Rhythm and blues--also known as R&B or RnB--is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences and was first performed by African-American artists. During the 1990s, Contemporary R&B was popular--which has a slick, electronic record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Uses of hip hop-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop is usually reduced and smoothed out. R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma.
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During the early 1990s, new jack swing/R&B group Boyz II Men, the most successful R&Bmale vocal group of all time, re-popularized classic soul-inspired vocal harmonies. Several similar groups (such as Shai, Soul for Real, Az Yet, All-4-One, and Dru Hill) followed in their footsteps. Boyz II Men and several of their competitors benefited from producers such as Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. As a solo artist, Babyface and contemporaries such as Brian McKnight eschewed prominent hip hop influences, and recorded in a smooth, soft style of R&B.
In contrast to the works of Boyz II Men, Babyface and similar artists, Other R&B artists from this same period began adding even more of a hip hop sound to their work. The synthesizer-heavy rhythm tracks of new jack swing was replaced by grittier East Coast hip hop-inspired backing tracks, resulting in a genre labeled hip hop soul by producer Sean Combs. Hip hop soul artists such as Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Monica, Brandy, Ginuwine, Usher and Aaliyah brought more of hip hop slang, style, and attitude to R&b music. This subgenre includes a heavy gospel influence in terms of vocal inflections and sounds. The style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence.
During the mid 1990s, Mariah Carey, girl groups TLC and SWV and Boyz II Men brought contemporary R&B to the mainstream. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, including "One Sweet Day," a collaboration between both acts which became the longest-running number-one hit in Hot 100 history.
Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II , and CrazySexyCool respectively--that sold over ten million copies, earning them diamond RIAA certification. Other top-selling R&B artists from this era included Vanessa L. Williams,Toni Braxton, Ginuwine, Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Monica, Usher and R. Kelly, and groups En Vogue, BLACKstreet, Salt-N-Pepa, SWV, Jodeci/K-Ci & JoJo and Destiny's Child in the late 1990s.
In the late 1990s, neo soul (which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend) arose, led by artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Artists such as Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the influence of R&B on dance could be heard in the work of several artists, such as Jennifer Lopez, *NSYNC and 98 Degrees. *NSYNC's lead singer, Justin Timberlake, released recordings with heavy influences from both R&B and dance/hip hop music. Other stars who performed heavily R&B-influenced pop music include Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Fergie, Nicole Scherzinger, and Nelly Furtado.
Located below you will find a list of some of the best R&B songs of the 1990s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.
Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.
These singles are considered among the best R&B songs to hit the charts in the 1990s.
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Find some of the best songs of the 1990s by selecting one of the links below:
Click on any of the links below to find the:
