NEW JILL SWING 1988-94.

dereksmusicblog ♦ September 26, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

New Jill Swing 1988-94.

Ace.

Release Date: 27th, September 2024.

Format: CD.

In the mid-eighties, a new genre of music was born, new jack swing or swingbeat. It was a fusion of jazz, funk, rap and R&B and incorporated the production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop. Producers who pioneered this new musical movement included Bernard Belle, Terry Riley as well as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Key to this new genre were samples. This included sampled beats and samples of existing tracks. Producers used the new E-mu SP-1200, a sampling drum machine and the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer when creating new tracks. 

However, it wasn’t until October 18th, 1987, when Barry Michael Cooper coined the term new jack swing in his profile on Teddy Riley. 

Essentially, the term new jack swing described the sound  that was produced and engineered by Teddy Riley. He was also an R&B and hip hop artist and singer and songwriter. Riley was one of the leading lights of the new jack swing scene.

Nowadays, the late eighties and early nineties are regarded as the golden age of new jack swing. Singles were regularly on the US Billboard 100 and US R&B charts. In 1987, this included Keith Sweat’s first ever new jack swing single “I Want Her.” Just a few months later, Bobby Brown’s single “My Prerogative” popularised the genre even more. This he continued to do.

In 1989, the film Ghostbusters II was released. Brown sung the theme tune, “On Our Own.” When this new jack swing track was released as a single it reached number three in the US Billboard 100 and topped the US R&B charts. The single was a hit worldwide. However, like so many thing there was a but.

New Jack swing was perceived by many as a very male orientated genre. It was like a musical men’s club. In the early nineties, female R&B singers came up with their cheeky response to new jack swing, new jill swing.

The first female swingbeat group made a broke through in the late nineties. This was just the start of another new musical movement.

Unlike new jack swing, new jill swing’s sound borrowed from hip hop. The new genre was a fusion of R&B, soul, jazz, funk, hip hop and pop with a look that was carefully stylised and described as retro-modern. It reference Hollywood glamour and with some artists and groups sporting plaid skirts, baseball caps and braids. It was a sound and look that would provide popular and influence groups like Destiny’s Child. That was all in the future

“New Jill Swing 1988-94,” is a new compilation which will be released by Ace on 27th, September 2024. It features eighteen example of the new genre that was the response to new jack swing.

Opening the compilation is Allstar and Teddy Riley’s Radio Remix of I’m So Into You by SWV. It was released in 1993, and is a melodic, memorable and dancefloor friendly track that’s stood the test of time.

In 1988, Karyn White enjoyed a triumvirate of number ones in the US R&B charts. The first was “The Way You Love Me” which combines her soulful vocal with tough beats and eighties’ synths. It’s an example of late-eighties swingbeat by one of its female pioneers.

Pebbles signed as a solo artist to MCA in 1987, and three years later, in 1990, she released “Giving You The Benefit” as a single. It reached number four in the US Billboard 100 and topped the US R&B charts, and is regarded as one of her finest singles.

“Your Sweetness” is a track from the Good Girls’ “All Your Love” album. It was released on Motown in 1990. This album track combines their sweet, soulful vocals a tough, shuffling new jill swing arrangement.

R&B singer Tara Kemp was originally from Livermore, California. However, by 1991, she was part of the new jill swing scene. She signed to Irving Azoff’s nascent Giant Records in 1990. However, soon she realised that she was in the wrong movie. The label didn’t know how to market her, and when she released “Piece Of My Heart” in 1991, it wasn’t a commercial success. That’s despite her sweet, soulful vocal and carefully crafted dancefloor friendly arrangement. For Kemp, it was the one that got away.

En Vogue were a quartet of funky divas from Oakland, California, who were born to sing. They’re without doubt,the best known groups on the compilation. Their contribution is the New Jack Remix of released “Lies” that was released in 1991. It’s uber soulful, funky and combines R&B with an instantly recognisable early-nineties dancefloor friendly sound. The result is one of the highlights of the compilation. 

Nuttin’ Nyce were a quartet from Sacramento, who by 1990, were signed to the Jive label. Their debut single was “In My Nature,” which reached eighty-three in the US Billboard 100 and fifty-two in the US R&B charts. It was a case of what might have been, as this earworm features their sweet but sassy and soulful vocals and a new jill swing arrangement that thirty-four years later, doesn’t sound dated.

 In the summer of 1991, Shanice released her single “I Love Your Smile.” It reached number two in the US Billboard 100. Three years later, in 1994, she was signed to Motown and released the album “21…Ways To Grow. It features hook-laden dancer “I Wanna Give It To You,” which is one of the album’s highlights.

Closing New Jill Swing 1988-94 is “My Happiness” by Keisha Jackson, the daughter of Millie Jackson. This joyous and uplifting track was the highlight of her eponymous debut album, which was released on Epic in 1989.

For anyone interested in either new jack swing or new jill swing, this new eighteen track compilation may be of interest to them. New Jill Swing 1988-94 features some familiar faces and what will be some new names. 

The artists and groups combine various genres and the latest technology to create music that was a mixture of the old and the new. Mostly, the music was soulful, sometimes funk and dancefloor friendly. The tracks on New Jill Swing 1988-94 are between thirty and thirty-six years old, but many of them have stood the test of time,  and even today, would still fill a dancefloor. 

However, the music on New Jill Swing 1988-94 is a reminder of what was an important and influential musical genre. It was a genre that inspired future generations of R&B groups and singers. Over thirty years later, the new jill swing sound can still be heard in their music.

New Jill Swing 1988-94.