New Jack Swing

The late 1980s saw the development of a new sub-genre of hip hop entitled 'New Jack swing'. New Jack swing fuses the hip hop groove with the traditional vocal style of R&B. Guy's 1987 self-titled release can be seen as the first major success in this new hip hop style. The sound was pioneered by multi-instrumentalist and producer Teddy Riley and initially relied heavily on the smooth vocal style of Aaron Hall. But it was Bobby Browns 'My Prerogative' (written by Hall ^[1] ) that was considered more culturally significant ^[2].

Bobby Brown (b. Robert Beresford Brown, 1969) had become a childhood 'Bubble gum pop star' ^[3] in New Edition - a 'Kiddie vocal quintet' ^[4] from Boston. After a dispute with the three other members of the band and a failed solo album entitled King of Stage, Louis Silas (an A&R executive for MCA) introduced Brown to two of the top young producers of the day, Baby Face and Teddy Riley. They released 'My Prerogative' which became a #1 American chart success, and Brown sold over four million copies of his Don't Be Cruel album.

This new musical style was associated with the development of the newly-formed Uptown records. The company was run by Andre Harrell and later assisted by his protégé, Sean Combs (Puff Daddy). The label's releases seemed to be in direct contrast to the popular gangsta rap style of the late 1980s and 1990s, but proved to be very popular. Six Uptown acts achieved either platinum or multi-platinum releases between 1986 and 1995.

Puff Daddy (b. Sean Combs, 1970) started to promote house parties and campus concerts while studying at Howard University in 1988. He dropped out of university and convinced Andre Harrell to hire him as an intern. Harrell was attracted to his 'youthful enthusiasm' ^[5] and 'New Jack energy' ^[6]. Combs prided himself on being able to interpret the market at a grassroots level and was able to make recordings to fit into niche markets. Within one year Harrell elevated him to the position of Vice President of promotion.

Puff Daddy began to promote 'Daddy's House' parties - which soon became a mandatory event for music industry figures and earned Puffy much public acclaim. However in 1991 a tragic incident at a celebrity basketball match promoted by Puffy left nine people dead. Authorities and front page headlines blamed Puffy's poor organizational skills for the deaths and this looked likely to destroy Puffy's career until his mentor Andre (holidaying in the Caribbean) flew back and hired the celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz. At a press conference the lawyer was able to shift the blame away from his client and onto the city's college's security force and school administration, arguing that the promoter had no responsibility for crowd control. Public opinion shifted and while Combs' involvement was not forgotten the incident was put down to a CCNY mishap ^[7].

Puff Daddy soon recovered from the tragedy and displayed his influence on hip hop sound in the 1990s by producing multi-platinum albums for Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. The latter's debut album, What's the 411?' is now regarded as 'the seminal example of hip-hop/R&B fusion' ^[8].

By 1994 business relations between Harrell and Combs were starting to become strained. Harrell's Uptown record label was having financial disagreements over studio expenditure with its parent company MCA. This added pressure on the company soon led to the sacking of Combs by Andre.

Combs negotiated a $15 million deal to relocate Bad Boy Entertainment (Combs' personal record label) to Arista Records. Puffy was given complete creative control and full support by the label. Combs soon produced albums with Bad Boy's signature act, Christopher Wallace (the Notorious BIG). BIG.'s 1994 album Ready To Die was Bad Boy's first major album success.

In 1997 Combs enjoyed major success in his own right, enjoying successive #1 hit singles with 'I'll be missing you' (performed with Faith Evans) and 'Mo Money MO Problems' (performed with the Notorious BIG and Mase). In the same year Puff Daddy's album Puff Daddy and the Family sold four million copies and his solo album No Way Out became the second-fastest selling debut album of the decade. In the same year Bad Boy became the first label since Motown to have four #1 hits in one year.

Controversy continues to follow Puffy's success; Many people from the hip hop fraternity question his use of such distinctive samples as Grandmaster Flash's 'The Message' on 'Can't Nobody Hold Me Down,' the Police track on 'I'll Be Missing You,' and David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' on his single 'Been Around the World'. The use of these samples is seen as too 'obvious' - contrasting with the creativity and innovation that most DJs and producers pride themselves on.