Can R&B Transcend Color?

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Miguel Wilson

Photo courtesy of Rap Music Guide

For years, R&B has been directly equated to Black culture. Society seems to be in the dark about the diversity in R&B (past and present). As an African American, I personally treasure R&B (I mean, hello, my column), and I can see why some are standoffish about sharing what many would say is “ours.” However, I think there is something to be said about diversity, a word that comes up a lot in today‰’s dialogue. Time and time again it has been proven that the inclusion of others can bring benefits to society. What if I told you that this “diversity‰” already occurred, and it was completely swept under the rug?

Sadly, many don‰’t know there was an entire subculture of Filipino R&B groups that surfaced in the 90s and early 2000s that never really reached commercial success. This is troubling given the fact that the music these groups produced could honestly rival mainstream R&B from any era in music history. Why is this? Could it be that maybe we could all stand to open up our minds a bit? Let‰’s dive in.

For starters, the majority of these artists originated in California. There seemed to be this unprecedented boom in the creation of Asian-American music groups, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. They all obviously had their own journeys and degrees of success. The group, Nu Flavor, consisting of Jacob Ceniceros, Anthony DaCosta, Rico Luna, and Frank Pangelinan, Jr, found success through a radio station in Los Angeles. They did something many other groups could not accomplish—breaking the top 50 on Billboard‰’s Hot 100 list.

By no means were they the best Asian-Americans had to offer up to the music industry. Groups like DNH, Pinay, and Kai all brought their own unique sounds to the table. Listening to the music these people produced not only evokes emotion from the sheer gravity of the lyrics they sang, but it also conjures up nostalgia for a different time. I discovered these artists in one of the many secret nooks of YouTube and I‰’ve been blessed ever since.

Overall, what kept these groups from gaining traction? It‰’s honestly hard to tell. Some would speculate that the social media of the time (or the lack thereof), limited these artists. MySpace was essentially their only platform to drawn in fans. Nu Flavor‰’s aforementioned success is largely connected to exposure from being discovered on a radio show. Most groups, coming from independent record labels, simply just never really got the chance to reach their audience. Plenty have speculated that America simply couldn‰’t handle the idea of Asian people producing better music. Nonetheless, the powers at be succeeded in keeping these groups undiscovered.

It is truly a travesty that these artists never got the recognition they deserved. Though most groups disbanded, there were some like Pinay that attempted to achieve modern success through talent shows like X Factor. At least we have the work they created to stand as a testament to the possibilities of the future. Thankfully, in today‰’s music industry more and more young artists are stepping out of their “norms‰Û. For instance, Jhene Aiko is someone of mixed race that has made her name in the R&B/Rap scene in recent years. I for one will gladly take on the task of introducing people to Asian-American R&B. At the end of the day, good music is good music.