There’s no question that the ‘90s was the golden era for R&B music. However, the 2000’s wasn’t too bad for the genre either. In fact, R&B artists were still selling a lot of records and landing high positions on the Billboard chart.
Let’s go ten years back to 2007. It was the year Rihanna became the Rihanna we today — a dominating force in the digital music era. Her single “Umbrella” shattered records, becoming the highest digital debut in the U.S. since Nielsen Soundscan began tracking downloads. The JAY-Z-assisted tune opened first week sales with over 277,000 downloads.
From Trey Songz’s “Can’t Help But Wait” to Keyshia Cole’s “Heaven Sent,” 2007 was also the year where some of today’s A-list R&B stars made some of their signature songs. Meanwhile, artists like The-Dream, Chrisette Michele and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks were just getting started with the release of their respective debut albums.
Rated R&B has compiled a list of 26 R&B/soul albums that celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2017.
Random fun fact: 2007 also marked the debut of the first iPhone (OK, you can scroll now).
Lloyd — Street Love
Release Date: March 13
Record Label: Universal Motown Records
Singles: “You,” “Get It Shawty” and “Player’s Prayer”