For the fact that chitlin' circuit deejays and fans could recognize the accomplishments of a bona fide hiphopper, and bear him no prejudice, meant that Southern Soul was indeed strong enough, big enough, and confident enough to absorb anything "urban R&B" could produce. When "When A Woman's Fed Up" pulled off the rare feat of "crossing over" from the millionaire's side of the tracks (commercial R&B) to the poor side (chitlin' circuit R&B), the character and legitimacy of Southern Soul were assured. "I'm standing here looking in the mirror,
Embedded in its beginning lyrics was a nod to Badu's influence. Kelly's equally soul-drenched "When A Woman's Fed Up," which turned the chords of Badu's "Tyrone" inside-out and transformed it into a virtual soul symphony, came out in 1998 (Jive). Nice had a hint of what we wanted-and a reminder of how much we had lost, musically speaking, over the last quarter-century.Įrykah Badu's single "Tyrone," the very essence of Southern Soul, appeared in 1997. Kelly (who produced Price's "Friend Of Mine") decided to strike out with their own efforts at traditional R&B, it was a revelation and a turning point. When high-profile R&B newcomers like Erykah Badu and R. Listeners who had followed soul into disco into funk into rap and hiphop, always searching for the next great musical thing, had bought into rap because so-called "urban" R&B and "smooth" jazz had abandoned the grit and passion of 60's rhythm and blues. All that was lacking was recognition and interest, a spark that would light a fire under listeners beyond its core audience. Underground R&B finally had momentum again. Nor was he aware that as the millennium approached more and more R&B artists were pounding on the door of southern, if not national, radio stations. Nice was hardly aware something called "Southern Soul" existed.
At that point all three singers joined in a truly amazing call-and-response climax. Biggs ( Ronald Isley) (at which point the song became a duet), pouring out her tale of misery, and Isley insisted on telephoning R. On its simplest level, "Friend Of Mine" was the story of a girl (Kelly Price) betrayed by her sexy lover (R. Kelly's relevance to Southern Soul R&B in 1998, when-along with the release of his retro classic, "When A Woman's Fed Up"-he appeared in a stunning music video on BET and MTV for Kelly Price's debut single, "Friend of Mine." Kelly singing "When A Woman's Fed Up" on YouTube. When I listen to the latest Kelly or Badu product, I just shake my head and wonder why people can't see that the "emperor" is not wearing any clothes. Because I truly believe Southern Soul music is far superior to anything contemporary hiphop is producing. It's a shame-I don't know what else to say. Kelly is now a historical footnote in the re-emergence of Southern Soul music-no longer an active or even semi-active player. Sam, Simeo and others-have actually crashed through the barriers and become in varying degrees fixtures on the Southern Soul scene.Ĭonsequently, R. Kelly mold over the last decade- Sir Charles Jones, T. What's most ironic about the situation is that many of the artists who came out of the hiphop side of R&B in the R. The young, supposedly-hip people who buy into this music you can't dance to apparently buy enough records to sway the artists away from tuneful, danceable, verse-and-chorus songwriting. That's because he's gone over entirely into the hiphop scene, and his music (again, like Badu's) is almost impenetrably unmelodic, un-swinging and overblown. Kelly on chitlin' circuit-style stations, you no longer hear R. Unlike the late nineties and early 00's, when you could often hear a traditional R&B song by R. Kelly has become less and less relevant to Southern Soul music. Kelly's personal character or his legal travails (and I have taken a lot of heat for largely ignoring them), the man is (or was) a musical genius and he had a function in whetting the appetite of soul music lovers for the Southern Soul we know and love today.īut like Erykah Badu, R. Kelly on the Southern Soul website, go to "Kelly, R." in Daddy B. To instantly link to all the awards, citations and other references to R. Nice's Top 100 Countdown: The New Generation (Chart In Progress) Kelly - Southern Soul Music Artist - Southern Soul RnB
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