just B.E.

With the recent resurgence of young male R&B stars, one can't help but be wary of the direction that this new generation is taking the music scene. But more importantly, why is it so hard for male crooners to break the mold of their peers and bring soul music back to the classic status of their forefathers?

Today, it seems like no one will ever be able to bring the timelessness to R&B that those such as Luther Vandross, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye posessed. These men had staying power and an originality that made them stand out amongst their peers. Luther made women melt with his velvet-smooth vocals, Al was one of the first to bring that gospel-tinged flavor to R&B, and Marvin was the iconic sex symbol of his time. You can pop any of these men into the CD player with a guarantee that everyone in the room will drop what they're doing, start to move from side to side, and recite each and every word along with the song.

Can we say the same of the tired, mediocre artists who plague radio today? Ginuwine, Avant, Tyrese, Case - who are still trying to climb out of the "girl let me love you down" pigeonhole and do something new. Even Usher - however entertaining and popular - uses sex and controversy to garner a following. Of course, these men can sing, but where's the originality? Where are the daring song concepts?

However, artists aren't totally to blame - the redundancy of their work is perpetuated with the increasingly superficial media and society. Those who do finally break out of their stereotype are ironically swallowed up into obscurity by the wealth of the shallow, contrived work of their peers. Anthony Hamilton, one of most original artists to hit the scene in years, still hasn't crossed over into popular success, no doubt because of the content of his work. He conveys soul, emotional depth, and truth through his music, but all of that is drowned out amid the overly - used theme of sex and simplistic lyrics. John Legend, who has been on the music scene for a year, is just now experiencing his deserved level of fame (undoubtedly a product of his recent Grammy wins). Nevertheless, his ingenious return to classic soul still hasn't been recognized by many - he has yet to be featured on the cover of VIBE magazine (by himself), yet Chris Brown, a young newcomer, not only has his own cover but has been dubbed "the future of R&B".

So, are Chris and his cohorts Ne-Yo and Trey Songz, the future of R&B? It seems that Chris may be following down the same road as his predecessors, Usher and Mario, but Ne-Yo and Trey actually stand a chance of carving out a unique image for themselves. Both stars' content and sound is surprisingly fresh - "Stay With Me" is actually an ode to music, and "Gotta Make It" is a refreshing ghetto-come-up-love-story - but only time will tell where this new generation will take us. They just may have the skills to make Luther proud - or Bobby Brown even more jealous.