Soul Sweep: September 14, 2013...

We're at the "hump" of today's "chart sweeps" checking out the songs reaching the various radio charts in Billboard magazine this week, and this time we're up to the newest on R&B radio.

Now before I head in to it, I want to point out the somewhat glaring example of what is happening now that the mag retooled their main "Songs" lists to simply distill the Hot 100 (including all airplay) for their Rock, R&B, Country, and Dance Songs charts. All the songs with "crossover" elements would be heavily weighted, and this was the worst on the R&B chart. Now not to say that soul music is required to be an African-American experience, or that artists of any race can produce quality soul music, but the staff at Billboard getting to choose what they consider an "R&B" tune has skewed the chart unbelievably. This week the top-10 singles contain three from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, two with Justin Timberlake (one in a featured role, but very prominent with all the singing), two from Robin Thicke, one from white rapper Eminem, and one from Canadian rapper Drake, whose mother was white as well. That leaves one record, "Gas Pedal" from Sage The Gemini and Iamsu, where both artists are black. And that record's a "dance fad" single, not even showing on the airplay chart at all.  What does this say about marginalizing soul music when R&B stations are given back seat treatment to the overwhelming numbers pop (and sometimes dance) stations are throwing at the charts? With the people in charge there believing they're quite capable to sifting what's a "soul" record as opposed to a pop record, this will only get worse before anything can get better. Fucking hipsters.

Anyway...

On the only chart to really track the format, the Hot R&B/HipHop Airplay chart (well, the best they can do), Robin Thicke does pull off a #1 trick for the seventh week with "Blurred Lines"...(by the way, the #2 R&B stations airplay hit, "Crooked Smile" by J. Cole, is down at #12 on their "songs" list, while the #5, Miguel's "How Many Drinks", isn't even on the chart anymore...)...

The top entry at #34 is the song that was last week's "Soul Pick of the Week", the reunion of Toni Braxton and Babyface with "Hurt You". It also moves up to #14 on the Adult R&B chart...

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The aforementioned Sage The Gemini is in at #38 with the track being played on R&B radio, "Red Nose", my "Soul Pick of the Week"...

and at #47 is rapper Schoolboy Q with "Collard Greens" featuring Kendrick Lamar...

Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult R&B radio panel, "Blurred Lines" sits in for a fifth week on top...

The sole entry at #40 is former Immature member Marques Houston with "The Way Love Is"....

That's it for this week's soul excursion...I'll return with the newest on country radio...groove on!