one of my all time favorite acts, the hip hop group of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. The group started out as a trio, with Jeff Townes on production, and Will Smith rapping, plus beatboxer Clarence Holmes. The group were young and fresh, driven by Jazzy Jeff's turntable skills, and Will Smith's often imaginative lyrics. With songs like "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble", their songs appealed to young people as well as old, and they became one of the first hip hop acts to successfully appeal to the pop market.
I often cite these two as one of the most overlooked groups in hip hop history. Firstly they were able to find mainstream success without needing an edge - at the time hip hop mostly had political messages or social commentary, while hip hop of the future such as Gangsta Rap were littered with negativity and profanities, but Will Smith's lyrics were playful and amusing and he rarely cursed in his songs. They found a way to connect to a mainstream audience, and both went on to major success - Will Smith as we know is one of the biggest film stars in the world, while Jazzy Jeff is a pioneer of turntablism, and a top producer. Their work is always fun to listen to - their final album Code Red is a personal favorite of mine, with New Jack Swing classics like "Boom Shake The Room", "Looking For The One To Be With Me", and "Can't Wait To Be With You".
So thus ends my series on New Jack Swing. It's been fun - its the music that first got me into r'n'b in the first place, so I have a lot of love for it. Not sure what I'm going to write about next week! Oh dear....
Update on the Jackson reality show - I agree that the kids shouldn't be in yet. They should be allowed something that is normal in their life, rather than being a media show like their father.
Soulja Boy is still an idiot - Well let me guess who's got a spare key to your apartment. Your landlord perhaps?
Timbaland feat T-Pain and Missy Elliot - Talk That Sh*t - This is a lot more like Timbaland's work in the late 90's, which I prefer to his recent stuff. Pretty good track.
Wale feat Pharell - Inhibitions - Not as hot as the previous tracks he's released, but the party flows are dropped for something a bit more lengthy. The more I hear from him the more I like him, he has a sick flow and unlike others his words actually make sense.
Wale feat Colin Munroe - Bittersweet - This samples The Verve's classic song "Bittersweet Symphony". I absolutely hate that song, so I don't like this. I'm sure others will love it though.
Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull - Fresh Out The Oven - Produced by the Neptunes, the beat has potential. Shame J-Lo's vocals are absolutely horrible, really out of tune and don't fit the track. Admittedly its not like she's a great vocalist to begin with, but this could have been a lot better in the hands of a more capable singer.
N.E.R.D feat Santigold - Soldier - If you like N.E.R.D you love this. If you don't, you'll hate it. It's very typical N.E.R.D sound. I've always thought they are much better live than on CD.
Toni Braxton feat Trey Songz - Yesterday - It starts slowly but the chorus is really nice. It's a midtempo ballad song. Much better than the last track I heard from her.
Shonie - Lights, Camera, Action - You might have heard a female version of Jeremih's "Birthday Sex" floating around recently, which was sang by her. There isn't much about her except that she's signed to Slip-N-Slide records, a subsidiary of Def Jam who also have Trina and Rick Ross on their books. This is a pretty nice midtempo track, so I look forward to hearing more from her.
Teairra Marie feat Soulja Boy and Gucci Mane - Sponsor - Are Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy inseparable? They seem to be on loads of tracks together. This track is very forgettable.
Great series of articles Weng!! As someone that went to high school during the height of New Jack Swing I love all this music. It is so true that people these days have no appreciation for real R&B. Now if we can just get Siruis and XM to make a New Jack Swing channel. There are plenty more groups that could be played but there are days and days worth of hits when you just take the groups you mentioned so far, New Edition and and their solo projects, Guy, Boyz II Men, R Kelly, TLC, Janet, Michael, Jodeci, Babyface, and then you could go with producers as well like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland, and Babyface. If you take those groups and use anything that they inspired you could have quite the collection of music (trust me I have most of these CD's). I think that station would do quite well.
Posted By: ski0801 (Guest) on October 21, 2009 at 09:45 AM
