R&B Girl Group
tagStarted 1989Peak 1990-1994Last big hit 1996
Located in 1 route
Female vocal groups over new jack and swingbeat grooves: layered diva harmonies, traded leads and acrobatic runs atop swung hip-hop drums, with hip-hop attitude and sometimes a rapped bridge. Sleek, sisterly and assertive — multi-part R&B vocals built on the same percussive, synth-stabbed production as their male peers.
History
En Vogue's 'Hold On' (1990), produced by Foster and McElroy, set the template of high-gloss harmony over new jack rhythm; TLC's 1992 debut added hip-hop swagger and a rapped voice (Left Eye). SWV and Jade extended the lane, making female groups a defining commercial force of early-90s R&B alongside the boy bands.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_2_Proud_2_Beg
- https://music.apple.com/us/artist/en-vogue/335508
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TLC_(group)