Japanese r n b
 

Okay rnb isn't really my turf but I had fun watching this Swedish episode about Japanese r'n'b:

There's a mix of Swedish, Danish, Japanese and English here.

I love the explanation one of the female singers has about "sexiness in japanese r'n'b music". Why it's growing. I really had a thought about that before watching ("they don't have the ass"), then she really puts the same, albeit more delicate, words about that.


And the rapper in the end is a winner too.

Oh cool, this was the first time I heard JAMOSA speak in English! :D I like her voice and some of her songs. And, I didn't know much about Reggae Disco Rockers, but that's cool that the vocalist is fluent, too!

Hmm, I don't know very much about Japanese R&B, but I like some of the singers. :)

my gosh. Japanese make-up artists are superb. They can make Japanese people look like ANYONE. Those girls in miss foxi or something look so much like the Destiny's Child trio! Great. I need to hire one so that I can look like SR.

I was seriously about to tell you that you looked a lot like Shiina Ringo anyway, but then I once again realized that your avatar isn't you. :whacko:

Hahhhahaha XD I wanted to say--but didn't know where--that I think you have the funniest avatar. :lol:

...Hmm, does anyone here like R&B? o_o

*carves a big chunk of silence from the air*

*adds some ketchup*

Mmmmm delicious


I guess R&B is not a normal addiction for japophiles.

*adds some cheese*

Hmm, I think some people here like Namie Amuro. I don't really like her voice, but I haven't tried many of her songs. I love Crystal Kay and DOUBLE, and Emyli and m-flo, if they count as R&B. o_o

I can't wait for Kuri's new album!! >_<

I've been occasionaly listening to Amuro but she never was all that.

Kuri? I wait for Buriguri. :)

Hheheh, Kuri is Crystal Kay's nickname. I wait for booth!! XD

Ohh. Are you sure you mean booth and not booty? Cause that's what R&B is about, isn't it. As noted above, I low that singer's comment on that issue, I think it's like 14:10 or 12:10 into the program. She seems sad that Japanese people don't have as much booty as foreign people because they eat too much healthy food like sushi. :-]

She said that they're getting there, though!! :D But JAMOSA already has a very voluptuous body, anyway. @_@

(And, I meant 'both'!! XD)

How do you define RnB anyway? Is the UK Craig David/Artful Doger thing also considered RnB? I like that kind of RnB as opposed to the US Destiny's Child type. In fact, I hate how those RnB/Rap people dress, I find it very vulgar.

I used to think Namie Amuro was really good (and I do still like some of her old stuff), but now I just think of her as another singer who chose the wrong musical path.

Since some of you seem to know a bit about Japanese RnB.... Are the artists interviewed in this show actually "some of the biggest RnB stars in Japan" as the show claimed when I read about it? Cause every time they say things like that about foreign music, it always smells kind of fishy to me <_< I mean, why would the SUPERSTARS of Japanese RnB want to be on a small Swedish show?

I'm not that into R&B but the simple answer is probably: they are not the biggest names at all.

Very few japanese RnB artists manage to get some success. Besides, 90% of Japanese RnB production is cheap a copy of American RnB, and that's not exactly the kind of music japanese people are really into.

In fact, most things that have been labelled as RnB weren't. I even remember BoA being called a RnB singer.

I don't know how to define R&B, but I also don't like the revealing outfits. @_@ I was so disappointed when LISA left m-flo and started dressing like that. T_T

Hmm, I think Foxy MissQ is pretty popular, even though I haven't heard any of their music. I think JAMOSA is pretty big in the 'real' R&B scene, and I've also heard of Miho Brown here and there and have only heard of Reggae Disco Rockers' remixes. I forgot who else showed up in the show. o_o

Yeah, I assumed Foxi MissQ was pop. o_o

I doubt so. I assume 90% of the Japanese never heard of them :P They never did any TV show and they never reached 10.000 sold singles with any of their singles (it's usually around 5K/6K).

It's no surprise. Because, whenever the topic is about Japan no one really knows anything, and moreso when the topic concerns music and Japan. The tv programming editors here just blindly say "okay we'll take it", because they really have no clue, and obviously very often don't the culture tv shows have any idea eiter. Which means that guys going with a camera to Japan can film a rock for one week and then sell it here saying "this is it in Japan".

Yeah, and the gap between the way Japanese music market is seen in the western countries and what it is really is huge. What sells the most and has been the most successful for several years now in Japan, the boys band from Johnny's, aren't what most japanese-music-listening western people usually listen.

In fact that's no problem, but it really pisses me off when people come and say "Yeah Hitomi Shimatani/sifow (or other craps that don't do well in japan) is Japanese music, that's what Japanese people listen to".

hey, I'm interested in j-soul, i'll take this file, thanks a bunch johnny.

And I'll chime in on a question asked a LONG time ago, before this thread was buried. Just riingo asked, what is r&b. In a technical sense its a simple music (dervived from blues) with the chord structure being composed of 1,4, and 5. Rock was born from r&b, little richie was one of the pioneers of rock as a genre. But in a more causal sense r&b has changed depending on the era. In my opinion, broken up into 3 areas, old school, 90's and current. In my opinion the major changes have been in subject matter. Old school r&b is allllll about baby making music, its about love and sex, but you have it put nicely. Most noticeable was the falsetto and full voiced singers of that era. In my opinion the best that ever did it. We have no current singers that could come within 100 feet of the o'jays or the isely brothers. Thats all pre 80's. But in the 80's r&b started having more dancing, ala bobby brown (lol, that guy), but the invent of rap started influencing r&b. Then r&b started getting more rp -like, then eventually progressed to where it started getting like dance music, like r&b + pop, its weird,like j-tizzy (justin timberlake) and omarion, lol and people like 112 even started dancing I think, lol. Man, its funny actually. But now r&b is like r&b + rap, or r&b + dance. Hard to explain with words, but if I let you see the music videos you would understand.

I'm not that knowledgeable in r&b, these are just my observations growing up in that culture. I am more of a rap connoisseur. Like-wise I haven't listened to much j-r&b either. But in my opinion very few j r&b singers come close to the real thing. (lol not that thats bad, lol). Actuallly utada hikru's cubic-u album is probably the closet thing I've heard to an asian emulating r&b, of course that album was done in america, but still it was pretty close.

Well to me, j-r&b is derived from the african american culture. It emulates it. Much like the wapanese emulate the j-otaku culture. So its natural that j-r&b artists have a distinvely non-japanese taste in clothes. Badtzmaru comented that the clothes are distasteful. Justriingo also said the cothing i vulgar,lol. Man, my tastes are so different, but once again, I was raised in that culture. Also most that make or listen to r&b are interested in african american culture as well. Therefore their tastes are probably a bit different from the average japanese, or non-japanese interested in japan. Hey from what I've observed, nobody likes kokojou's in japan, lol.So its undertandable to dislike their style, lol. (dsclaimer :jigen is not saying thay everyone who makes or listens to j-r&b is a kokojou!)

Also I can name a large amount of r&b singers with no booty, the most popular probably being aaliyah and mya. Whitney had no booty either. Now video hoes i rap videos have ass, but big booties are not synonomus with r&b.

Oh yea, I love the new namie, the quuen of hip-hop,huh? Man, I'm really digging her song sexy girl. I've been killing it on stepmania :) I will link to that song, even though its not r&b.

sexy namie

hip-pop is a closer term for the current state of r&b. Wow I've rambled on haven't I? I just meant to thank johnny, but look what I've done. Feel free to ignore this post, lol.

Hey I looked on wikipedia, they have better answers than me about r&b, I'll link you. Everything I said above was lies, lol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%26b

It's funny this thread was revived. I'm listening Utada's "Deep River" at the moment and it's the first time since... I don't know, more than a year probably!
I think Tokyo Nights and A.S.A.P are very close to standard american R'n'B :)
This is such a great album btw, I've missed it <3

Thanks for the rambling jigenbakuda! It was interesting to read :)

Yup, but somehow to me it was always RnB with "a twist"... it certainly has that sound, yet it's totally different than, say, Misia. At least in my ears. Deep River was where she started to mature, and Exodus saw her in full bloom.
I'm looking forward to her new album, but I kind of mistrust the single's name, "Come Back To Me". It sounds like a song that really wants to break into top 40 to please the execs after the first flop, so I hope I'm wrong.

Digging up this thread because most people seem to have kind of a foul view of RnB. It's not everything but original RnB certainly isn't focused dirty things or whatever. A lot of songs on Utada Hikaru's "First Love" is considered original RnB (shortly after is when it started to lose it's originality and substance)

Groove Theory - Tell me

Loose Ends - Hangin on a string

eep. Deleted off-topic rant about people who don't like RnB when you do but they won't let you get a word in edgeways.

Such people exist.

I love "Tell Me". Amel Larrieux is great.