In the summer of 2017, I was at my mother’s house for a family
dinner, and we watched the BET awards.
One of the centerpieces of the show every year is the BET
Lifetime Achievement Award. This particular year, the 80's boy
band New Edition was getting the award. It served as both
tribute to the
“Candy Girl”
crooners and as promotion for the original New Edition lineup
and their upcoming reunion tour.
It seemed like a standard lifetime achievement segment, except
my view was suddenly blocked by oh-so-fly moves of my mother and
little-big brother.
Sure, everyone loves the Bell Biv Devoe hit “Poison.” Or Tony
Toni Tone’s
“Feels Good.”
Or
“Just Got Paid.”
Or “This Is How We Do It.” However, I wasn't aware of was the
commonality of people breaking out in song and dance to the
entire New Edition catalog.
Looking up at my brother and his curly fade moving with the
tenacity of a backup dancer in Guy’s “Groove Me” music video, I
was shocked.
The bounce was there. The timing was on point. And the kicks
were (almost) perfect.
It made sense for my mother and her half-a-beat-behind moves,
because that was her time. But seeing the generation-z Migos fan
“freak it” left me baffled.
It was truly amazing to see a sub-genre that was created almost
forty years ago bridge together two vastly different
generations.
Following the awards, I began to see fragments of Teddy Riley’s
influence come to life. 90’s-themed parties became a thing, as
did the attire that accompanied them. Up and down Twitter and
Instagram feeds and plastered in department-store ads, new jack
swing was alive again.
Two-piece (almost) silk suits, rayon button-downs, the Gumby
haircuts, and the Kid and Play kick step were all back like it
was a summer night in Harlem.
Bandeaus, slip dresses, high-top fades, box braids, bright
colored outfits, and denim overalls all made a comeback. Bobby
Brown too.
The looks and attitude of new jack swing were also accompanied
by their sounds making a comeback to pop radio waves.
According to Billboard, Bruno Mars' 24k Magic was also
the most listened to album of the year 2017. While collecting
his 2018 Grammy’s for the categories of Records of the Year,
Song of the Year, and Album of the Year, Mars made sure he
thanked Babyface and Teddy Riley for laying the foundation that
allowed his album to exist.
Moving on to today's charts, Ella Mai’s synthesized drum-heavy
“Boo’d Up” just recently topped Hot R&B 100’s and is still
climbing to Hot 100’s chart.
Connecting like my brother’s high kicks to my mother ’s
porcelain figurines, new jack swing is still touching music
nearly 40 years later.
And that same connection can be found in this year’s Richmond
Jazz Festival’s lineup.
From P-funk to G-funk, there’s something for every
generation.
Hip-hop, R&B, soul, blues, funk, and of course Jazz – will bring
together three generations similar to the new jack swing
influence in today's culture.
You can catch all of the cross-generational vibes—including new
jack swing gods Tony! Toni! Tone!--on August 11th and 12th at
the 2018 Richmond Jazz Festival.
Don’t miss the chance to enjoy some of music’s finest performers
of the past 50 years! Tickets are on sale now at
richmondjazzfestival.com.
And for a sprinkle more of new jack swing fun, here’s our
unofficial 2018 Richmond Jazz Festival New Jack Swing Top 5:
5. Rhythm Nation/ Remember the Time
“Rhythm Nation” is timeless in itself because of Janet’s
choreography. Same can be said for “Remember the Time”, but Mike
gets bonus points for casting Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic
Johnson.
4. Poison
Coming in at number four, “Poison” was the earliest new jack
swing song that I can remember. It’s mostly here because of its
cultural staple, but from gender reveals to club scene, it’s
every DJ’s pick to keep a party going.
3. Motownphilly
Boyz II Men don’t get enough credit for what they did in the
90’s. They took the style, made it theirs and had fun while
doing so. In addition to being on this top 5 list,
“Motownphilly” should have a home on every road trip playlist.
2. Groove Me
It’s the first new jack swing song. Written, produced and
performed by Godfather Teddy Riley and his band Guy, it should
hold a place on every new jack swing list. Setting the bar high
for the mini-era, the “Groove Me” music video looked as good as
the song sounds and everyone brought their A-game because of
this. Thank you for the sauce, Uncle Teddy.
1. This Is How We Do It
You should start your new jack swing set with this. It’s in that
perfect mid-tempo range where you won’t tire yourself out and
you can only go up from there. You know the words even if you
don’t know the words and a feeling of nostalgia falls over the
room as if you’re at a party on the Hillman campus. All the
other new jack swing songs are great and probably rank higher on
everyone else's lists, but music that can create a feeling
should be valued above all.