Seduction in Song: Is Sexuality in Music More Brazen Than Ever?

Sexuality has always been a part of R&B. The music was born from the blues after all, and in the earlier part of the 20th century no genre was more overtly sexual than the blues. Songs like “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Back Door Man,” and “Crawling King Snake” were among the bawdiest tunes of their day, and R&B was birthed in that sexually charged atmosphere. As the genre evolved, adding more pop-friendly elements (four-part harmonies and teenage puppy-love lyrics), it lost a lot of the grit and bluesy-ness of its early years. But sexuality remained a staple of R&B music all through the soul years.

In 2009, sexuality is as much a part of R&B as it ever was — perhaps even more so. Crooners like Pretty Ricky, Trey Songz, The-Dream and others, inject a heavy dose of carnal innuendo into their chart-topping singles.
Pretty Ricky, in particular, is well known for their salacious subject matter — and the group readily embraces their raunchy reputation. Spectacular, Slick ‘Em, Baby Blue, and Lingerie do not hold back when it comes to discussing their stock-and-trade: songs about sex.

“Pretty Ricky are the kings of the bedroom, the gods of sex,” says Baby Blue. “When it comes down to baby-makin,’ love-makin’ music, it don’t get no better than Pretty Ricky, this is what we do.”
The foursome burst onto the scene in 2006, with songs like “Grind With Me” and “Your Body.” Now, after the departure of members Pleasure P and Ambition/4play, the group’s latest effort, titled simply Pretty Ricky, features more of what audiences have come to expect from the quartet.

“When you’re trying to create that beautiful moment in the bedroom, when you need that soundtrack to good lovemaking, to romance, to make up sex, to break up sex — when you need all of that — pop that Pretty Ricky CD in, because that’s what we got on lock,” says Baby Blue.

The airwaves are practically overrun with baby-makin’ music these days. And in an age when rappers are seemingly always under fire for their lyrics, R&B singers have largely been given a pass, despite the fact that many of their songs are just as raunchy and explicit and get airplay at almost any time of day.

Jeremih had one of 2009’s biggest hits with “Birthday Sex,” a song that was played on urban stations ad infinitum for most of the summer with little regard to how early in the day it might have been. Had that been a rap song, it would’ve probably only seen airplay late at night — if at all. The same for Songz’s hit “I Invented Sex,” a braggadocio-filled slow-burner that proclaims the singer’s sexual prowess in the bedroom.
There is also a double standard when it comes to who can sing about sex — and how brazen they can be. When Beyoncé and Lady Gaga debuted the video for the single “Videophone,” there were a number of fans that were taken aback by Beyoncé’s (gasp!) sexually suggestive poses and images. When female R&B singers decide to show they like to get little freaky, too — there’s a problem. But a man can sing about sex, simulate sex, and brag about sex with no regard to any backlash from his majority young, female fan base. Not that this is anything new.  Imagine what would’ve happened had Gladys Knight recorded “Sexual Healing” as opposed to Marvin Gaye.
The trend towards hyper-sexed R&B, at least in the contemporary sense, began in the early ‘90s. Groups like BBD, Jodeci, H-Town, and Silk began storming up the charts with hits like “Knockin’ Da Boots,” “Freek N You,” and “Do Me.” Instead of slyly singing “Let’s Get It On,” more and more performers were blatantly singing about who and what they were licking and sticking. Singers like Trey Songz, The-Dream and Pretty Ricky grew up on these songs, so their influence is the touchstone for what these artists do in their music. Songz, in particular, is strongly influenced by singer-songwriter R. Kelly, who’s racked up armfuls of sexed-up hits over the course of his nearly 20-year career. And when the fan base is eating it up, one can only expect for the artists to continue to deliver. These artists play to a largely female audience, and when women are going wild for testosterone-heavy bedroom songs, they’re likely to get more of them.

“We were performing on a football arena,” Blue recalls. “[The girls] jumped over the barrier to get to us. I don’t need girls trying to break their legs to get to us. It ain’t that deep. We’ll come to you!”

But Pretty Ricky, as outlandish as they can be with their sexual bragging, try not to succumb to the hype. “We don’t believe in groupies — that’s a stereotype that society has put on our beautiful women,” Spectacular says. “But overzealous fans who want to get to the artists to get hugs and kisses — they do all kinds of stuff.”

But the guys know what their image is, and Pretty Ricky will continue to cater to those “overzealous” fans by playing up to it. If you’re expecting the guys in Pretty Ricky to all of a sudden metamorphosis into choirboys — you’re looking at the wrong group of guys. Boyz II Men they ain’t.

“The key to making quality baby-making music is first of all, you’ve got to have experience in baby-making,” says Lingerie, chuckling. “So once you have that experience, then you can get right on in there and make some good music.”

These guys know that licking their lips, humping the floor and taking off their shirts only makes their fans crazier — and they aren’t going to stop “pleasing” their fans.

“Spectacular is the King of Grind,” Blue says of his brother and bandmate. “Ladies love him for that grind, for the six-pack — [and] he licks his lips like he’s LL Cool J. He relates to the fans, he talks to the fans — whether online or on his cell phone. He keeps in contact with them. I might be doing business stuff, but he does that.”

The-Dream sings about having a woman “Sweat It Out,” and Pleasure P brags about being “Boyfriend No. 2.” As old-fashioned as it may sound — where’s the sentiment? Where’s the romance? There’s still some of it out there, but the songs that are topping are the charts are the ones that cater to the libido — at least those that appeal to the 25 and under crowd.

The more romantic arm of R&B tends to get more spins with older fans — which is ironic considering that older adults are the ones typically most emotionally mature to handle no-strings-attached sexual relationships. With so many teens and twenty-somethings engaged in relationships they don’t understand and can’t handle, and with so many unplanned pregnancies happening to younger and younger people, maybe casual sex shouldn’t be such a preoccupation. At some point it becomes an unhealthy obsession.