Week 5: New Jack Swing

We live in a world where hip hop and R&B are virtually synonymous—every 'urban' format radio station advertises themselves as playing "the hottest Hip-Hop and R&B", and most popular rap tunes have syrupy R&B-style sung hooks from guest vocalists. This all seems fairly unremarkable to us today, but nothing would've seemed stranger to rap fans 20 years ago. Make no mistake, hip hop and R&B were diametrically opposed musical philosophies in the 1980s; R&B was smooth music for adult contemporary stations, and rappers were young underground revolutionaries who spent a lot of time criticizing R&B for being "soft" or "commercial" or whatever.
Then along came record producer Teddy Riley, the guy behind Blackstreet, Guy, and Wreckx-N-Effect. He aimed to create a fusion of these two deeply different sounds, and his new sound (dubbed "New Jack Swing" by Above The Rim / New Jack City screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper) became the dominant urban sound of the late-80s/early-90s, making Riley the Timbaland or Neptunes or Kanye (or whoever) of his era.
This isn't to say that he was the only person with this idea: L.A. Reid & Babyface were doing pretty much the same thing at the same time, as were Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and (to a lesser extent) Dallas Austin. All things told, these four production houses account for over half the tracks in this mix (for the nerds, I'll post a who-did-what in the comments). You also had the whole New Edition contingent and their underlings (Bell Biv DeVoe / Bobby Brown / Ralph Tresvant / Johnny Gill / Boyz II Men / Another Bad Creation), although their production credits were still pretty limited in this era.
Anyway, this sound is basically R&B vocals over a swingy style of golden era hip-hop production—tons of samples, corny PCM drum machines, lots of that classic Technotronic-style DX7 bass, big dopey snare fills, and everything is super-shuffley and bouncey. And I love it.
So when KyleKlip requested a New Jack Swing mixtape for the blog, I got excited. I've whipped up what I believe to be the definitive New Jack Swing tape—I've shoehorned all my faves in here, and I don't think there's anything missing (although I am sure the comments section will prove me wrong soon enough). Before you say it: I left "My Prerogative" off on purpose. Three Bobby Brown tracks (for a total of six Ex-New-Edition tracks) is enough for one mixtape. Enjoy!

Chrissy's Year of Mixtapes Week 5: New Jack Swing.

1. Jade; Don't Walk Away
2. Hi-Five; I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)
3. Al B. Sure!; Nite & Day
4. Ralph Tresvant; Sensitivity
5. Soul II Soul; Keep On Movin' (Teddy Riley's Rubba Dub)
6. Bobby Brown; Every Little Step
7. Color Me Badd; I Wanna Sex You Up
8. Tony! Toni! Toné!; If I Had No Loot
9. TLC; What About Your Friends
10. Pebbles; Giving You The Benefit
11. Bobby Brown; Humpin' Around
12. Salt N Pepa; Expression
13. Bell Biv DeVoe; Do Me!
14. Keith Sweat; I Want Her
15. Christopher Williams; I'm Dreamin
16. Guy; Groove Me
17. Bobby Brown; On Our Own
18. Tevin Campbell; Round & Round
19. Wreckx-N-Effect; New Jack Swing
20. TLC; Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg (Remix)
21. Michael Jackson; Remember The Time (RIP HOMIE)
    
22. Hi-Five; I Just Can't Handle It
23. Boyz II Men; MotownPhilly
24. Another Bad Creation; Iesha
25. Bell Biv DeVoe; Poison (Remix)
26. Kid N Play; Funhouse (The House We Dance In)
27. Chubb Rock; Treat 'Em Right
28. Tony! Toni! Toné!; Feels Good (Remix)
29. Johnny Gill; Rub You The Right Way
30. Babyface; It's No Crime
31. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince; Ring My Bell
32. MC Brains; Oochie Coochie
33. Redhead Kingpin & The F.B.I.; Pump It Hottie
34. Bubba; I Like Your Style
35. Basic Black; Whatever It Takes
36. Johnny Kemp; Just Got Paid
37. R. Kelly & Public Announcement; She's Got That Vibe