If I haven't mentioned this before I grew up as a musically inclined child. I know how to play the piano, alto saxophone, basically any woodwind instrument. I just need to know the finger placements and I'll learn it in a couple hours. I write music, etc etc. I appreciate great music no matter the genre. My favorite genre of music is not hip-hop believe it or not. My favorite genre is R&B. Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, First Album Al B Sure, Bobby Brown, Guy, the list goes on. R&B centers my chi and helps me relax and chill out. After a long day of work I'm turning on some Mary J Blige or Jodeci to recollect myself. It keeps me on a good and steady wavelength. I love the genre but there will never be a dispute in my mind that 90's R&B is the greatest and most prolific time of a music genre in the history of music. I hate to be that guy that always complain about the state of music today because I really don't totally dislike today's music but hearing today's R&B or whatever it is today compared to what I grew up on is like me eating Filet Mignon everyday for years then forcing me to eat banquet tv dinners. Nothing will ever be greater than the 90's era of R&B. 11 reasons why 90's R&B is the GOAT.

MEN ACTUALLY LIKED WOMEN

Listening to R&B today I feel there are only a handful of artists that really like women in their songs. It's really awkward. Women aren't much of anything in these songs today. I understand songs about being a playa or creeping on girlfriends with other women because artists in the 90's sang about it also but when they sang about it back then there was a level of guilt and remorse for why they were doing so and even if they did it to be a scumbag, they still had some respect for the woman. It was rare that a artist in the 90's went the disrespectful route and when they did it was usually because the woman treated the guy like shit in the song. Think about this. How many R&B songs of today's era can you play in a church for a wedding today? Not many. Today these R&B artists are rappers so they carry the rappers image of "We don't love these hoes." The woman is getting passed around, getting trains ran on her, cheated on in these songs because she's not worthy of being in a guy's presence, she is more of an object and a quick fling. She's just good for bomb kitty, bomb head and nothing else. She has no value. Take today's R&B sex records lyrics and compare it to 90's R&B sex records lyrics. What you will notice is that in majority of today's R&B is that it's way more vulgar and the woman is way more objectified. It's like the guy singing doesn't even have any feelings for the woman at all like a NWA song. In 90's R&B it was more sensual and care involved. R.Kelly's "Seems Like Your Ready" is a good example of this. This is debatably the greatest sex record ever. He describes the woman he's with in the bedroom as if she's a treasure and as if he's not worthy of her. He describes her smell. Her aura. The sexual energy they're exchanging with each other. The ultimate height of their intimacy. He's asking her to take him to her ecstasy. He walks the line of being x-rated and respectful in that song and It seems like he really likes this woman. I don't mind some of the vulgarity in the R&B slow jams of today because that's how almost all of us get down in the bedroom but damn I like making love to my woman too not just banging it out. I like this woman. This isn't just another random woman in my bed I don't care for. I'm a man who appreciates balance. That's all I'm saying.

FASHION

The fashion in this era for women was so cold to me. Men just rocked a lot of leather but they had some dope fits too. Fashion has come full cycle today and a lot of women are dressing like women in 90's R&B videos. I love it. Every woman I see styling herself like Aaliyah in the Tommy Hillfiger picture, Janet in the "Anytime Anyplace" video, wearing flannels, baseball jerseys or overalls I want to propose to immediately. The cover of Toni Braxton first album was the wave too. Chill and Sexy. Lord, Lord, Lord.

GREATEST ERA OF SONGS FOR SEX SOUNDTRACKS

No one has sex to music today. Well I can't speak for anyone else but I've personally haven't done that since I was in college. It's just really weird to do today. I wouldn't mind doing that with a woman I was exclusive with but it's weird because it feels like you have to stay on rhythm with the music while having sex. Anyway I getting sidetracked. 90's R&B slow jams made up roughly 80% of every slow jam mix I made along with some Pretty Willie and Bluestars Pretty Ricky. In high school I was kind of obsessed with my bedroom mix. It was really creepy now that I look back on it but I truly don't regret it. Thank you 90's R&B for making that trend explode.

IT SHOWED US IT WAS OKAY TO CARE

Majority of the music today is heartless. If you care, you're a sucka. If you care about your relationship, you're weak. If you care about respecting someone, you're stupid. I don't fear much but one of my biggest fears is not caring and being okay with it. I don't want to not care. The world already have a lot of soulless people here. I don't want to add to that number. 90's R&B showed me that it's okay to cherish and care for the person I'm with no matter what anyone thinks. It showed me how to be proud to care. A song like "Stay" by Jodeci where a man admits he misses his woman and wants her to come back home. They were unapologetic about caring in that song. Listen to some 90's R&B and go care for someone. It's good energy.

IT MADE BEING FAITHFUL COOL

Cheating been around for hundreds and thousands of years. It's here to stay forever because the way the human mind is setup is so complex and people will forever crave change or be greedy. Some people never cheated on their better half. I commend them for it. I've never cheated in any relationship I was in, mainly because cheating just looks like hard work. I'm too chill for hard work. You have to please more than one woman. Pleasing one woman is already a task in itself. Adding more is just adding more stress. You had the cheating R&B songs. Classics like "Me & Mrs Jones," "As We Lay," and "Down Low." If that "Down Low" video didn't make you not want to cheat you have to be evil. Ron Isley hit R.Kelly with a sledge hammer like Triple H in his prime, left him in the dry ass desert with nothing to drink, and killed Fancy from "The Jamie Foxx Show." She had some nice ass titties. He should've cut her break and dumped her normally instead of killing her, just on the strength of that. Don't wanna waste good titties. It makes you wonder how terrible of a person Ron Isley was that R.Kelly kept taking all his women. Besides the few cheating songs, I loved how in the 90's era that being a one woman man was the wave. How a woman only wanting one man was dope. Being faithful was appreciated and cool. 90's sitcoms were an extension of this too. Martin had Gina and was happy. Overton had Synclaire and was happy. It was beautiful.

VISUALS >>>>>

I wish my life was like a 90's R&B video. Even the cheesy ones. They were like movies. They told stories. Had cool dance numbers. They entertained. They were refreshing. I don't watch videos anymore, even videos of artists I actually like. Watching videos seem like a job today. If someone doesn't recommend a video to me today I will never see it. I swear. I look at 90's videos today and always wished I directed and shot them. 90's R&B videos has to be responsible for 90% of people's youtube binges.

ROMANCE

I don't care how corny it may seem. I'm a romantic guy but in a more chill way. I'm romantic in a way that fits my personality. I don't do the usual things. Nothing wrong with the cliche things though. Singers in the 90's were singing about setting up actual candlelight dinners in their cribs with their shorty. Showing up with flowers in the videos. Throwing flower peddles on their beds. Candles lit all over the bedroom and bathroom. There were more candles lit in 90's R&B videos than a illuminati meeting. It was LIT literally. It was a era of hopeless romantics. It taught me how to really treat a woman. How important it was to actual put in effort to make her feel special and unique. Love was so important in that era.

REMIXES

There were actual remixes. Either the production was entirely different or it was huge guest features that changed the entire dynamic of the song. "I Wanna Be Down" remix is a good example of the latter.

THE PEAK OF THE SLOW JAM/DANCE

I have to vent on this one. I like kickbacks/parties a lot but I swear man if y'all don't start slowing this shit down on some G shit I'm going to go crazy. Like I said before I like balance. Just give me 4-5 good slow jams. I promise we can stop playing trap music for 4 songs and we will be okay. The function will be okay. All these beautiful women at these parties just begging for to slow wind to some 90's R&B or good R&B period and these DJ's or whoever in control of the aux cord always miss the opportunity. The last time I've seen a DJ play slow jams at a party was when I was in Dallas and of course I was up against the wall like I was at Saints clothes burning with a shorty blessing the kid. Honey's full of liquor of course they will respond to "This Lil Game We Play" by Subway or "Nice and Slow" by Usher. Play the slow jams then play a twerk joint right after to speed it back up again. The closest I get to a slow jam these days is from a Dom Kennedy album. No lie. 90's R&B took slow dancing to another level. It got freakier. Your chances of getting booty off a slow dance increased. It evolved into something special. It changed the game.

IT'S THE BEST MUSIC TO HEAR SOBER OR NON SOBER

In my opinion. Whether you high or a little saucy, hearing 90's R&B while you're not sober just elevates your high. It makes your buzz coast. It's the ultimate background music for your chill sessions. Let's say you have a bottle of wine in the crib. Most likely you're cutting on some 90's R&B while blessing that bottle. When I'm sober I seem to get a lot more work done when I'm listening to 90's R&B. Especially on the creative side. Creativity just flows out of me when I write while I'm vibing to it.

LIVE PERFORMANCES WERE SIMPLE AND LIVE

Do me a favor and just youtube performances on the Arsenio Hall Show, Soul Train, In Living Color, and the Apollo in the 90's. 90's R&B music was so fly that it made even a bad performance or a okay performance look wavy. They didn't hide behind explosions, laser shows, or flying in the air like Sting in WCW. 90's R&B performances felt more intimate. The music was so great that the artist could literally just coast their performance and the crowd would still feel it. It made the performances that had more action and movement that much better also.

G.O.A.T

- BENNY