Filed by KOSU News in US News.
August 18, 2011

Rhythm-and-blues groups ruled the airwaves in the 1990s, topping music charts and attracting devotees around the world. En Vogue, TLC, Boyz II Men, and others like them defined the music of the times.

But as the decade ended, so did the popularity of R&B groups. Today, they’ve largely faded from the charts.

TheRoot.com assistant editor Akoto Ofori-Atta recently wrote about this phenomenon for the news website. She tells Tell Me More guest host Tony Cox that En Vogue’s recent concert in Washington, D.C., inspired her to write the article.

“When I was sitting in the audience and I was looking out there, I realized, ‘Wow, this doesn’t exist anymore.’ There are no R&B groups that are currently on the pop charts, and there was something very nostalgic about the moment,” Ofori-Atta says. “There was something even a little dated about what I was watching, so I wanted to explore further.”

Why Exactly Did R&B Groups Disappear?

Ofori-Atta says the record industry has changed, and it boils down to mathematics. She says bringing a solo artist to market is less expensive than bringing a group to market. For example, hair and makeup for Beyonce Knowles is one thing, but hair and makeup for Knowles plus Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams — members of Destiny’s Child — means the cost triples.

She says the 1990s saw boy bands flourish to the extent that many considered the trend nauseating. That might have contributed to public fatigue toward music groups.

Plus, Ofori-Atta says, the advent of social media allows for individuality. Artists can directly interact with audiences on Twitter and Facebook like never before. For example, she says, it’s tough to picture Boyz II Men interacting through Twitter as an entity in the same way Rihanna can.

Record labels often look for a leader before signing a group, and that leader was usually the one who broke out to pursue a solo career, Ofori-Atta says. She attributes that observation to Shanti Das, a 20-year veteran in the industry who has worked with Motown.

“I think that record labels, intentionally or unintentionally, groom the breakout star for inevitable solo success,” Ofori-Atta says.

Without Groups, What Is R&B Missing?

R&B today is missing harmony — the grand spectacle of hearing four or five people singing different parts together, Ofori-Atta says, adding that these days, people harmonize with themselves by singing multiple octaves of the same verse.

Ofori-Atta says that R&B groups will return when audiences are ready for them; they must want such groups back. She sees promising potential in Ahmir, a group that has attracted phenomenal success on YouTube.

“This is a group of very talented guys,” she says. “In speaking with their manager, they’ve also had some difficulties getting signed to a major label. But the talent is there — that’s not the question. In speaking with them, they’re just waiting their turn. They know things cycle in and out of pop music.” [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]