For my second official post, I wanted to tell the story of how my love of r&b began, but first, I must say that r&b comes a little more natural to me because I feel the rhythm and soul that's in it a little more than I do when I listen to hip hop. I like how r&b really touches the inner part of my soul in a way that hip hop never will. Don't get me wrong, I love hip hop, but in saying that, I must also say that I am really just a soul man at heart.
All that being said, my father always hated anything that was made by anyone that didn't do country. He didn't even care much for Led Zeppelin, except for Led Zeppelin II. When I became a big fan in the late 80s, he would tell me that all their albums sucked except that one. Yet, this was a man who played music, yet wasn't open minded enough to digest anything outside of the box.
Anyway, it was around the early 80s. I couldn't have been more than 6 years old, and my mom and dad would have parties and drink and play a huge stack of 45 records (and they were a lot smaller than the 45s of today). This was before my mom found God, so she was a lot more free spirited and a little less uptight.I remember hearing some late stage disco records at that time, which I kinda liked. Hell I was only 5 or 6 at the time.
Then it must've been late 82 or 83 when my sister came home with a cassette copy of Thriller. I remember hearing Billie Jean, Human Nature, and PYT and thinking, now this is some real music. You have to remember that that was around the time that when you listened to the radio there were a lot of r&b songs played alongside the pop hits of the time. Remember Michael's Off The Wall? I remember hearing songs from that later on as I was finding different things and hearing Rock With You and just loving that song.
Thriller started my love affair with r&b but it didn't end there because after Off The Wall, Michael became a real pop artist. He was looking to be bigger than everyone in music back then, and he was. He was so larger than life that the music didn't seem real sometimes.
What really started my love affair with r&b was an album by his little sister Janet that came out in 86 called Control, and it was all over the radio at that time. The first song I really remember hearing was When I Think of You and I just totally loved it. It had this carefree vibe about it and was such a simple song but was just so unique and appealing. I would sit by the radio, not so patiently at times, just so I could hit record and get it on tape. Of course there were more singles (6 of the 9 songs on the album were released as singles). However, in mid 1987, she released "The Pleasure Principle." I remember hearing it and thinking wow this shit is hot!!! I remember we didn't have cable at the time but there was a show called Friday Night Videos on NBC that aired every Friday after David Letterman. One night they aired the video and I was taken aback just by how cool Janet was. That video just screamed cool. It was the way she carried it off in her own way and on her own terms. To this day, that's my favorite song of hers.
The difference between Janet and Michael, for me personally, was that Janet did it her way, and that in itself was enough for me. As a 12 year old kid, it kinda made me want to tell my parents that I was in control, or at least as in control as a 12 year old could be. That album just stood out for me, and thinking back I guess I had no idea of what it would inspire in the next decade.
The best experiences with music I've ever had were when I dug around and found stuff on my own. My sister didn't have time to spend on me anymore, because that same year, she moved out and got married, so I was left to find music on my own. I remember years later, quite a few years in fact, and looking through cassettes at Wal Mart and coming across Aaliyah's "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number." I bought that even though I didn't know who she was and taking that home and thinking she was cool like Janet. Then in 96, she dropped One In A Million. That was an "it" album for me. I literally played the hell out of both those Aaliyah cassettes. She had a smootness just like Janet that just spoke to me.
This may not be a groundbreaking moment like my story about N.W.A., but it's still unique. Janet and Aaliyah had a similar impact to the boys from Compton. Their albums are still played regularly and they are both forever icons to me.
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