Did the rise of Ashanti kill R&B and turned it into whispering pop&b?

Surreal

Veteran
Bushed
Supporter
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
29,564
Reputation
1,964
Daps
66,372
Reppin
NULL
The platinum blueprint of If I Ruled The World did that....
 

TheNig

Dr.TheNig DDS
Supporter
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
56,359
Reputation
6,044
Daps
118,693
Reppin
Brolic... Alcoholics
It seems like when she blew up, record companies tried to emulate her sound. You no longer had to have a great singing voice. It was all about sing along melodies and hooks. Then you had Ja Rule singing as well.
J Lo blew up as a result. And the genre was never the same commercially. You had Beyonce go solo and literally dominate the vocal aspect of R&B for 2 decades.

Of all the singers to blame, you blame Ashanti...
 

Hathaway

Someday, We'll All Be Free
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Messages
4,214
Reputation
4,333
Daps
24,071
Reppin
The Abyss
It seems like when she blew up, record companies tried to emulate her sound. You no longer had to have a great singing voice. It was all about sing along melodies and hooks. Then you had Ja Rule singing as well.
J Lo blew up as a result. And the genre was never the same commercially. You had Beyonce go solo and literally dominate the vocal aspect of R&B for 2 decades.
👎🏾
 

Ethnic Vagina Finder

The Great Paper Chaser
Bushed
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
55,386
Reputation
2,965
Daps
156,687
Reppin
North Jersey but I miss Cali :sadcam:
J Lo came out before Ashanti, "Waiting for Tonight" was a big J Lo song in the late 90s before anyone knew who Ashanti was.

1999 to be exact. But J L wasn't considered R&B.
1999, you had Lauryn Hill's debut, Joe, Jagged Edge, Case, Ginuwine, 702, TLC was still poppin, Destiny's Child, Donell Jones.. etc.
By the time Ashanti's 3rd album dropped in 2004, you had Alicia Keys who was already established, Christina Millian (Who is in the Ashanti bucket), Ciara (Ashanti bucket), Anthony Hamilton, Brandy (who didn't make another album for another 4 years), and that's pretty much it.
And Ashanti didn't drop again until 2008 and by then the genre as a whole was dead.
 

Ethnic Vagina Finder

The Great Paper Chaser
Bushed
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
55,386
Reputation
2,965
Daps
156,687
Reppin
North Jersey but I miss Cali :sadcam:
i mean janet whispered, no? and no one would question her catalog.

But how many other singers were out during her prime in the 80's and 90's :snoop:
I'm not saying Ashanti was the ONLY R&B singer dropping songs. I'm saying after she dropped, record labels were making a conscious effort to sing artists that looked and sounded like her.
 

King Harlem

Superstar
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
5,767
Reputation
1,064
Daps
22,396
Record labels were literally looking for new artists that sounded like Ashanti. This was well known back then :dahell: How old is the forum?
I think you may have worded this wrong. R&B dying had nothing to do with Ashanti. I think what would've been a more interesting premise would be if Ashanti is responsible for the whispering pop & b we currently have?
 

Tasha And

Superstar
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
8,077
Reputation
3,192
Daps
48,798
It seems like when she blew up, record companies tried to emulate her sound. You no longer had to have a great singing voice. It was all about sing along melodies and hooks. Then you had Ja Rule singing as well.
J Lo blew up as a result. And the genre was never the same commercially. You had Beyonce go solo and literally dominate the vocal aspect of R&B for 2 decades.
J-lo blew up before Ashanti.

In fact J-Lo and Ja Rule popped off before Ashanti.

 

Ethnic Vagina Finder

The Great Paper Chaser
Bushed
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
55,386
Reputation
2,965
Daps
156,687
Reppin
North Jersey but I miss Cali :sadcam:
I think you may have worded this wrong. R&B dying had nothing to do with Ashanti. I think what would've been a more interesting premise would be if Ashanti is responsible for the whispering pop & b we currently have?
No. At the time, when she came out, Murder Inc was dominating. Hip Hop's merge with R&B was already done. But you still had an emphasis on vocals. Ashanti changed that. It became more about the look and harmony and less about vocal ability. Based on who was being signed and the acts being put out after 2002 - 2004 circa, shyt changed. And the previous era still had a niche because there was no other alternatives. Eventually R&B and Hip Hop became meshed into 1 category.
 
Top