*The debate about the current status of R&B still rages, with some insisting it is dead while others maintaining it is not. Sean “Diddy” Combs is not the originator of the debate, but he sure added petrol to the fire when he loudly wondered about the current state of the genre.
In recent years, music lovers have openly wondered if R&B has the same powerful influence in the industry as it used to do in the 1980s up to the 2000s. While there are still great R&B artists churning out good music and who derive praises, Diddy still maintained that the genre is hardly alive and well.
However, Diddy later clarified his statements when he realized he had reignited a fire on social media. And that’s where Usher comes in, breathing fire. In an interview with Bevy Smith on SiriusXM’s “Bevelations” show, Ursh reacted to Diddy’s controversial assertion that R&B is dead.
“When I hear people say stuff like, ‘What happened to R&B?’ or ‘R&B is dead,’ it’s not, you just don’t understand the basis of it,” Usher retorted. “How can something come out 20-some-odd years ago and all of a sudden have a resurgence in a way that people just want to talk about it, sing it, enjoy it?”
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Usher added that without R&B there would be no hip-hop.
“R&B is timeless. It ain’t gonna go away,” he added. “So when I do hear people, even like Puff saying R&B is dead, he sounds nuts to me. It sounds crazy. You know, especially knowing he was a pioneer in understanding and beneficiary of it. The source that is R&B created the breath of life that was breathed into hip-hop. It wouldn’t be. There would be no hip-hop if there were not R&B, so it’s blasphemous to hear people say anything, especially hip-hop cats, to say anything about R&B.”
But Bevy came to the defense of Diddy by proposing that he was only trying to promote his upcoming R&B album, so he likely didn’t really mean what he said.
That explanation quite didn’t calm Usher.
“If you really want to make something happen, I say celebrate it more than decline it,” Usher said. “If anything, why don’t you take two minutes to really recognize the cats that are doing and give them that recognition and celebration?”
For Usher, all music is rooted in R&B so there is no way the genre can die. He also took the opportunity to show love to his “little brother” Chris Brown, as well as Justin Bieber, Dr. Dre, and Pharrell.
“When I heard [Bieber] do songs like ‘Peaches,’ he gets it. It lives forever,” he added.
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He also commented on Diddy’s forthcoming hits battle with Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta while still blaming Diddy for the renewed “R&B is dead” discussion.
“Y’all don’t live without R&B. Neither one of y’all,” he repeated over and over. “If this a thirst trap moment or you trolling, keep that sh*t in the comment section. I’m not fu**ing with none of that.”
Chris Brown, on his part, has also come out to defend R&B. Last week, he said, “THESE NI**AS SAYING R&B IS DEAD??? WATCH YOUR MOUTH NI**A… IT AINT DEAD,” he said. “ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE DEAF TO WHAT Real MUSIC IS… DAMN NEAR EVERY RAPPER WANNA BE A SINGER.”
This conversation was out of love and me purposely wanting to bring attention to R&B! It was something that I saw the effect of the Hip hop and R&B balance. That balance is honesty and realness when it comes together, melodies, vulnerability and most importantly LOVE!!!
— LOVE (@Diddy) August 20, 2022
So what did Diddy do following his controversial statements on R&B? Well, he made it clear he didn’t intend to offend anyone.
In a Twitter post, he said, “It’s been 3 days of the debate…This is the clarity of the message … It’s not disrespect to anybody. This conversation was out of love and me purposely wanting to bring attention to R&B! It was something that I saw the effect of the Hip hop and R&B balance. That balance is honesty and realness when it comes together, melodies, vulnerability and most importantly LOVE!!!”
So, is the debate finally laid to rest? Let’s wait and see.
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