While a few folks in the gay community are looking to Frank Ocean as the person who can open the door a bit wider to LGBT hip hop, Jermaine Dupri, who last I heard was working on Mariah Carey's new album is looking to Frank Ocean as someone who can save R&B.
R&B was a dominant force in the 90's and it was a great time for being creative, especially with the rise of producers like The Neptunes, Darkchild, R. Kelly, Scott Storch, Teddy Riley, JD, and Timbaland, to name a few. But over the last few years as some of the worst parts of dance music started to dominate the charts, real R&B - I'm talking about the songs that are catchy but have substance have taken a back seat.
So with all eyes set on R&B princess Brandy's comeback next month and the recent release of Frank Coean's excellent Channel Orange album, JD's got his fingers crossed that if Frank's new album is successful that R&B will indeed make the comeback it most certainly deserves.
Read his open letter below...
When I saw the # that Frank Ocean is suppose to hit next week, I got extremely Happy,I said I need to get in my car and and listen to this album,by the time I got to “Sweet Life” I was even more happy,finally!! a RnB album that’s hip,with out having the same 5 rappers on every song,I actually hope he hits 200k,for the sake of RnB,it’s in the worst position it’s ever been since I started making music,The Record company’s don’t believe in it,Radio won’t play it if it don’t have a rapper,and a majority of the artist that are labeled RnB,are confused and lost,so I repeat,I hope Ocean sells more than the 125k that he’s on pace for,maybe these executives u’llwake the fuck up,or at least try to copy what he’s doing,like they always do, by the way,the end of “Pyramids” jammin like a mufucka.
The other day when I saw the list of top 40 songs of the 90's compiled by VH1, it took me back to the days where I missed hearing those feel good R&B songs. Now they're all but non-existant. I just wish the industry were far more open-minded when it comes to music, and less fixated on what's trending at the moment. There should be room for everyone to live and eat on the Billboard charts, and one genre of music should not have to take a backseat because another is currently popular. With Frank's debut set to land the #2 spot this week (with 125-135,000 copies sold on iTunes alone), and even though Frank's sound is more alt-electro-soul than your standard R&B, he may well be on his way to being the new king of rhythm & blues.
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