R'z Explains All

What happened to R&B MUSIC? For most of those that will be taking the time out to read this post, when I say R&B it will stir up a myriad of emotions: Negative, indifferent and positive. What I want to delve into is how a genre that has stretched over several generations manages divide opinions so extraordinarily. To understand the dichotomy we have to grasp that the terminology, R&B means something completely different to somebody in their 60’s than it would to somebody in their 30’s. During its inception during the 1940’s Rhythm & Blues borrowed heavily from Jazz music which was the popular music of the era amongst urban America. Contrastingly in the last decade we’ve seen most R&B acts influenced by the more prominent genre of Hip Hop. With the emergence of Hip Hop in the last 30 years and it simultaneously becoming an integral part of popular culture, traditional forms of R&B have taken a back seat to Rap music. Hip Hop seemingly speaks more to the...

In the wee hours of Sunday morning future hall of famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. cemented his place in amongst the boxing immortals. His 49 th consecutive victory against Andre Berto in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas saw him equal Rocky Marciano’s longest undefeated professional record. This subsequently was followed by Mayweather announcing his retirement from the sport of boxing and immediate debate over he is really, as he self-proclaims The Best Ever. Let us put my personal opinions aside for the moment, and take time to understand the journey. In order to do this we have to rewind back to The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Olympics have been the breeding ground for a number of American future stars of the sport for example; Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor all gold medallists in 1984; Sugar Ray Leonard was the imminent star from 1976 in Montreal and most notably Cassius Clay. There is no better platform to potential stardom than an Olympics on home turf, an...

So that time has come again, the two most successful clubs in English football meet again tomorrow afternoon in a pivotal fixture, for both Manchester United and Liverpool at The Theatre of Dreams. The start of the season has seen mixed fortunes for both clubs, the same record (WWDL= 7 points) and already 5 points adrift from early season favourites Manchester City. Despite correlation in on the field fortunes, it is off the field where this week we have seen the focus lie. Pressure on Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been unrelenting, since the abysmal showing at the back end of last season.  This coupled with a tough run of away fixtures to come fans are already baying for his blood. In contrast Louis Van Gaal has no real threat of the chop however rumors of an internal power struggle between his senior players and his strict mentality may undermine the overall progress of the team. The culture and open playing style of Liverpool under Brendan...