Summer Walker Thinks R&B Is Better Than Hip-Hop In 2020
Summer Walker has voiced her opinion on R&B and hip-hop in 2020.
In a new Billboard cover story with Kehlani, Jhené Aiko, and Teyana Taylor, Walker expressed her belief that R&B music is on top right now in a discussion about the state of R&B music as a whole. “R&B is better than the Hip Hop of 2020 to me because that can get super shallow and repetitive,” she said.
“Or there’s the whole mumble rap trend, where you don’t even know what they’re saying,” she elaborated. “We’re really opening up, getting deeper — and that’s good.”
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Walker also briefly talked about the lack of perceived respect that the genre gets in relation to pop music. “Pop gets all the credit, for sure,” she continued. “We’re cute over here when they want to be in their feelings. But when it’s time to get to the money, it’s all about pop.”
Later on in the discussion, Walker also expressed frustration at the pigeonholing of R&B artists and their music. “I do see something that irritates me a little when it comes to radio,” she said. “It seems the only songs from me that do super good on the radio are those that are more upbeat.”
I’ll also hear other songs from us and others that are slower, very heartfelt, and a lot of people will f**k with them,” she continued. “But it seems like [with radio], if you can’t shake your ass to the song, then it won’t do what it should do.”
Walker’s opinions were informed by her career in 2020, with her releasing the Life On Earth EP in July. The project, which features PARTYNEXTDOOR, peaked at NO. 8 on the Billboard 200. Her debut album, Over It, came out last October.
