A Noble R&B Effort Exists On ‘Where the Light Is’, Yet Is Its Disposition Overly Sunny?
Something has happened in R&B that may be somewhat imperceptible to younger ears. Either the melody follows an urban, menacing, intoxicated groove, or it follows a generic type of chicken soup for the soul style. In both of these yin and yang examples, verses are rapped just as often as they are sung. Surfaces’ new album Where the Light Is is of the chicken-soup variety, a style that sells out as much as it sells Soul. I have a critical opinion about what is basically commendable and positive music here, because I hear its style in every tech commercial trying to sell the latest gadget, and every Gap or Old Navy commercial where they break into collective giddy jubilation. It is a corporatized R&B flavor, to my knowledge originally birthed by Chance the Rapper’s friendly singing style, and highjacked by many an artist trying to catch up in order to cash in with the kumbaya, sing-rapped hook, which can be slapped onto any advertisement.
