Via: BlackAmericaWeb.com
This may say it best about music this year – a TV actor turned singer/rapper was one of the biggest breakout stars in 2009.
Other than Canadian-born Drake’s ascension to the pop charts, there’s not that much to say about 2009’s hip-hop and R&B, at least on the music front. Unfortunately, the biggest stories of the year were made outside of studios and concert halls.
Two of hip-hop’s biggest MC’s were sentenced to jail – Atlanta-based rap star T.I. reported to jail in the spring to serve out his conviction on federal weapons charges, and Lil Wayne will serve a year in 2010 for his conviction on weapons charges. And oh yeah, Wayne had two sons this year, with singer Nivea and actress Lauren London, and Keyshia Cole is reportedly pregnant, by boyfriend Daniel “Boobie” Gibson of the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you haven’t heard, while Beyonce and Jay-Z’s marriage seems solid, the hottest parents in the game announced their official split in the waning days of 2009. (Mama Tina should be a cougar lover’s dream date.) Kelis and Nas split up right before their son, Knight, was born.
Chris Brown and Rihanna, once R&B’s golden couple saw their relationship implode publicly the night before both were to perform at the Grammy Awards. As has been extensively reported, their argument that night led to leaked photos of Rihanna’s battered face displayed worldwide and his assault conviction.
But as sad and tragic as many of those stories were, none could compare to the death of the greatest pop star the world has ever known. Michael Jackson’s untimely passing at age 50 in June, on the eve of his history-making 50-date engagement in London, shocked the globe.
That’s the kind of year it was.
Fortunately, there was a little good news. Maxwell and Sade are back. So is Whitney and even Chico DeBarge, who may have made the most underrated CD this year. And despite the horrific murder of her family members last year, Jennifer Hudson is on track to become a multi-media superstar, starring this year in her own holiday special, picking up a Grammy for Best R&B Album and having her son, David Daniel Otunga, Jr.
If nothing else, though, every year there are some great songs, if not great albums. (Once again, this year, there don’t seem to be enough good ones to make the list.) So, here’s our list of 2009’s best songs:
“Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z, featuring Alicia Keys
Was it Alicia’s powerful command of the hook or Jay-Z’s four-minute, 37-second tour of New York City that made this song work? Obviously, it was both, as this song from the 2009 “Blueprint 3” CD became an instant classic. It is the hip-hop take on the pantheon of classic New York songs like Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” a combination of hook, lyric and beat that will be remembered among Jay-Z’s best songs ever. Thanks for that hook, Alicia.
“Blame It On Me,” Chrisette Michele
Somehow or another, Chrisette Michele remains among the most underrated voices in modern R&B. Beyonce gets all the shine, while Jennifer Hudson gets all the awards and Jazmine Sullivan gets all the newcomer props. Yet, in that group of exceptional vocalists, Michele truly has the most versatile pipes. She can go ‘hood on the hooks for songs like “Lost Ones,” but then turn around and interpret some of the most jazz-inflected R&B still heard on the radio. Twenty years ago, she’d have had Anita Baker’s career, but now has to settle for the respect of her peers. Her “Blame …..
