1990s R&B

History and character

The golden decade

The 1990s are the commercial and artistic peak of contemporary R&B. After new jack swing (1987–1993) the sound split into a few major currents:

• Ballads and slow jams with group vocal harmonies: Boyz II Men ("End of the Road", 1992, written and produced by Babyface with L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons, 13 weeks at No. 1), Jodeci ("Forever My Lady", 1991), Shai, Color Me Badd, Az Yet, 112, Dru Hill.
• Vocal divas: Whitney Houston ("I Will Always Love You", 1992), Mariah Carey (the 1995 remix of "Fantasy" with Ol' Dirty Bastard paved the way for rap features on R&B tracks), Toni Braxton ("Un-Break My Heart", 1996), Celine Dion in the crossover.
• Hip hop soul: Mary J. Blige ("What's the 411?", 1992; "My Life", 1994) with Sean "Puffy" Combs, Faith Evans, Total, SWV ("Weak", 1993), TLC ("CrazySexyCool", 1994, "Creep" and "Waterfalls").
• The futuristic sound of Timbaland and Missy Elliott: Aaliyah ("One in a Million", 1996; "Are You That Somebody?", 1998), Ginuwine ("Pony", 1996): stuttering drums, triplets, noises, empty spaces.
• Girl groups and teen R&B: Destiny's Child, Brandy & Monica ("The Boy Is Mine", 1998), Monica, Usher ("My Way", 1997, with Jermaine Dupri).

Producers and writers

Babyface, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Teddy Riley, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild), Timbaland, The Neptunes (late in the decade), Diane Warren and David Foster for pop-R&B ballads.

Aesthetic

Powerful, melismatic voices, layered backing vocals with gospel harmonies, drum machines and hip hop samples, warm basses, FM electric pianos and pads, romantic and sensual lyrics; polished production made for radio.

Scales and keys

Major with extensions

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (2-2-1-2-2-2-1).
• Example in Eb: Eb F G Ab Bb C D.
• Chords: Ebmaj9 – Fm9 – Gm7 – Abmaj9 – Bb13sus4 – Cm9 – Dm7b5.
• Use: slow jams: IV–iii–vi–ii–V with ninth and eleventh, the V13sus4 as a soft dominant.
• Real example: Babyface's ballads (Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Az Yet) are built on diatonic progressions rich in sevenths and suspensions.

Natural minor and Dorian

• Aeolian in C: C D Eb F G Ab Bb; Dorian in C: C D Eb F G A Bb.
• Use: hip hop soul (sampled minor loops: Mary J. Blige), Timbaland tracks, nocturnal slow jams.

Pentatonic, major and minor blues (melismas)

• Minor pentatonic in F: F Ab Bb C Eb; major blues in F: F G Ab A C D.
• Use: the runs of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Brandy, K-Ci Hailey: quick pentatonic passages with blue notes (b3→3) and "color" notes (9, 6).

Harmonic minor

• In A: A B C D E F G#; E7 dominant with b9 (F).
• Use: dramatic cadences in minor ballads (Toni Braxton) and in Timbaland loops with "Eastern" colors (Aaliyah's "Try Again" is from 2000, but the taste for Arabesque scales and Phrygian dominants was born in those years).

Phrygian dominant (Timbaland)

• Formula: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7. In E: E F G# A B C D.
• Use: "exotic" samples and synths (Timbaland often used Middle Eastern and Indian sounds and scales).

How to choose

Harmony

Slow jam

Long, rich diatonic progressions: IV–iii–vi–ii–V, ii–V–I–vi, cycles of fifths with secondary dominants, V13sus4 as a soft dominant, gospel passing diminished chords, semitone or whole-tone modulation in the last chorus (very frequent).

Hip hop soul

Loops of 2–4 chords sampled from 70s–80s soul (Mary J. Blige over samples of Rick James, Roy Ayers, etc.), with the voice bringing the gospel over a boom bap beat.

Timbaland

Sparse harmony: 1–2 chords, often just a riff or a minor pad; the complexity is rhythmic.

Harmonic rhythm

Slow jam: one chord every 2 beats; hip hop soul: one chord every 1–2 bars.

Voicing

FM electric piano (DX7) and Rhodes with 4–5 note voicings, Korg M1/Roland JV pads, clean guitars; backing vocals that "play" full chords (4–6 part harmonies).

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Groove

• Slow jam (60–75 BPM or 120–150 in double time): soft backbeat, lightly swung sixteenth-note hi-hats, lots of space.
• Hip hop soul (85–100): swung boom bap drums (MPC 54–60%), heavy snare.
• Timbaland (85–110): stuttering kick and hats, sixteenth-note triplets, sudden pauses, "strange" sounds (drops, children, beatbox).
• Up-tempo (100–115): new jack swing legacy.

Microtiming

Voices slightly behind the beat, runs that "fly" over the grid.

Drums

Slow jam

• Kick: soft, steps 1 and 11 (or 1, 8, 11), body 60–80 Hz.
• Snare: on 2 and 4 (or on 3 in double time), with long plate reverb, sometimes finger snaps and layered claps.
• Hi-hat: light, swung sixteenth notes with an open hat on the offbeat.
• Percussion: wind chimes, shaker, tambourine in the choruses.

Hip hop soul

Sampled boom bap breaks (heavy kick, dry snare), swung hats; the beat is hip hop, the voice R&B.

Timbaland

Syncopated kick in bursts (doubles and triples on sixteenth notes), triplet hats, shifted snare and clap, beatbox and vocal sounds as percussion, half-bar silences.

Interaction

Bass and kick united; the drums lighten up in the verses; in slow jams soft tom fills introduce the choruses.

Sections

Intro with chimes and spoken voice ("baby..."), verse with a basic kit, chorus with clap and tambourine, bridge with a stop or half time, last chorus modulated.

Typical mistakes

Drums too hard in slow jams; no swing in hip hop soul; snare without reverb (it sounds "2020s").

Bass

• Round synth bass (Minimoog, DX7, Juno) or fingerstyle electric bass, with slides and legato notes.
• Long 808 in some productions (Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland).
• Notes: root and inversions for chromatic lines, ascending gospel passages, fifths.
• Register: 40–120 Hz; warm, little attack.
• Relationship with the kick: coincidences on strong beats, fills in the pauses.

Harmonic instruments

• FM electric piano (DX7 E.PIANO 1), Rhodes, acoustic piano.
• Digital pads (Korg M1, Roland JV-1080, E-mu Proteus) and string pads.
• Clean guitars (arpeggios, licks), acoustic in ballads.
• Gospel organ.
• Real strings in ballads (David Foster).
• 70s–80s soul samples in hip hop soul.

Melody and vocals

• Voice: powerful and melismatic (Whitney, Mariah, Brandy, Jodeci's K-Ci Hailey), extended range (Mariah with her whistle register), dynamics from whispered voice to belting.
• Backing vocals: tight group harmonies (Boyz II Men in 4 parts), 5–8 track stacks, gospel call and response, countermelodies.
• Ad-libs: runs and improvised phrases in the last choruses and the outro.
• Spoken parts: spoken and whispered intros and bridges (typical of slow jams).
• Effects: long plate, delay, doubles; no obvious Auto-Tune.

Instruments

Voice, backing vocals, drum machines (MPC, SP-1200, TR-808), samples, synth bass, electric bass, FM electric piano, Rhodes, piano, digital pads (M1, JV), guitars, organ, strings, light percussion (chimes, shaker).

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• DX7 V — FM E.Piano and bass: The FM electric piano and FM basses are the harmonic sound of 90s slow jams.
• Stage-73 V — Rhodes: Warm ninth chords, an alternative to the DX7.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and string pads: Soft pads with slow attack and chorus.
• Mini V — Synth bass: Warm, round bass with short glide for slow jams.
• Augmented Strings — Ballad strings: Lush strings for ballads and bridges.
• B-3 V — Gospel organ: Organ pads under the choral choruses.

Song structure

Length 4:00–5:30; singles often come with remixes (rap features, hip hop versions).

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Huge, warm, bright voice; wide backing vocals like a wall; soft drums with reverbs; warm basses; "glossy" 90s radio highs. References: Boyz II Men "II" (1994), Mary J. Blige "My Life" (1994), Aaliyah "One in a Million" (1996), Brandy "Never Say Never" (1998). Balance: vocal 0, backing vocals −3/−5, bass −4, kick −5, snare −4, keys −8.

Kick

HP 30 Hz; body 60–80 Hz; soft click at 2–3 kHz; compression 4:1 3 dB; mono.

Snare / clap / snap

HP 120 Hz; body 200 Hz; presence 3–4 kHz; air 10 kHz; plate 1.5–2.5 s at −12/−16 dB; in hip hop soul a short room.

Hi-hat and percussion

HP 400 Hz; chimes ±60; shaker ±30; tambourine ±40.

Bass

HP 30 Hz; body 60–100 Hz; opto compression 3–4 dB; mono.

Keys, pads, strings, guitars

HP 120–200 Hz; dynamic EQ 2–4 kHz from the vocal; plate/hall 2 s; chorus; wide stereo.

Lead vocal

• EQ: HP 80–100 Hz; −2 dB at 250–300 Hz; presence +2/+3 dB at 3–5 kHz; air +3 dB at 12 kHz.
• Compression: 1176 4–6 dB + LA-2A 3–4 dB (the dynamics from whisper to belting are huge: automate the level before the compressors).
• De-esser: 6–8 kHz.
• Space: plate (EMT 140 / Lexicon 480L style) 2–2.5 s, pre-delay 60–100 ms, at −12/−14 dB; 1/4 delay at −20 dB.

Backing vocals

HP 150 Hz; compression 6–8 dB; symmetrical pan ±30–100; shared plate; 3–5 dB behind the lead; strong de-esser.

Bus, sidechain, master

Vocal bus 1–2 dB + "air" EQ; drum bus 2 dB; music bus tape. Master −11/−9 LUFS integrated (original 90s releases often −12/−10), true peak −1 dBTP, PLR 9–12 dB.

Common mistakes

Backing vocals covering the lead; accumulated sibilance; reverb too short (the 90s sound is "wet"); compression that flattens the voice's dynamics.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Boyz II Men — End of the Road (1992)
• Mary J. Blige — Real Love (1992)
• TLC — Creep (1994)
• Aaliyah — Are You That Somebody? (1998)
• Brandy & Monica — The Boy Is Mine (1998)

Reference listening

• Jodeci — Forever My Lady (1991)
• Boyz II Men — End of the Road (1992)
• Whitney Houston — I Will Always Love You (1992)
• Mary J. Blige — Real Love (1992)
• SWV — Weak (1993)
• TLC — Creep (1994)
• Mariah Carey ft. Ol' Dirty Bastard — Fantasy (Remix) (1995)
• Toni Braxton — Un-Break My Heart (1996)
• Aaliyah — One in a Million (1996)
• Brandy & Monica — The Boy Is Mine (1998)