Cloudy R&B

Read Harpsichord’s Comprehensive Guide on all genres relevant to the state of current pop, R&B, hip hop, and dance music.

Umbrella Genre: R&B

Stylistic Origins: Trap&B, Hip Hop Soul, Dream Pop, Psychedelia, Lo-Fi, Soundcloud Rap

Date and Location of Development: The late 2000s in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A; would be redefined by the emerging sound of Toronto, Canada R&B in the early 2010s

It is very difficult to say where cloudy R&B first originated because when looking back a lot of R&B throughout the decades dealt with some type of aerial concept– whether lyrically, vocally, or production wise. However, out of all the acts who did it the best and honed in on the sound with mainstream popularity– as it would be defined for today’s age of R&B– that credit would go to Terius “The-Dream” Nash.

The-Dream is one of the forefathers of trap&B. But there’s something in his brand of R&B that relates to clouds. His 2007 album, Love/Hate , is heavily inspired by the 80’s discography of Prince. The-Dream is credited for pioneering the new wave of electronic-pop&B in the late aughts– giving superstars such as Rihanna hits that felt as though they levitated. Love/Hate dealt with topics such as sensual sexuality with the soundscape of synths, raindrops, and hovercrafts. “Nikki” and “Purple Kisses” from the album draw inspiration from Prince. Meanwhile, hip hop soul hits “Falsetto” and “I Luv Your Girl” draw heavily on the incorporation of synths as well as the usage of 808s and electric guitar.

The-Dream in the music video for “Walking On The Moon” in 2009.

Kelly Rowland in the music video for “Motivation” in 2011.

The follow up to Love/Hate , Love vs. Money delves further into cloudy R&B. Released in 2009, there is a more developed aerial sound. That is exhibited on “Walkin’ on the Moon,” “My Love” featuring Mariah Carey, and “Right Side of My Brain.” That same year, Aubrey “Drake” Graham rose to prominence after releasing So Far Gone on platforms such as SoundCloud and DatPiff. The opening tracks, “Lust For Life,” “So Far Gone,” and “Successful” featuring Trey Songz all occupy that space. Eventually both men would link up for 2010’s “Shut It Down” on Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later – which drowned itself in progressive, soulful synths in the manner of a slow jam.

As the 2010’s settled in, R&B became even more synthy as a way to match the merging of R&B and hip hop as one. The decade saw a swelling of producer-songwriters akin to The-Dream who were helping to redefine the songs of veteran acts, as well as newcomers. Rico Love did a lot of work for Kelly Rowland– particularly on her 2011 album, Here I Am . He also helped out Brandy on Two Eleven . Rowland would collab with The-Dream on “Skywalker” from 2013’s Talk A Good Game . Boi-1da rose to prominence for his work with Drake and Nicki Minaj– even producing Kelly Rowland’s “Red Wine” from Talk A Good Game . Then there is Mike Will Made-It who did Future’s “Turn Off The Lights” in 2012 and Ciara’s “Body Party” in 2013.

An artist who made his own name thanks to the help of Drake’s endorsement is The Weeknd. The Weeknd blended the soundscapes of dream pop to achieve even more crossover appeal, as he uploaded his independent projects to SoundCloud, including 2011’s House of Balloons . The most notable cloudy R&B examples are “Wicked Games” and “The Morning.” He has since continued the sound for much of his discography, with 2016’s Starboy being his most accomplished studio album featuring cloudy R&B.

Tinashe in her promo for 2012’s In Case We Die .

Frank Ocean also made a name for himself. With songwriting credits for the likes of Beyoncé (2011’s “I Miss You”) and Brandy (2012’s “Scared of Beautiful”), 2011’s Nostalgia, Ultra helped him become a household name– starting a wave of cloudy R&B mix-tapes as heard by the likes of Tinashe (2012’s In Case We Die ) and Jhené Aiko (2011’s Sailing Soul(s) ). “Thinkin Bout You” from Ocean’s 2012 debut album, Channel Orange also popularized the sound– earning a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year as well as Album.

The sound of cloudy R&B is quite common today, although it blends more into trapsoul. A prime example of who is pioneering 2020’s cloudy R&B would be Don Toliver, who experiments and bends the genre a lot on his 2023 album Love Sick . Toliver is the protege of Travis Scott, who has perfected the sound on his 2018 album, ASTROWORLD .