As long love and sex doesn’t fall off this earth, then R&B won’t fall off this earth.
R&B music is sort of like a soundtrack for love. People are going to continue to make love. People are going to continue to have sex. A lot of rappers, back in the 90’s, were probably complaining like “Man, all yall play in the radio is R&B.” But now, it’s up to the R&B artists to stay true to R&B and stay true to real R&B music, because I feel like this: After the club and after people party - you know like 3-4 hours after the club - people wanna go home and make love at the end of the night. Rap has become more of a mainstream look for radio spins. R&B has kind of dwindled down a little bit. You know, with anything in life, things change. During the 90’s that was when R&B was on the forefront. Do you feel that shift serves as a positive or negative to traditional R&B music? I spoke to Trey not too long ago and one of the things I touched on was singers shifting over to the rap game. I’m not looking to make any major changes. At the end of the day, I like to be comfortable in my own skin. I don’t go out and try to do what everybody else is doing. You know, my albums I definitely keep it R&B. “Words” and “Turn the Page” was two of my most R&B records that I have dropped. That was definitely one of the truest R&B singles that I have dropped. Officer”, which was popping around that same time. Independently I dropped the Rebirth, which had “Beep Beep” released, and of course, “Mrs. You know, once I left Def Jam and DTP, I ventured out on my own for my own label. They got a little bit more push behind it. So, they got a little bit of more publicity. You know, my first two albums came out on Def Jam. With me, it’s about being consistent with all of my albums. Can fans expect to hear that classic Bobby Valentino they were accustomed to or did you go in a new direction? All the time, I’m in the studio, I’m rehearsing, and doing whatever I can to reach out and touch the people.Ī lot of fans fell in love with you on your first two albums, those being Bobby Valentino and Special Occasion. You know, my grind is from dusk till dawn. That kind of goes the same with my album, Dusk Till Dawn. I’m the last person to go sleep and the first person to wake up in the morning. That’s one reason why I’ve been able to be around for as long as I have. I work real hard in trying to perfect my craft. I feel like I have a blue collared mentality. The reason it’s called Blue Collar Dreams is because I feel I’m a blue collared artist and I have a blue collared mindset. Also, my label is called Blue Collar Dreams. What made you decide to name the album Dusk Till Dawn?īobby V: Dusk Till Dawn was inspired by the movie, because it was one of my favorites. With an album out, entitled Dusk Till Dawn, Bobby V sat down with Ballerstatus to recommend his favorite love-making records for the desperate guys trying to seduce that special lady, if R&B is becoming too rap crazed, smashing prospective women on his bucket list, and finally, his views on whom he had better chemistry with between Tim & Bob or Lil Wayne. Five albums in, he finds himself in a different space as a different man. That man is Bobby V.Īrguably one of the most underrated singers in the 2000’s, Valentino has etched his footprints in the game with hits like “Slow Down”, “Tell Me” and “Anonymous”. One man is fighting for his chance to be back on the forefront. Many have fought vigorously at maintaining their level of success, but have faltered. Veterans are no longer relevant in this R&B realm. If you can’t sing and dance, or sing and rap, you’re pretty much heading towards No Man’s Land, unless you’re the exception of a Frank Ocean or The Weeknd.
In a generation where your traditional R&B artists aren’t crooning their hearts away and are forcefully seguing into the rap lane, many have realized that being a singer now comes with a caveat. The tunes that entrapped the emotions of men and women alike have dissipated and have transitioned into up-tempo club bangers. We’ve seen a plethora of artists fall through the cracks and wither away rapidly.