A Peek into (New) Chinese R&B

We all love the Mandpop ballads from the likes of JJ Lin 林俊杰 and Jay Chou 周杰伦, as well as the head-banging rock anthems from 五月天,  but sometimes you don't wanna stew in the same old depressing lovelorn breakup songs or bop, bop, bop, bop to the top.

A great alternative is RNB, Rhythm and Blues, a chillax music genre that often comprises buttery smooth vocals and sexy electronic beats that are influenced by hiphop, trap, jazz and funk.

Here's a look at some (newer) RNB artists making their mark in the Chinese music industry with their sick fresh tunes. Let's hang loose and chill!

Gen Neo 梁根榮
Singaporean singer-songwriter based in South Korea

Very sultry, swagboy confident vocals and a beast at production! 很帅气的音乐。



Gen Neo has collaborated with some big names like Henry from Super Junior-M, Fei from K-pop group Miss A, and more recently, released a song called MINE with Singaporean R&B princess Sam Rui. Also check out his cover of 人质 originally by Amei for a starter to see how he flips the song with his production.


Nigel Tay 郑伟杰
Malaysian born Berklee alumni who has appeared on singing shows like Sing! China 中国好声音 and 我的乐队

Possesses a "softer", dreamy vocal tone reminiscent of The Weeknd, infused with some Asian inspired vocal turns and jazz/funk grounding.  Excellent, creative vocal runs and arrangements too! His newest EP however has more of a light-hearted, 暖男 approachable pop quality meant to melt the teenage heart. Check out 一口浪漫 on Spotify!



KnowKnow
A hiphop artist from Nanjing, China, also known as DZ. 1/4 of Higher Brothers, arguably the first successful international Chinese rap group! Higher Brothers is also part of 88rising, a label primarily for American-Asian and Asian artists.  Just adding this song because it introduces you to Chinese hip hop too! I first got to know about Chinese and Vietnamese rap through 88rising. Much love.



Also I love this cover of RNB All Night and have been spamming my friends with it.



Hope you guys enjoy it! If you have any Asian RNB artists to introduce me, I'm all ears. Just leave a comment below, I'll love to check it out.

P.S. Shout out to the older Mando-RNB artists like Cao Ge, Khalil Fong and Eason Chan for paving the way for new artists!

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