Hip-Hop and R&B Is Not Dead!

We hear it all the time; in fact, we probably have said it many times ourselves without even thinking twice. That redundant statement I’m blabbing about is, “Hip-Hop /or R&B is dead.” Some say that all of the proclamations of Hip-Hop being dead started after Nas released his single “Hip-Hop is Dead” and his 8th studio album that shared the same titled in 2006.

M.Y's Perfect 10: The Top 10 Fantasy R&B Collaborations

Just like Baseball and Football fanatics, we R&B music lovers have an idea of who we would like to see collaborate together on a song. Now, some have suffered the fate of assuming because two singers are kind of a big deal at the moment that they would be ideal on a track. I, on the other, believe that the secret to a great collaboration relies on the artists’ vocal skills, their overall talent, and appeal. Here are M.Y.’s fantasy collabo picks.

Alicia Keys & John Legend

I have been patiently waiting for these two to get together to pour their hearts out on a track to no avail. So, since they haven’t done it yet here’s a little wish in the sky that they will come to their senses and give the fans what they want. They both play the piano and have soulful sultry voices. I could so see them performing their song during the Grammy’s with their pianos facing one another.

Chrisette Michele & Ryan Leslie

Chrisette Michele’s voice is divine and has that special hint of the classic R&B sound to it. Ryan Leslie is a superb producer/singer/songwriter whose voice is ultra original and classy; this match would be one fit for heaven. Chrisette’s adlibs on their track would be ideal.

Mary J. Blige & Keisha Cole

Some have said that Keisha Cole is like Mary J. Blige when Mary first came out. The similarities are clear; when Mary came out with What’s The 411 she had a style to her similar to an around-the-way girl and so did Keisha when she dropped “I Changed My Mind”, multi-colored hair and all. Eventually, Mary grew into her womanhood emerging as a fabulous Diva and Keisha did the same with a change of attitude and style. Keisha has proven that she can handle her own alongside a strong vocal contender like Monica so I know that Keisha on a track with Mary J. Blige would harmonize well.


Beyonce & Rihanna

Some of you are probably thinking, “Beyonce and Rihanna?” Yes, I would love to see these two on a track together. Yes, Beyonce has the tendency to out sing others even when she’s not trying and Rihanna's vocal stability is not the strongest, but I would be interested in seeing what these two could come up with. Their styles seem to be similar these days; touching on the edgy side of R&B. Plus it would be great to see the Diva’s battle it out Dreamgirls style!

Amerie & Ne-Yo

I have been waiting for a ballad from Amerie for some time now and I think that Ne-Yo can bring it out of her. Besides the fact that he is an amazing songwriter, whenever he is on a track with a female singer he knows how to respect her space, giving her the appropriate leeway to get her voice heard; this was made clear by his duet with Rihanna.

Solange & Melanie Fiona

Melanie Fiona, in my opinion, has one of the most soulful voices in the genre today. Solange oozes soul; would it not make sense to have them on a track together? Solange’s edgy style would mix well with Melanie’s contemporary. Judging by their albums, they both have a fondness for the vintage classics making this duet a must.

Keri Hilson & Maxwell

We all know that anything with Maxwell is alright with us. Keri Hilson has a light and fluffy sound to her and so does Maxwell. Hearing them duet together about love would definitely qualify as baby making music plus their sounds are just too sexy.

John Legend & Ne-Yo

There really is no explanation for this collaboration. John Legend brings the music and Ne-Yo can give the words. This could be a modern day Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder “Ebony and Ivory” but would will be more along the lines of “Chocolate and Cream”.

Ashanti & Trey Songz
Ashanti’s vocal skills have improved a lot over the years. To me, Ashanti could always carry a tune (she just let her nerves get in the way) but according to the general public her voice needed some work. Besides the fact that these two would simply make a cute couple, I think that their voices together would be just as cute. I would be most interested in the video for said fantasy collaboration!

LeToya Luckett & Mario

When I interviewed LeToya a while back, she mentioned that she would not mind doing a duet with Mario. When she first said it I didn’t see the brighter picture but now that I look at it, a duet between the two of them would be pretty cool. A lot of people sleep on Mario’s vocal skills and I could say the same for LeToya. I believe if they hopped on a track together their voices together could make some sweet tunes and garner the attention they deserve.

Who knows, maybe a few of these fantasy collaborations can go on to receive Grammy awards someday; hey, it could happen.

Top 10 R&B Songs of the 90's

I compiled this list of Top R&B Songs of the 90's to deal with this 90's nostalgia I still can't seem to shake, maybe it has something to do with my upcoming born day.

Make sure you head on over to my Examiner R&B column to see if some of your favorite songs made the list and if it didn't feel free to list your favorites.

Judging from Hip-Hop/R&B today, what can we say about the future of music?

If you haven't noticed yet, I am an extreme music fan and am as equally opinionated about the genre. Music is a huge foundation of the person that I am today. I listen to music when I wake up in the morning (my alarm is the radio), my iPod stay running out of life, and I am a fiend for brand new music; meaning, I want to hear it the minute it gets burned on a disk.

With that said, I really needed to ask where is music going. I have visited this question more times than I can count. I have asked friends, family, and strangers what their thought on music is in it's current state and the reactions, naturally, are mixed. The moto for an artist these days is to be as different as possible. This of course is a major relief seeing that just a couple of years ago everyone wanted to be the "next" somebody. But I have reason to believe that a lot of artists are taking it a little too far.


I may be digging deep here but it still is worth mentioning; while these artists are out here saying that they are "hustling" trying to make their money to "eat" or they are trying oh so hard (sometimes too hard) to be "different" and "unique", they are failing to see the long term effect of their selfish actions. And when they are not doing the listed, they are losing themselves in their celebrity. Stay with me now. At this point in time, I can only use myself as an example. The first time I fell in love with music was when I was just a kid in pampers.

My parents were avid music listeners and played music from sun up to sun down on Sundays. They played Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey (her 1990-1996 work), Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder (my fav!), Rolls Royce, Run DMC, and many many more; and what I loved most about the music was that you could tell that the artists words and unique styles came from the soul.


When these singers recorded their music, they recorded it with passion and overall empathy for their listeners. They wrote or co-wrote (even bought) songs that they knew -not thought- their target market would love. Their music was universally loved and admired and most importantly understood. Today, I have to say, you will notice a complete difference. To at least like a song, you have to hear it constantly and if you don't like it, you are told that you are either a "hater" or that you wouldn't understand it's sound because you are not from the geographical location where it originated from...really?! I never stepped foot in Memphis, Tennessee and I love me some Aretha Franklin like no other.

Is asking for quality music too much? I would like to hear a song one time and know that I love it instead of have it grow on me. I am not saying that all music is terrible, I'm just saying that the bad is starting to out weigh the good.


It could be that I am old and need to get put on to the new, that is of course if you feel a 20-something year old is too old to know the new, but help me out with this; are you comfortable knowing that their are children right now being inspired by the music we can't hardly stand today? I didn't think so. Times are changing but good music will always be good music; and most importantly, classic music can never get old and boring.

There are the some out there that say I may be taking music a little too seriously and music is here for fun. I have to disagree with those that say such silly things and point out that music is serious, forget what you heard.

Have you ever experienced one of the roughest days in your life where you felt like you were going to lose it only to have your favorite song come on the radio and take you away from those thoughts that were bringing you down? And even though that feeling lasted for 3 1/2 minutes, you knew that it made you feel a heck of a lot different even better? That's how serious it is. Basketball player Stephon Marbury is probably a perfect example of this, no?



I'm still not feeling you after your stint with the Knicks Stephon but moving on...

A person's like for music of course depends on their own personal taste, but what happens when the general public has rated their material a fail? Are we still just all haters?

I know one thing, I am hoping that a majority of the young one's that are aspiring to be entertainers one day are looking to the old school for inspiration; if not, we may experience a not so sweet case of deja vu in the coming future.