Diddy and Timbaland got into a heated debate on Instagram Live as to whether R&B is officially “dead.”
Diddy and Timbaland argued whether the genre of R&B is “dead” during a heated debate on Instagram Live, Wednesday night. Diddy claimed that the genre has lost touch with its purpose, explaining that R&B is about “feeling your vulnerability.”
“R&B is muthafuckin’ dead as of right now,” Diddy stated during the stream. “The R&B I made my babies to? R&B gotta be judged to a certain thing — it’s the feeling though, doggy. No, no, no. It’s a feeling. You gotta be able to sing for R&B and then you gotta tell the truth. R&B is not a hustle. This shit is about feeling your vulnerability.”
He continued: “You gotta muthafuckin make a n***a dick hard or a woman’s vagina wet. You gotta cry. You gotta be able to get your girl back. I don’t wanna hear all this bullshit […] It’s our fault for accepting anything less for anybody getting on a mic. I feel like there was a death of R&B singing, and I’m a part of bringing that shit back! I ain’t feelin’ no emotions.”
Timbaland, on the other hand, disagreed with Diddy but struggled to get in many points during the stream. When asked to name five R&B artists who could sing without Auto-Tune, the iconic producer struggled, to which Diddy replied, “R&B don’t sound too alive. You don’t even know anybody’s name.”
Diddy also spoke to Mary J. Blige about her opinion, with the legendary singer mentioning her favorite artists to be Chaka Khan, Etta James, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Jazmine Sullivan, and SWV.
Check out Diddy and Timbaland’s debate on the state of R&B below.
