American music of the new millennium

American Music of the New Millennium

It seems that each generation of American teenagers prefer something completely different in their musical tastes. In the 1990s we saw the emergence of two categories of music, the urban movements captured by rap artists such as Tupac Shakur and Biggy Smalls, and the teenage punk rock music of Greenday and Blink 182. Yet musical tastes in the next generation have significantly changed and it is no longer encapsulated by just these two categories. Music has begun to fall into a broad range of categories, and at the same time all be classified under the universal tag of "pop" music. There are many new types of music that will define the next generation; here we will explore some that I think will emerge into the national conscious in the coming decade.

The most prominent category of music in the next generation will be "pop R&B," this style of music is just emerging today as the most important and sought after genre of music. It is not traditional R&B in that it does not contain soul, nor does is it fully rap, the singers are not African-American, but for the most part they are Caucasian. Pop R&B is the new music of Nelly Furtado, Fergie, and Gwen Stefani. The characteristics of this music style are that it takes the heart of R&B singing, the lyrical gospel qualities of it and blends it with the modern themes of rap and teenage punk rock. This interesting blends turns out music that is like no other because while it has the strong lyrical and soulful voice of classic R&B, with the singers just as powerful and mesmerizing as the artists of the 1980s, the songs are characterized by light heartedness with an edgy tone. These singers are not trying to awaken our deeper emotions, the pop R&B music genre is lighthearted, and it doesn't take itself too seriously and strongly appeals to teenagers who want to get the "spark notes" version of traditional R&B but sung in the voices of the mainstream culture.

Another category that is emerging for the next generation is the "reggae funk and jazz" category. This category of music harkens back to an earlier time of Bob Marley and other strong funk and reggae music. Even as the culture of today has become more uniform, there is a strong backlash now to have "chill" music. The rise of Gnarles Barkley signifies the birth of this new genre, with others such as Ray la Montaine showing that this genre has strong staying power. The key characteristics of this genre are that it takes reggae and jazz music to blend it together to make something that resembles modern pop. The music has much more beat and contemporary rhythm, yet it still carries the old feel of reggae music in its calming affect. The main difference in this genre is that the music has faster beats which makes it much more "hip" and fast to suit the next generation, but it still captures the soulful quality of past reggae and jazz music in that it stops us in our tracks and reminds us that their beauty in the world.