Though RnB has garnered critical attention the last few years, the genre has been experiencing an exciting facelift coming out of the West Coast, where producers and artists have been revolutionizing the genre with the rise of RnBass music. The idea is simple: take the pop elements of DJ Mustard’s ratchet production and combine with turn-up lyrics and one’s halfway there to a great song. "RnBass" was coined by the producer JMaine, but the musical style has really been popularized across America by DJ Mustard whose string of rnbass singles really helped him crossover into the pop mainstream. The genre produced the hits of "Loyal", "2 On", and "Don’t Tell ‘Em", which have been the increasingly rare staples of both rap and pop radio. Below are RnBass tracks that show the broad spectrum of styles that exist within the genre from Soundcloud to radio hits.
Bobby Brackins: "Hot Box" [ft. G-Eazy & Mila J]
Though he doesn’t have his name topping on the Billboard charts, 2014 has been a good year for Bobby Brackins. Not only did he share writing credits on Tinashe’s hit "2 On", but he also contributed in writing the year’s biggest R&B/hip-hop "Loyal". This talent of Brackins isn’t sudden--go back to last year’s Maxwell Park to hear sonic roots of those eventual hits—and his own single “Hot Box” proves it isn’t limited other people’s tracks. An ode to smoke-filled four-wheeled vehicles, Mila J gives the song a sly hook that Brackins and G-Eazy deftly maneuver around with their verses. —David Turner
DJ Carisma: "Anyway" [ft. Tory Lanez, Sage the Gemini, Eric Bellinger, and Mishon]
DJ Carisma is a long-time champion of exciting party music coming out of California, instrumental in breaking songs like YG’s "Toot It and Boot It" and Sage the Gemini’s "Gas Pedal". Her recent co-signs—along with the Bay Area’s DJ Amen—have appeared on mixtapes from RnBass stars Rayven Justice, Jonn Hart, Adrian Marcel, and Derek King among others. It only makes sense that the first single from her upcoming album is a textbook rnbass. Over League of Starz member Trend’s little empty synth pings and snaps; Tory Lanez, Eric Bellinger, Sage, and Mishon take to the act of seduction through their own braggadocios. —Crystal Leww
E-40: "Red Cup" [ft. T-Pain, Kid Ink, and B.o.B]
E-40 is the great technician of slang and flows with a persona to match, somehow never was able to escape his primarily West Coast fame in his decades long career. But that has not prevented him from lending his talents to the trendy local RnB style, appearing on Laroo’s "Let Me See You" and right here on "Red Cup". T-Pain, B.o.B, and Kid Ink were all early beneficiaries of RnBass: DJ Mustard produced a slew of hits for them in "Up Down", "Paranoid", "Show Me", and "My Main Chick". "Red Cup" takes the icy synths of the RnBass club hit and places on a song devoted to the red cup, the ultimate symbol of the backyard barbeque function. Even T-Pain never sounded more excited about finding a surface to put his drink. —Crystal Leww
Flo Rida: "Rear View" [ft. August Alsina]
A hit pop song is hard to create. So of course there are plenty of songs that artists work on that never achieve such success. But where such songs might have been on the radio one minute and forgotten the next, today these pop failures thrive on Youtube. Flo Rida swung and missed with "Rear View", which grabbed August Alsina fresh off his hit "I Luv This Shit" and still in demand producer DJ Mustard. The song lacks the usually smoothness of other RnBass songs, but the that bouncing synth evokes the warmth of summer enough to make one wish the world of pop could give it another chance as fall settles in. —David Turner
Latifa Tee: "Games"
The minimalism of RnBass might be connected with the Ratchet sound of 2010s rap, but Latifa Tee’s “Games” recalls a more energetic take on Cassie’s "Me & U". Ryan Leslie’s minimalist production still sounds just as well executed as it did in 2006 and "Games" wisely only layers a slight bit onto its base skeletal track. And though many RnBass tunes are give singers a reason to act a fool, Latifa Tee has a simple lover’s request to just end the teasing and pulling her apart her emotions. —David Turner
Mase: "Nothing" [ft. Eric Bellinger]
Though DJ Mustard is the name connected to everything California and R&B/rap, the Los Angeles producer Nic Nac’s own discography is nothing to ignore. He created early RnBass tracks like Sean Kingston’s "Beat It", Zendaya’s "My Baby" and Chris Brown’s "Loyal". "Nothing" shares the most musical connections to "Loyal", but here there is no guilt to enjoying Mase and Eric Bellinger’s turn on a Nic Nac beat. Unlike Chris Brown, who chides "hoes" for disloyalty, Mase and Bellinger are reverent, celebrating their women for doing their own thing and not needing a man. "Nothing" is a triumph for all. —Crystal Leww
Molia: "IDK" [ft. Rayven Justice]
While RnBass has mostly been about the turn-up, there’s plenty of space within the boom and slap of these beats for emotional heft, too. Molia and Rayven Justice team up in "IDK" for a duet about about staying loyal in one’s relationship. Molia hangs tough, but she’s clearly hurt, pausing from hard line to lament, "I would never, never ever do nothing to hurt you." Justice plays stupid, automatically and robotically spitting out "I don’t know I don’t, I don’t know." Bonus: follow-up "Too Late" is the fall-out from Justice’s fuckery. —Crystal Leww
Netta Brielle: "3xKrazy"
Despite mainstream R&B artists adopting the sounds of RnBass into their music, RnBass originated from California, and specifically from the Bay. Netta Brielle opens the track with a "Naw, but I’m from here from here," in the perfectly snotty and judgmental tone that city folks give suburbanites before inviting you into her world, asking "Can I take you to the Bay with me?" What follows is a true RnBass hit. —Crystal Leww
TeeFlii: "24 Hours" [ft. 2 Chainz]
TeeFlii is an interesting character. He isn’t exactly a great singer, nor is his slight and lewd persona on record too exciting, but his voice carries a hook so well that it makes up for wherever else he stumbles. "24 Hours" features all of those weaknesses but the '90s house-styled production from DJ Mustard overshadows those faults. 2 Chainz also delivers his worst/most amazing verse of the year when he rhymes "womb service" with "room service," which not even TeeFlii at his worst could dream up. 2 Chainz doing the hard work where others fall. —David Turner
Tinashe: "All Hands on Deck"
Tinashe could have been the RnBass princess in a field full of princes if only she had wanted the title, but Aquarius quickly proved that that she wanted more than simply to recreate her DJ Mustard hit "2 On". "All Hands on Deck" is the only track on the album that follows the genre’s sound with icy, hollow beats, snaps, and stabbing synths. Tinashe adds plenty of sinister charm and rachet pan flute because she can. Hope should remain she will assume the throne, as earlier this month she hosted a Chris Styles’ RnBass mix and is reportedly on DJ Carisma’s debut album. Only the most ratchet and best soundtracked crowning ceremony awaits. —Crystal Leww