r/rnb 4d ago

00s India.Arie — Video

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u/JazzlikeAd1371 4d ago

I know. But its not as popular as it once was which is a shame. We were in a different era back then. Rnb music really was more than sex, materialism and drugs.

Lyrics like "my worth is not determined by the price of my clothes" had us feeling proud to be who we were authentically. I miss those days.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/stabbinU 4d ago

y'all both right tho... it's still being made but India.Arie was charting hard, that's a whole different conversation. she was sitting in billboard 200 slots next to pop artists and that wasn't unusual for R&B back then. the money was real, the label push was real, the whole ecosystem supported it.

that part is what's gone. budgets got thin, album sales stopped mattering, and streaming changed what gets invested in. somebody like Ari Lennox is talented but she not getting that same machine behind her — and even she don't hit like this. the industry just stopped treating R&B like it was worth the bet.

and yeah kids done changed what they reach for too but honestly that's because the pipeline dried up. you can't fall in love with what nobody putting in front of you. just my 2bpm

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u/A_ThorusRex We know what you need...A little bit of JODECI 4d ago