If you're like me, you grew up on R&B, whether it be old school artists like the Temptations and Teddy Pendergrass, or '90s artists like Boyz II Men and Jodeci. These artists, as well as their contemporaries, all had the ability to truly sing. Not only that but they were able to convey true emotion in their songs, whether that emotion was love, heartbreak or even pure bliss. These two things mixed with soul touching music strictly can't be matched.
Unfortunately, R&B is a slowly dying music genre. In a world where artists like The Weeknd, Chris Brown, and Beyoncé have to make their songs crossover to appeal to the mainstream media, their songs tend to be more on the pop spectrum than anything else. They haven't necessarily lost their roots, but Chris Brown's music certainly does not sound anything like the innocent boy who was trying to win over a girl by dancing and singing "yo" to her.
There are a few artists who are still putting out quality, soulful music, like Musiq Soulchild and Anderson Paak, but none of them have the chance to change the game like BJ the Chicago Kid. Bryan James Sledge was born to church choir directors in the city he has affectionately named himself after. He says that he became inspired to pursue a music career after seeing Janet Jackson perform on tour in Chicago. He has performed backup for gospel duo Mary Mary, is featured on Stevie Wonder's album "A Time To Love," and is on Kanye West's single "Impossible." He has also written songs for artists like Shirley Caesar, Lalah Hathaway, Joe and Crystal Aikin. He is definitely a multifaceted artist, but what he does best is sing from the heart.
If you can't hear the raw emotion in this man's voice and see his promise, R&B just isn't for you. BJ has a soft, gentle voice, which is perfect for delivering his beautiful love songs. His first major label album but second studio album "In My Mind" shows that his inspiration is Chicago soul music and he both honors and renews this classic form of music. But BJ isn't just some modern day imitation of classic R&B singers. On the contrary, he brings his own unique flavor to each one of the songs he sings. His music is modern, yet timeless.
BJ the Chicago Kid has the chance to bring R&B back to into the spotlight. He has one of the smoothest, most soulful voices I've heard in a long time and I know for certain, there is a large portion of this country that is missing this type of music. Hopefully, he can start a resurgence in the R&B community and have other singers want to go back to their roots, too.
