What does it take to be a crossover R&B artist in 2016? Thinking about this on the eve of a new Rihanna album may seem unfitting; Rih is an anomaly and a superstar based in a genre that might have a total of 4. It is impossible for a Rihanna album to fail and the stakes of putting out ANTI are minimal, especially after all of the hype surrounding it. In short, Rihanna lucked out. She came up in a time when R&B crossovers were a little more common and she capitalized on this by becoming a complete workhorse, releasing 7 albums in 8 years. This all begs the question; at a time when only a very niche collection of music gets significant traction on pop radio, what does an R&B artist have to do to get attention?
New albums by Ty Dolla $ign and Jeremih were destined for something big. They’re both long records with grandiose production and a multitude of features (J. Cole, Migos, Big Sean, and Future on Jeremih’s; Kanye, Fetty Wap, E-40, Future, Rae Sremmurd, and Kendrick Lamar on Ty Dolla $ign’s). The albums aren’t all that similar aesthetically, but they were both put out by major labels and have an accessible sound that would not be out of place on pop radio. Dolla $ign’s album is the more scatter-brained of the two. Most of the tracks fall into a few categories; overt trap anthems, huge orchestral numbers, and a couple stripped down classic R&B tunes. Ty is not the most talented singer in the world but he understands his limited vocal range and never goes beyond his abilities. In addition, there’s only so many topics which he talks about with any sort of enthusiasm; mostly weed and women, with some time declared to his incarcerated brother, TC. Overall, the album’s production is gorgeous, ranging from one of DJ Mustard’s best beats of all time on ‘Saved’ to the sweet guitar-and-snare combination on the wildly misogynistic ‘Horses in the Stable’. Ty might not be anyone’s idea of a purist. On most of these tracks, he is just as much of a rapper as he is a singer. But on a 72 minute album, you can’t fault the man for coming through with some variety.
Commercially though, the album definitely wasn’t the success Atlanta would have wanted. The record peaked at number 14. This, however, is a blockbuster compared to Jeremih’s Late Nights, which debuted at the low, low place of 42, selling an unimpressive 11,000 copies. All of this is despite the fact that Jeremih is a Def Jam artist who should have endless resources and buzz at his disposal. To his credit, Jeremih’s album fulfills any sort of expectations that fans would have had for his debut release. It continues the type of hazy production that was perfected on singles like ‘Planes’ and ‘Oui’. If anything, the album’s content is too uniform. Jeremih does this sound well, but during an hour-long affair, you would hope for a bit more. The album caps off beautifully, with the minimalist ‘Paradise’, which may go down as Jeremih’s most impressive moment as a vocalist. Late Nights has plenty of problems, but it’s refreshing to see Jeremih’s dedication to this sound and this album, particularly after it floundered for years in development hell. Even if the label didn’t care, we do.
This all begs the question; what could these singers have done to get true recognition outside of a small group of R&B fans and the critical consensus? The Weeknd, OVO’s own resident crooner, has had the biggest year of this career and has become a household name. However, The Weeknd has a whole lot of other factors working for him. First off, it is hard for anybody to have a hard time after a Drake cosign. He started off the year with his song ‘Earned It’ being featured prominently in the Fifty Shades of Grey film, ensuring that every middle-aged soccer mom in the United States knew of The Weeknd. In addition, ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ is the best Michael Jackson song since ‘Black or White’, and we’re all suckers for disco-revitalist tracks right now. So maybe Ty Dolla $ign will experience a surge once the Kanye album comes out and he gets his boost. Maybe Jeremih will have his time to shine once Def Jam gives him the push he needs or at least lets him out of his contract. But for now, I appreciate that we have artists to carry the torch, even if they’re not always recognized.
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