New jack swing

New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat[1] is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, new jack swing was most popular from the late 1980s to early 1990s.

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines new jack swing as "pop music usually performed by black musicians that combines elements of jazz, funk, rap, and rhythm and blues."[2] Digital synthesizers were heavily used, notably the Yamaha DX7, Korg M1, and Roland D-50.[3] New jack swing took up the trend of using sampled beats and tunes and created beats using electronic drum machines, such as the SP-1200 sampler and Roland TR-808, to lay an "insistent beat under light melody lines and clearly enunciated vocals."[1] The Roland TR-808 was sampled to create distinctive, syncopated, swung rhythms, with its snare sound being especially prominent.[4][5][1]

  1. ^ a b c Silverton, Peter. "New Jack Swing". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  2. ^ "Definition of JACK SWING". Merriam-Webster. Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Jake (November 19, 2021). "Groove Me! Re-creating New Jack Swing in the Box". inSync. Sweetwater Sound. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby, African American Music: An Introduction, page 368, Routledge
  5. ^ "Alton 'Wokie' Stewart". AllMusic. Retrieved August 19, 2020.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search