the mainstream countesses of hip hop soul, by year
Digital Magazine
Mary J. Blige may be the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, but who followed her lead the best each year to get their own place in the court of R&B?
BY HARPSICHORD
OCTOBER 8, 2023
A.I. illustration of SZA, Lauryn Hill, and Keyshia Cole.
Mary J. Blige will forever be the queen
In 1992, while finalizing the album production of What’s The 411?, Sean “Puffy” Combs (who now goes by LOVE, while others know him as “Diddy”) came up with the honorific name “Queen of Hip Hop Soul.” The title had been bestowed on Mary J. Blige, who at just her debut era had the duty of introducing the genre to the mainstream world. Upon hip hop soul’s official birth in ‘92, audiences would be introduced to the sleek, breezy sway of her lead singles “You Remind Me” and “Real Love” – two songs that had the drum kickbacks of the genre’s predecessor, new jack swing. The stark contrast between the parent and child genres existed in how singers like Blige offered a new level of soul singing with the attitude and mindset of a hip hop star. Coincidentally, those singers’ beats came from producers whose primary focus was dominating the respective hip hop (and pop) industry.
As Mary J. Blige’s discography expanded in the 90s into the 2000s, so did the blueprint and rules for the hip hop soul genre. The genre’s lyricism had to balance heartbreak and strife with the hopes and aspirations of love. By the point of her 2001 album, No More Drama, and 2005’s The Breakthrough, she would receive more triumph which meant a rags to riches story arc infusing itself in the romantic drama. Alongside her own solo music, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul also had the duty of collaborating with rappers. And not just any rapper, but the hottest ones deserving of honorific titles themselves, or had the most promising careers. Encapsulated in the music: “Ghetto Fabulous,” a term attributed to the hood-meets-glamor fashion sense and demeanor of Mary J. Blige.
Mary J. blige’s Peers of 1992: aka The Duchesses of hip hop soul
Below a queen is her daughter, a princess. In the case of Mary J. Blige, she has never on the record claimed a daughter figure in the music industry. While she has continuously supported women throughout her career– even the younger artists who picked up after her stylings– none of them can do it quite like Mary. Duchess and empress were both thrown out of the equation for the purpose of this article, because Mary J. Blige also had peers that debuted around the same time as her. These ladies should also be briefly recognized for how they contributed to the beginning layers of the Hip Hop Soul sound.
Prior to Blige’s arrival in 1992, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes debuted in 1991 with “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” as the girl group TLC. The lead single had a new jack swing base, with T-Boz and Chilli singing while Left Eye offered a rap verse. In February 1992, the trio’s debut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, dropped with similar songs following that example. Two years later, their sophomore effort, CrazySexyCool, featured Puffy as a producer, and included a more sensual hip hop soul soundscape on tracks like “Creep.”
Another trio girl group by the name of SWV released their debut, It’s About Time, in 1992. Although neither Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" George, nor Leanne "Lelee" Lyons were rappers like Left Eye, their album also included hip hop influences. Their group’s mission emphasized what their initials stood for: “Sisters With Voices.” Their first single, “Right Here,” eventually received a “Human Nature” remix a year later– capitalizing on a quickly emerging trend in hip hop music. In subsequent years, SWV added to the hip hop soul cannon with ‘96’s “You’re The One” and ‘97’s “Someone” (which conspicuously had a feature from Puff Daddy and sampled the instrumental of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ten Crack Commandment”).
Also debuting in 1992 with a soundtrack single: Toni Braxton. With a deep contralto voice, Braxton approached her style of R&B with more techniques of the quiet storm genre. Many of her career’s beginning songs experienced the remix treatment, while Braxton herself carried a sophisticated swagger that made her a muse for hip hop artists (see: The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Just Playing (Dreams)”). It would take Braxton until the 2000s to delve more in hip hop focused R&B, but nonetheless she remains a central figure in the genre’s overall soundscape.
mariah carey: the empress of hip pop soul
When looking at nobility rankings, a duchess, while below the queen, has their own territories to serve and tend to. TLC, SWV, and Toni Braxton all did that in their own rights, which is why they will be excluded from the list. As for the empress, that title will be given to Mariah Carey. An empress is on the same level as a queen. Prior to all the aforementioned ladies, Mariah Carey dropped her debut self-titled album in 1990. However at that time, hip hop was not at the forefront of her catalog. Five years later, Carey’s career would be reenergized by an Ol’ Dirty Bastard feature on “Fantasy,” which received a Puffy remix. Soon Carey would be known for her staple R&B, hip hop collabs once she experienced artistic liberation on 1997’s Butterfly. The chanteuse figured how to perfectly mesh pop theatrics and sensibility with an R&B voice and hip hop production. Therefore, she will be recognized as “The Empress of Hip Pop Soul” – a slight deviation from hip hop soul.
so why the nobility ranking of “Countess” for this list?
Following the queen, the duchesses, and the empress would be the marquise, a woman who defends against potentially hostile neighbors. Although hip hop and R&B received its fair share of criticisms, it still remained fruitful. As a result of hip hop soul, R&B dominated the 90s into the 2000s, and subsequently inspired a new league of artists receiving mainstream success. Therefore, no one had to defend its honor quite as hard as a noble figure would during times of war. That leads to a countess, someone who had administrative responsibilities that made sure order existed. Since people followed Blige’s order, they then had to become responsible for growing hip hop soul. Therefore, countess will be used to acknowledge their honorary title.
This list consists of a year by year selection starting in 1993, a year after 1992’s hip hop soul explosion. Some names will appear on this list multiple times, as there were multiple peaks in those ladies careers. As expected, there will be names that readers will agree with, and some names that others will question based on principle. It also needs to be mentioned that although a countess may have released music in a respective year, their impact may not have been felt or fully experienced until the following year.
The qualifications for this list is based on commercial success, impact, and influence each countess brought to music by incorporating hip hop soul in their catalog. Simply put: Who were the countesses that followed Mary’s hip hop soul lead the best?
