The Roots of R&B Archives

The roots of R&B Archives are found in a discussion that I had with friends and family about R&B music. 

The Discussion about R&B

The Origins of the Discussion

The best decade of R&B is a highly debated (sometimes hotly debated) topic of conversation. Favorites–in terms of music–are a matter of personal opinion because different sounds give each of us a different feeling. Still, the R&B genre has a distinct sound. That sound is present in multiple decades of the genre. I am a huge fan of music and artist from each decade. Being a fan, I wanted to hear the opinions of friends and family. So, on March 27, 2022, I launched a conversation with them via my personal Facebook profile to get their opinion on the best decade of R&B music.

Early Results

Most of my friends were born in the 70s and 80s. The years from 1990 to 1999 were the years of great growth and maturity for us. So, naturally most of us chose the 90s as our favorite decade of R&B. With my family, I got a range of responses from the 50s through the 90s. Originally, the 90s was winning the debate. More friends than family voted, and most of my older family members do not use social media. For accuracy, the conversation needed input from a wider age range. It needed to hear from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 90s, and 2000s babies. Therefore, I expanded the discussion (again via Facebook) to a wider audience.

 The Expanded the Discussion

Gathering input from a wider audience shifted the conversation. The best decade of R&B was not set in stone. Many 40, 50s, and 60s babies had a very different opinion about the genre than the 70s and 80s babies. The 1970s quickly took the lead as the best decade of R&B, but it was eventually surpassed by the 60s. This shift in the conversation made me even more curious. The 90s is my favorite decade. Still, many of my favorite songs come from the 70s. So, it was difficult to argue with the shift. However, the expanded Facebook conversation did not include the thoughts of enough people born after 1990. DocDesmondRadio.com was created to capture the opinion of an even wider audience.

Below are the rankings from Doc Desmond Radio’s Original vote, prior to the launch of R&B Archives.

Final Result 

Since the 90s was my decade of growth and maturity, I decided to create a radio station that paid homage to that era in my life. That was my coming of age decade. In it, I began to develop my faith, find my purpose, and deepen my love for sports. The 1990s was the decade that I developed a greater love for and understanding about life. However, the larger discussion remains open. I would like to get the input of at least 250,000 R&B lovers. In the meantime, R&B Archives looks to solve a problem within R&B and within music.

The Problem with R&B

R&B has a rich history. Its sound is a tapestry of cultures that have been woven together over several decades. Despite its rich history of sounds, radio does the genre a disservice with its regularly, repeated playlists of artists and songs. I grew up in the metro Atlanta area during the 1990s. The community was thriving with growth energy from business, sports, and entertainment.  Music was diverse and full of promise. I can remember the emergence of HOT 97.5 (amazing hip hop and R&B). But we also had V103 (contemporary R&B), Love 104.1 (smooth jazz) and Kiss 104.7 (old school R&B). DJs valued spinning the best tracks which meant having diversity in their playlists. Somewhere along the way that all changed. Now, we have stale playlists with repeating rotations. It is common to hear the same artist and the same songs at exactly the same time everyday.

The Solution for R&B

R&B Archives is the solution to the problem with R&B. We would like to bring back diversity on the radio, while enriching our community. We pride ourselves on keeping the rotation fresh, because R&B stations should celebrate the many artists that give the genre its rich history and diversity. Therefore, we serve a healthy portion of old-fashioned, Southern values against the backdrop of a generous rotation of 90s R&B.

RnB Archives is my media to: 

• Compile a catalog of music–with 90s R&B as a focal point–that the entire family can enjoy.
• Continue developing my faith within a community of like minds.
• Inspiring & encourage others to find greater purpose.
• Deepen my love for sports and for life.