From Trey Songz to Ryan Leslie and Chris Brown it seems like every R&B singer is starting to rap. What sparked this trend? Is the talent line in rapping less defined than that in singing? The Friday Hip Hop Report crew discuss “Why R&B Singers Are Getting The Urge To Rap”
Hopefully we get a classic .gif update from shake or meka to see how they feel bout this topic
los said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Why doesn’t Phonte ever come up in these types of discussions?
FrankEC said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Why?same damn reason rappers have the urge to sing…
aggzworth said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
I don’t know why, but it’s fuckin’ annoying
who cares said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
you seriously asking this question? The answer is two words
Ghost Writers
STINKMEANER said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
You know, aside from the shitty editing, I’ve grown to kind of enjoy these videos a lil bit.
who cares said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
It’s because you have people like Wayne and Tyga, and Nicki Minaj making the art less legitimate.. You got rappers coming with weak ass bars, and are soft as shit… They make it easy to match them.. If it wasn’t for Kanye and Jay-Z, Mainstream Hip-Hop would be complete shit. If it wasn’t for these two dudes Young Money would ruin Hip-Hop…
xyz123 said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
^lmfao you would say “Kanye and Jay-Z” gtfo
who cares said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
he’s right though, we got no standards of quality for hip hop. we let lames like lil wayne and gucci mane come out with cat-in-the-hat lyrics and they sell units.
anyone who supports lame rap is responsible for rap being lame
STINKMEANER said this on December 10th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
rnb singers are getting the urge to rap because the bar for what is considered good rap is sooo low or not even there at all! Anyone can sing but everyone isnt a vocalist anyone can rap but everyone isnt a lyracist! Wack rappers and there fan base brought this on now nigas gone tell me justin fukn beiber in they top 5 smfh….
bullets said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Only 4 rappers who can sing. Pimp C, Nate Dogg, Big K.R.I.T. & Devin The Dude.
Marcus Trumblay Farfin VI said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
why people pay attention to it NOW..trey did that years ago…nearly in every remix he did..
justsayin said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Yes.. Kanye and Jay… Artists who are dope lyrically, One being one the best all around Hip-Hop artists ever, and the other being one the best rappers ever.. and have each put out mutiple classic albums… That’s why I said them. So idk what was funny??
xyz123 said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Can these people please STFU? They are getting terribly annoying.
And Cosign @ dude that said these R&B dudes be havin’ ghost writers.
Example: Rhoscoe Dash.
Pauly D said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
People are acting like thats some new shit, back in the new jack swing days, all those R&B singers were tryna rap, even Bobby Brown, so its nothing new, it just went away for a while…
P daddy said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Krizz Kaliko. Former church choir dynamo. Now he’s a hook master who can spit hardddd.
I’m all for artists trying to expand their horizons, as long as they are able to realize when they ain’t cut out for it.
Also, a good example of someone who did the opposite is Aloe Blacc. That dude started off spittin and went on to make one of my favorite R&B albums yet. That dude is smooooth.
Keebo said this on December 10th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
another thing to add is they singing and rappin for the same reason they all got corny clothing lines and lame ass alcohol brands.
they trying to make as much money as they can in this small window, because they know they don’t have staying power. you think bob dylan needs to sell vodka or the beatles worried about side business?
these dudes is lottery winner pop stars, lucky to be there and desperate to stay.
STINKMEANER said this on December 10th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
rappers are mad they have to learn music theory now. fuck everyone
doclvly said this on December 10th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Deadendhiphop is better!
BatMayne said this on December 10th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
9 times out of ten that ugly nigga with the ponytail is gonna start his sentences by saying “9 times out of ten”
d easy said this on December 10th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
cus if French Montana can be a hot commidity as a rapper, anybody can. post American Terrorist 3 faggots
swag said this on December 10th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
That nigga Trey has BEEN rapping. People talking like he just decided to.
His verse on Drake’s “Give Ya” on Comeback Season was extra nice too.
JF Kennedy said this on December 10th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
I hope everybody laughed at “why you dressed like a cat burglar” at 3:50
youmad said this on December 10th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
And the correct answer to this headlines question was given by the third poster.
breeze said this on December 10th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
“Only 4 rappers who can sing. Pimp C, Nate Dogg, Big K.R.I.T. & Devin The Dude.
Marcus Trumblay Farfin VI said this on December 10th, 2011 at 6:05 pm”
[2]
Take away KRIT from the list, & I agree, he doesn’t always try singing & rapping on the same tracks, singing’s rare for em.
I’ll add Phonte, Estelle, K-Naan, Z-Ro & Cee-Lo to that list though. I’d say 3k too, but the only time I’ve heard him sing has been on the Love Below & Aquemini where there’s barely any rap, so he doesn’t count for this.. The 5 I said always rap/sing, & it’s always good imo. Drake & Wayne need to stop the combo, Drake stop rhyming, Wayne stop singing. Devin’s the GOAT for song/rap though.
Maga D said this on December 10th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
trey songz been rapping since he was BCAT back in the dsy
linkz said this on December 10th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Static Major was one of the dopest singer/rapper too. Missy had that fire also
Yung Major said this on December 10th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
So about this Canibus – JCole diss song though….WTF?
jomoses said this on December 10th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
^^^^^
Real shit tho. Dude just emailed me that shit.
Can a BITCH loses SO much respect from this.
Pauly D said this on December 10th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Q: Why Are R&B Singers Getting The Urge To Rap?
A: Because Rappers Are Getting The Urge To Sing.
Larry King (the interviewer, not the dead gay kid) said this on December 10th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
People forget Mos Def can sing. Honestly anybody can sing if there smart enough to figure a out the nuances.But, that doesn’t mean you can go around trying to sing like like mariah carey or whoever. You ever wonder why the people that we laugh at on American Idol always seem a bit slow? It’s cause they are.lol
MannListen said this on December 10th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Dumbasses….T-Pain should be credited for doing that first. He is seriously the only person I’d honor for this subject.
Tasha said this on December 11th, 2011 at 12:37 am
Pharrell = Probably the most influential rapper/ singer in music. How did nobody mention Skateboard P? He needs to drop that Back To The Future album already. Just sayin
marty mcfly ( thats why you mad ) said this on December 11th, 2011 at 12:50 am
even Michael Jackson did it…
FFFFFFF said this on December 11th, 2011 at 6:04 am
lol@ppl thinknin that “canibus” diss was real….it dont even sound like him …
@PAULY D …smh
billy said this on December 11th, 2011 at 7:15 am
I’m surprised no one mentioned Lauryn Hill. Even though she sang more, her ability to rap was just as high quality. I don’t think anyone, male or female, is touching her when it comes to being able to sing AND rap.
EricDean said this on December 11th, 2011 at 10:00 am
I’m also surprised that no one mentioned this is terms of answering the question: R&B dudes are largely seen as being “soft”, so adding an element of rap to their talent palette gives them more edge and masculinity. This is why this question centers more on male R&B artists than their female counterparts who have also attempted rapping (e.g. Mary J. Blige, Monica). With the example of Chris Brown, even the content of his music and the look of his videos is starting to have more of a ‘rapper’ vibe. This unconsciously makes him seem tougher than, let’s say, a Case or a Tank or a Ginuwine back in the day. In order to get street cred, the tactic that R&B dudes are starting to take is rapping. Or in Ray-J’s case, acting a fool.
EricDean said this on December 11th, 2011 at 10:11 am
“you think bob dylan needs to sell vodka or the beatles worried about side business?”
The Beatles fired their manager over the issue, so……..
RSX said this on December 11th, 2011 at 10:52 am
The Canibus – JCole diss was real.. it was him featuring some other nigga… Canibus put out a lame ass statement explaining why he is dissing the nigga.
jomoses said this on December 11th, 2011 at 11:38 am
in the words of lil fame from the legendary mash out posse “what up with these r & b cats nowadays rockin du rags with braids? they thugged out now. singers wanna be gangstas, gangstas wanna be rappers”
Cold T. Honeybee said this on December 11th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Haha singers are trying to rap for the same reasons a bunch of broke nobodies think they are experts to even bring up this topic. Haha these niggas need a 9 to 5 rather than trying to find a topic to diss because at the end of the day, the niggas they talking about is getting paid and they are somewhere wasting film.
Looking Like A Louie V Mannequin said this on December 11th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Im seeing every answer But the REAL answer…..because of DRAKE
piper said this on December 11th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
who cares… anyone can rap… few can sing… fewer can emcee.
benny lava said this on December 11th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE IT. BECAUSE DRAKE MADE IT POPULAR. BECAUSE NO ONE CARES ABOUT THEIR SINGING. I HATE THESE DEBATE VIDEOS..
und. said this on December 11th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
The same reason the GOP believe Donald Trump would be a great front runner for the presidential election. The same reason that if the S.O.P.A. bill passes sites like 2dopeboyz will be shutdown. The same reason 46 million Americans are on welfare. The same reason people are complaining on the state of Rock, Country, and Hip Hop music.
Uhhh? said this on December 11th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
I hate these guys, they think they know everything.
jdz said this on December 12th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Because its easier to just spit a few bars, than to sing a few bars.
D said this on December 12th, 2011 at 1:08 am