Pale Soul

Just watched JT, sorry, Justin Timberlake to those that aren't in the loop, kill it on the Grammy's, when a thought came to me.  I know what you're thinking...this fool and his thoughts, but wait, this one might actually be conversational.

What the fuck happened to R&B music?

What Justin just did was simplistic, but yet refreshing.  The song had melody and didn't go over people's head.  Artist seem to be more concerned about making a splash, than with making quality music.  After getting blessed with artists like Alicia Keys, John Legend, Bruno Mars, and Amy Winehouse, it seemed like R&B had a bright future.  Amy died and the other two got rich, and it seemed progress stopped.

Let's look at the relevant artists of today.

• Chris Brown: His public troubles seem to outshine his musical output, and his musical output is formulaic and predictable.  He has all the talent in the world, but he seems to have found the "formula" and is sticking to it. (NeYo seems to have fallen into this trap).
• Rhianna: See above.
• Frank Ocean: New, refreshing, sometimes a little too weird.
• Miguel: See above.
• Trey Songz: His music lacks content.  His songs sound like he was digging through R. Kelly's dumpster circa 1998, recycled his throwaway songs, but can't deliver them with a fraction of the quality that Kelly would have.  
• The Weeknd: Makes me want to cry in the fetal position.

I would rather listen to classic D'angelo, Mary J, or Jodeci before any of today's whipper-snappers.  Nobody can just go up there and sing a song.  There has to be a ton of theatrics and features.  If I see one more song featuring Rick Ross, French Montana, 2 Chainz, or any other fly by night rapper, I will snap.

While I do enjoy some of Frank Ocean's and Miguel's material, the rest sounds all the same to me.  While I'm on the subject, what happened to that neo-soul movement?  Musiq, Jill Scott, & Les Nubianes  come back, link up with The Roots and show these kids how its done.

Having said that, for those of you that think I'm just a snarky, opinionated prick, prove me wrong.  Point me in the right direction of quality new R&B, make suggestions.

That is all.