Alternative R&B

{{see also|Progressive soul}}

"Alternative R&B" was once used by the music industry during the late 1990s to market neo soul artists, such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Maxwell.{{cite magazine |last=Mitchell |first=Gail |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42 |title=Reinventing The Real: R&B Gets Its Groove |magazine=Billboard |volume=112 |issue=23 |date=June 3, 2000 |page=42 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=July 25, 2017}} There has been a variety of discussion about the differing genre terms, with several critics describing the music under the broad category of "alternative R&B" or "indie R&B".{{cite web |last=Richards |first=M.T. |url=https://www.vibe.com/2013/08/10-unconventional-rb-acts-know-listen/ |title=10 Unconventional R&B Acts You Should Listen To |work=Vibe |date=August 19, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.thisisrnb.com/2011/04/discussion-hipster-rb-or-alternative-rb-should-the-genre-exist/ |title=Discussion: Hipster R&B Or Alternative R&B – Should The Genre Exist? |publisher=ThisIsRnB |date=April 6, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013}} The term "hipster R&B" has been commonly used, as has the term "PBR&B"—a combination of "PBR" (the abbreviation for Pabst Blue Ribbon, a beer most recently associated with the hipster subculture) and R&B. The first use of "PBR&B" was on Twitter by Sound of the City writer Eric Harvey in a 2011 post.{{cite web |last=Fennessey |first=Sean |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/03/23/love-vs-money-the-weeknd-frank-ocean-and-rbs-future-shock/ |title=Love vs. Money: The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&B's Future Shock |work=The Village Voice |date=March 23, 2011 |access-date=July 25, 2017}}{{cite tweet |last=Harvey |first=Eric |user=ericdharvey |number=50357404524752896 |date=March 22, 2011 |title=Okay, so out of the nascent PBR&B thing of Weeknd, How to Dress Well, Frank Ocean, it's not even a question that Ocean is the best, right? |access-date=July 25, 2017}}{{cite web |last=Barshad |first=Amos |url=http://www.vulture.com/2011/03/hilarious_new_subgenre_alert.html |title=Hilarious New Subgenre Alert! |publisher=Vulture |date=March 24, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013}} Three years later, amazed and distressed at how far the term—meant as a joke—had traveled, Harvey wrote an extensive essay about it for Pitchfork.{{cite web|last=Harvey|first=Eric|date=October 7, 2013|title=I Started a Joke: "PBR&B" and What Genres Mean Now|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/95-i-started-a-joke-pbrb-and-what-genres-mean-now/|url-status=live|access-date=March 22, 2021|work=Pitchfork|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222133749/http://pitchfork.com:80/thepitch/95-i-started-a-joke-pbrb-and-what-genres-mean-now/ |archive-date=2016-02-22 }} Slate suggests the name "R-Neg-B", as a reference to "negging".{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Carl |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_music_club/features/2011/music_club_2011/best_music_2011_bon_iver_is_unlistenable_.html |title=Why was there so much whistling in pop this year? |work=Slate |date=December 28, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013}} The genre has sometimes been called "noir&B".{{cite web|last=Merchand|first=Francois|date=June 22, 2015|title=Weekend Extra: On the road again to B.C.'s summer music festivals|url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/music/weekend-extra-on-the-road-again-to-bcs-summer-music-festivals|access-date=March 22, 2021|work=The Vancouver Sun}}{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=Alex |url=http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/weeknd-beauty_behind_madness_album_stream |title=The Weeknd 'Beauty Behind the Madness' (album stream) |work=Exclaim! |date=August 28, 2015}} However, the terms are often criticized for "pigeonholing" artists into hipster subculture and being used in a derisive manner.{{cite web |last=Cummings |first=Jozen |url=https://theawl.com/you-say-hipster-r-b-i-say-nappy-headed-pop-either-way-its-offensive-584bd39a3068 |title=You Say Hipster R&B, I Say Nappy-Headed Pop. Either Way, It's Offensive. |publisher=The Awl |date=March 30, 2011 |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524221808/https://theawl.com/you-say-hipster-r-b-i-say-nappy-headed-pop-either-way-its-offensive-584bd39a3068 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last=Macpherson |first=Alex |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/mar/29/the-weeknd-rnb |title=Ready for the Weeknd? Most R&B fans have better things to listen to |work=The Guardian |date=March 29, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013}}

File:Frank Ocean Coachella 2012 2.jpg performing at the Coachella Festival in 2012]]

Barry Walters of Spin characterizes the unconventional style as an "exchange between EDM, rock, hip hop, and R&B's commercial avant-garde", and cites Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra, and Channel Orange, the Weeknd's 2011 trilogy of mixtapes, Drake's Take Care, Miguel's Kaleidoscope Dream, Holy Other's Held, and How to Dress Well's Total Loss as works associated with alternative R&B.{{cite web |last=Walters |first=Barry |url=http://www.spin.com/2012/08/frank-ocean-miguel-and-holy-other-usher-in-pbrb-20/ |title=Frank Ocean, Miguel, and Holy Other Usher in PBR&B 2.0 |work=Spin |date=August 22, 2012 |access-date=July 25, 2017}} AllMusic's Andy Kellman cites the early albums of Bilal—1st Born Second and Love for Sale—as antecedents to the "left-field R&B" that developed in the late 2000s.{{cite web|last=Kellman|first=Andy|date=n.d.|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/airtights-revenge-mw0002027198|title=Airtight's Revenge – Bilal|website=AllMusic|access-date=August 10, 2020}} According to Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, the Soulquarians collective of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which Bilal was a part of, "corral[ed] leaders of the alternative R&B movement like the Roots and D'Angelo".{{cite news|last=Farber|first=Jim|date=June 24, 2001|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/bilal-set-wow-hotly-tipped-singer-laments-lack-musicality-b-article-1.913910|title=Bilal Set to Wow|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=August 12, 2020}} Janet Jackson's sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997) is cited as one of the genre's stylistic origins.{{cite web |author=DJ Louie XIV |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-louie-xiv/can-janet-get-a-hit_b_7589492.html |title=Can Janet Get a Hit? |work=The Huffington Post |date=June 16, 2015 |access-date=February 25, 2016}}{{Cite web |date=2022-10-07 |title=The Impact Of Janet's Creatively Liberating Album, 'The Velvet Rope' |url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/the-impact-of-janets-1997-album-the-velvet-rope/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Essence |language=en-US}} Dee Lockett from Slate credits Aaliyah's musical style on her second studio album "One in a Million" for "giving rise to a new subgenre, loosely referred to as experimental R&B (or "PBR&B")".{{cite web|last=Lockett|first=Dee|url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/05/aaliyah-the-10-best-songs-for-new-listeners-video.html|title=Where Do I Start With Aaliyah?|work=Slate|date=May 23, 2014 |access-date=August 21, 2023|quote=loosely referred to as experimental R&B (or "PBR&B")}} While NPR writer Stasia Irons stated Aaliyah's self-titled album "became a catalyst and bridge that created a smooth transition from '90s style R&B into Modern PBR&B".{{cite web |author=Stasia Irons |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/20/538357126/turning-the-tables-150-greatest-albums-made-by-women-page-8|title=The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women|work=NPR|date=July 24, 2017 |access-date=April 20, 2022}}

Brandon Neasman of The Grio observes a "changing of the guard in R&B, from the smooth, cool heartthrobs to these vulnerable, off-kilter personalities" amid the prevalence of social media in society.{{cite web |last=Neasman |first=Brandon |date=October 4, 2012 |url=http://thegrio.com/2012/10/04/changing-of-the-guard-how-frank-ocean-miguel-and-more-helped-rb-find-its-soul-again/ |title=Changing of the guard: How Frank Ocean, Miguel and more helped R&B find its soul again |publisher=The Grio |access-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025100240/http://thegrio.com/2012/10/04/changing-of-the-guard-how-frank-ocean-miguel-and-more-helped-rb-find-its-soul-again/ |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=live}} Neasman finds the subject matter of "these new-wave artists" to be more "relatable" and writes of alternative R&B's characteristics:

{{blockquote|[A] lot of the production is echo-laden and lofty, often using many synthesizers and filtered drums—sonically giving a nod to Prince's vintage '80s sound. Additionally, for the most part, it doesn't feel as if these artists are selling sex as their main entrée. Granted, they still sing about the topic, and in explicit detail, but it's in equal proportion to drugs, spirituality and personal philosophies. You don't get that same diversity in subject matter from the majority of modern R&B singers.}}

Hermione Hoby of The Guardian writes that "the music is quietly radical" and observes "an ongoing, mutually enriching dialogue between indie and electronic musicians and R&B artists".{{cite news |last=Hoby |first=Hermione |date=November 8, 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/08/the-weeknd-sense-and-sensibility |title=The Weeknd: Sounds and sensibility |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |at=section G2, p. 12 |access-date=November 8, 2012}} Gerrick D. Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times feels that "the new movement feels like the most significant stylistic change in R&B since neo soul rolled around in the 1990s".{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Gerrick D. |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-rb-renaissance-miguel-20121111,0,3483680.story |title=Miguel helps lead the charge for an edgier kind of R&B artist |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=November 11, 2012 |access-date=November 10, 2012}}

There are two predominating opinions regarding alternative R&B as a classifier of sonic and lyrical characteristics within the larger R&B genre, the first of the two being a reluctant acceptance of its existence—if only for the sake of marketability.

Stereogum described the genre as a group of "co-conspirators, not a unified movement".{{cite web |last=DeVille |first=Chris |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1678647/indie-rocks-rb-movement-reaches-its-saturation-point/franchises/essay/ |title=Indie Rock's R&B Movement Reaches Its Saturation Point |publisher=Stereogum |date=April 30, 2014}} Similarly in thought, How to Dress Well, while not offended by the term "PBR&B", finds it "tacky"; in an interview with Complex, he points out that "if you put records [released by other alternative R&B artists] side-by-side, me and whoever, like you're just not going to [hear] the same sounds, period", before proceeding to cite Miguel as an example.{{cite web |last=Diep |first=Eric |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2012/09/who-is-how-to-dress-well/his-thoughts-on-the-term-pbrb |title=His Thoughts on the Term "PBR&B" – Who is How To Dress Well? |work=Complex |date=September 18, 2012 |access-date=November 12, 2018}} Miguel himself has said that he is "comfortable" with the term "indie R&B" because it "insinuates a higher art. Or a deeper or somehow more artistic delivery of rhythm and blues music. It suggests there's more artistry within a genre that has become more of a cliché of itself."{{cite news |last=Jonze |first=Tim |date=February 8, 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/09/miguel-kaleidoscope-dream |title=Miguel: the slow-burn success of a new R&B superstar |work=The Guardian |location=London |at=The Guide section, p. 10 |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210032812/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/09/miguel-kaleidoscope-dream |archive-date=February 10, 2013 |url-status=live}}

Frank Ocean, when first asked in an interview with The Quietus, whether he considers "Novacane" to be an R&B song, responded, "You're limiting it. And that's why I always say that about the genre thing, because that's what it does. When you say 'it's that', you listen to it in a certain way. And you might not necessarily miss it, but it's just inaccurate, and you'll miss a couple of things, contextually."{{cite web |last=Bradshaw |first=Melissa |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07450-frank-ocean-interview |title='Imagery, And A Little Bit Of Satire': An Interview With Frank Ocean |publisher=The Quietus |date=November 22, 2011 |access-date=November 12, 2018}} He proceeds to point out that race and vocal delivery are stereotypical signifiers of R&B music, in turn forcing himself and his peers into a category they may not identify within; when considering Nostalgia, Ultra Ocean argues that if he were a different complexion, "People would listen to it and be like 'Yeah, he borrowed from R&B', but it's just not R&B, it's a lot of things, and you can't just call it 'R&B.'" Ocean also uses alternative R&B for challenging norms in hegemonic masculinity. Channel Orange has prevalent queer-coded lyrics and scenarios within the characters he portrays.{{Cite journal |last1=Dhaenens |first1=F |last2=De Ridder |first2=S |date=June 2015 |title=Resistant masculinities in alternative R&B? Understanding Frank Ocean and The Weeknd's representations of gender |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1367549414526730 |journal=European Journal of Cultural Studies |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=283–299 |doi=10.1177/1367549414526730 |issn=1367-5494}}

In an interview with The Guardian, FKA Twigs rejected the term by declaring, "Fuck alternative R&B!" She further explained: "It's just because I'm mixed race. When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: 'I've never heard anything like this before, it's not in a genre.' And then my picture came out six months later, now she's an R&B singer.'"{{cite web |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/09/fka-twigs-two-weeks-lp1 |title=FKA twigs: 'Weird things can be sexy' |work=The Guardian |date=August 9, 2014 |access-date=November 12, 2018}} The Fader echoes her sentiment, stating, "By adding the prefix, it sidelines R&B itself by implying it's not experimental, boundary-pushing or intellectual. It throws side-eye at the genre, while at the same time claiming to have discovered something worthy within it."{{cite web |last=Cliff |first=Aimee |url=http://www.thefader.com/2014/09/12/popping-off-fka-twigs-beyonce-alt-r-and-b |title=FKA Twigs Is Right, "Alternative R&B" Must Die |work=The Fader |date=September 12, 2014 |access-date=November 12, 2018|quote="Alternative" or "experimental R&B" is a term that needs to die, and that's why I cheered when I read these words from Twigs.}}

• List of alternative R&B artists
• Toronto sound
• Alternative hip hop
• Progressive soul
• African-American music

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite web|last=Abebe|first=Nitsuh|date=August 14, 2011|url=http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/indie-r-and-b-albums-2011-8/|title=PBR&B|work=New York}}
• {{cite news|url=http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/2/PBRB-A-subgenre-is-born |last=Cabral |first=Jeanette |date=February 27, 2012 |title=PBR&B – A subgenre is born |publisher=CBC Music |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301002442/http://music.cbc.ca/ |archive-date=March 1, 2016 }}
• {{cite web|last=Fennessey|first=Sean|date=March 23, 2011|url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/03/the_weeknd_frank_ocean.php|title=Love vs. Money: The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and R&B's Future Shock|work=The Village Voice|access-date=January 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512013253/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/03/the_weeknd_frank_ocean.php|archive-date=May 12, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

{{Rhythm and blues}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alternative RandB}}

Category:African-American music

Category:Contemporary R&B genres

Category:Microgenres