What is PBR&B?
I know. I KNOWOOOWWWWW!🙄 When you came to my new 2019 site relaunch you were like "WHATS PBR&B?!?!?!?!" 🤷🏽♀️
Well, I've been trying to put my music in a box, basically lol
Not because I want to but because I know I'll be able to have those who'd love my type of music find me easier in this booming age of technology where you can find anything and anyone who is searchable.
My FAMs know that (FAM is short for family because I'd rather have my "fans" be fanatics over Christ & The Creator rather than me..Im just a vessel & servant) I'm a Hebrew Israelite Truth Music Singer-Songwriter, Recording & Performing Artist in the broad music genre umbrella of of Hip-Hop and R&B. In simpler terms...my music's foundation is biblical.
So to niche it down, I've come to find that I'm essentially a PBR&B artist...let me explain...
I've done some research and some listening to some of my biggest records, they all teeter towards the sub-genre of R&B and Soul named PBR&B or commonly known as Alternative RnB.
Here's a brief history of the niche genre PBR&B and what its about:
PBR&B (also called R-neg-B Hipster R&B or Alternative R&B) is a lo-fi musical genre which stylistic origins are derived from R&B, alternative hip hop, hip hop soul, rock, emo R&B, experimental R&B, indie R&B, and sometimes electronic dance music. PBR&B or Alternative R&B is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B, and was also a coined term to market Neo Soul artists in the 90s. Birthed in the USA & Canada, it's been about 3 decades old.
It emerged in the late 2000s and did not have an official name to it, so people called it Alternative R&B until 2011 when the term PBR&B (an abbreviation of Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer most associated with one of the hottest R&B movements going, and Rhythm & Blues) came on Twitter. Some notable artist include Solange, Beyonce, Miguel, Kendrick Lamar, Jhene Aiko, Drake, Janaelle Monae, The Weekend, Frank Ocean, H.E.R., and Ari Lennox to name some popular mainstream ones.
The PBR&B music genre fills negative space with echo-heavy beats, a ton of synthesizers and filtered drums (in other words, lo-fi sounds), PBR&B takes inspiration from Prince who made stripped-down R&B popular ("Kiss" for example), but unlike Prince, PBR&B artists deviate from R&B’s usual diet of love, love loss, and sex. Of course these artists sing of these subjects, but they explore other topics in equally explicit detail: spirituality, and other personal philosophies.
PBR&B artists tend to search for deeper meaning. They’re soul-searchers singing soul.
Whatever you want to call the movement, PBR&B dominates the radio and looks like it’s here to stay.
Back to the blog:
So there you have it! Cool right?!?!? So if any producers are thinking of creating tracks for me, or any other PBR&B artist for that matter, they have direction. You're very welcome beloved music producers, 😁 lol
My personal influences growing up were Soul & Neo Soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Tony Braxton, Motown Music Artists in general, Mali Music, India Arie, Musiq Soulchild, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott to name a few (who arguably can be PBR&B artists in their own right).
But these popular artists I'm about to list below, and their songs (please excuse some of the unrighteous content you will hear 🙄), including those of my fav artists above, give or take, will help you get a feel of the small and up and coming PBR&B genre I have come to find that my music is naturally categorized in:
Stevie Wonder is my favorite artist. I love his songwriting! Here's "I Never Knew You'd Leave in Summer"
Anita Baker is another favorite artist of mine because she writes her songs. Here's "Sweet Love"
Kendrick Lamar Practically all his music because its hard to choose from his catalog, but I'll pick these two of my favs of his: "Poetic Justice" & "I"
CLEO SOL I stumbled on this song while cooking and I stopped what i was doing to add it to my playlist. Love this vibe to this song: "Why Don't You"
Solange Knowles Practically all her music, but my fav of hers are: "Don't Touch My Hair" & "I Decided"
Beyonce I love her drive and zeal for her craft and the way she out does herself in her own lane...Here are some my favs of hers: "Find Your Way Back" & "Love Drought"
Jhene Aiko Practically all her music, but my fav of hers is: "For My Brother"
Janelle Monae Practically all her music but my fav of hers is: "Say You'll Go" & "Primetime"
Miguel Remember "Sure Thing" & "Adorn"?
The Weekend I love his "Earned It" song
Frank Ocean I love his "Thinkin Bout You" song:
Drake I enjoy his music...here's two of my favs: "Hold On" & "Take Care"
Teyana Taylor''s song "Gonna Love Me" is my favorite of hers.
H.E.R. She's an awesome musician & artist and she encourages me to get better at playing my piano & guitar! Here are my favs of hers: "Focus", "I'm Not OK", "Feel Away", "Carried Away" & "Best Part"
And those are to name the heavy hitters of this genre in the order I believe is the MOST PBR&B from top to bottom. And they are to name a few. Other artists may have a song or two in the PBR&B genre in their album, but I believe those above really nail the sound (at least the sound I'm going for because I love the production of those songs above...hint hint ...for my next album 😉).
So there ya have it people! I'm a R&B-Soul & Hip Hop PBR&B artist! 🤷🏽♀️
And if you're an artist yourself, you might come to find out that you're under that genre too after reading this blog! YOU'RE WELCOME VERY MUCH LOL
Shalom fam.
Peace, Love & Blessings,
Zemira 🕎 ✍🏾 🎶🎤
Ps. Did you learn something new? Which song was your FAVORITE? Please do share below in the comments!
Thanks for sharing & commenting on this blog!
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