From Levert’s soothing vocals crooning about playing Casanova roles on wax to Mariah Carey’s mellifluous midtempo ballads, female singers dominated R&B music in the 1990s. Erykah Badu made her mark with her debut single “On & On”, an amalgamation of R&B, jazz and soul that stands the test of time.
As artists integrated regional elements into their productions, New Jack Swing gave way to more subdued melodies that eventually gave rise to the 90s R&B music style.
Brandy & Monica
Brandy and Monica were two of the most beloved R&B young women of the 1990s, charting both duets and solo efforts with immense popularity and drawing headlines of potential rivalry between them. Both artists later dismissed those rumors and allowed their music speak for itself by participating in a 21-round battle on Verzuz livestream social livestream platform on Monday night.
Rematch shatters records, with over 1.2 million viewers watching both superstars compete. Monica and Mekhi Phifer reprise their 1998 “The Boy is Mine” video performance before Brandy introduces her club starter “Anything to Find You,” sampling Biggie Smalls’ classic song, “Who Shot Ya.”
Brandy and Monica are revered R&B ladies known for their romantic love songs and are among the most influential R&B musicians of all time. Their music influenced future artists like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears; additionally they helped create a new wave of R&B that integrated hip-hop influences.
Sisters With Voices (SWV), one of the most influential R&B female groups from the 1990s, is widely considered one of the best female R&B groups of its time. Famed for their harmonies and accessible lyrics that resonated with fans, SWV’s song “Weak” demonstrated perfectly how they blended R&B and hip-hop elements together.
SWV never reached the same levels of success as their male counterparts LL Cool J and The Neptunes; nonetheless, they remain one of the most successful R&B bands of all time.
The group released its debut album to critical acclaim in 1992 and their hits such as “This Is How We Do It” and “Don’t Let Go (Love)” became timeless R&B classics. Not only were their tunes unforgettable, but the members were also beloved for their sultry looks as well as sexy songs like “This Is How We Do It”. However, even amid controversy surrounding sexually suggestive dance moves and lyrics written about by members, and continued to remain favorites among R&B fans around the globe despite scandals surrounding them – many continue to enjoy listening to these timeless classics today!
Sisters With Voices
SWV was one of the most beloved female groups from the 90s, thanks to their catchy R&B tunes that touched on love, heartache and social justice – each song conveying both of those emotions with emotive harmonies and relatable lyrics that made their songs unforgettable. “Weak” remains an evergreen classic that can still be heard today!
En Vogue was one of the most beloved female groups from the 90s. With multiple hits such as “Touch It” and “Don’t Let Go (Love), En Vogue made their mark as iconic female artists who could make fans cry with soulful music.
R&B was an immensely popular genre during the 1990s, and it’s easy to see why. Some of R&B’s most influential artists pushed boundaries of sound further and further with each new release – innovations which can still be heard today in contemporary R&B from Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd among many other stars who pay their dues by drawing inspiration from iconic sounds from that decade and paying their respects to those that paved the way.
Alongside these artists, there were also other talented R&B singers during this era such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, En Vogue and Toni Braxton who all helped shape its sound.
These artists not only crafted their own signature melodic sound, but they also introduced fresh elements into R&B genre. Mixing traditional R&B with pop, funk and hip-hop, they created unique styles that appealed to a broad audience.
Erykah Badu first gained recognition with her critically-acclaimed album “Baduizm,” featuring jazz, blues and rap elements to form its unique sound – it became an overnight success! Badu also contributed her vocal talents to several popular rap tracks by artists like Puff Daddy and The Notorious B.I.G – performing alongside them for mutual harmonization purposes.
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan became one of the most celebrated male R&B artists of the 1990s after becoming best-known for his 1995 hit single “This Is How We Do It,” which held onto its number 1 position for seven weeks on both pop and R&B charts. Following its success, Jordan released several more albums.
He appeared in numerous films such as The Nutty Professor and The Fighting Temptations. Later in his career he started his own church where he is widely respected as a minister.
As New Jack Swing emerged in the early 90s, many critics suggested it was reinventing R&B; their worry being that its essence might be losing out to commercialism and becoming oversaturated with songs about love. Yet that wasn’t necessarily the case as plenty of artists made their names with romantic ballads or lyrics about longing.
Sisters With Voices (SWV), was an R&B group from Atlanta which became an influential presence in their genre. Hits such as “Weak” showcase how well this band integrated R&B and hip hop into their music, with beautiful harmonies and relatable lyrics becoming staples in their sound.
Donnell Jones rose to stardom as an R&B artist during the late 1990s, thanks to his beautiful vocals and emotive lyrics that captured audiences’ hearts and his passion for music – qualities reflected in each track he recorded.
Although no longer recording artist, Donnell Jones still performs at his church and hosts a podcast where he discusses both his faith and journey into R&B music.
The 1990s marked the last decade where R&B, not hip-hop, reigned supreme as the driving force in black music. Innovation flourished as New Jack Swing gave way to Neo Soul and further experimentation with studio technology’s rapid pace. Ballads such as Whitney Houston’s iconic “I Will Always Love You” and Boyz II Men/Mariah Carey collaboration “One Sweet Day” held steady atop chart lists; upbeat tracks like Blackstreet’s swaggering “No Diggity”/Janet Jackson “Together Again” also reached high popularity levels during this decade.
En Vogue
Few female bands could match En Vogue when it came to hit singles in the 90s; few could compete with En Vogue’s hit-laden song catalog such as Hold On My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It), Free Your Mind and many others. Although there have been lineup changes through time, En Vogue continues to produce music and remain a prominent R&B presence.
En Vogue was formed in Oakland, California in 1989 as a result of Foster and McElroy’s vision for an up-and-coming girl group. Following auditions held, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson were selected as members. At first referred to simply as “For You”, En Vogue eventually settled on En Vogue after finding that another vocal group already owned this name.
Born to Sing was released as their debut album in 1990 and quickly became an enormous hit, giving rise to hit singles such as Hold On and Whatta Man (a collaboration with hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa which showcased both groups’ talents). Whatta Man remains a classic today.
Funky Divas was En Vogue’s 1992 follow-up album and achieved multi-platinum status, producing hit singles such as My Lovin’ (You’re Never Goin’ Get It) and Giving Him Something He Can Feel which reached number one and two spots respectively on the US Hot 100 charts, Love Don’t Love You and Free Your Mind also achieving top ten positions on US pop charts.
En Vogue was distinct among girl groups because its songs didn’t shy away from difficult topics. From telling your partner to let loose with Giving Him Something He Can Feel or telling haters off with Free Your Mind, their ladies didn’t mince words with their lyrics.
Once they released Masterpiece Theatre in 2000, the ladies toured extensively across North America and Europe. However, due to rap’s dominance of mainstream culture at that time, R&B acts such as theirs experienced difficulty maintaining popularity despite this attempt at keeping up. They released Riddle as an attempt at staying relevant but it did little to restore lost fame for themselves.