1988-94

Description

New Jill Swing was a cheeky response to the very masculine world of new jack swing in the late 80s, and it marked the dawn of a golden age for female R&B in the 90s. The original source of new jack swing - or swingbeat - was found on key records like Janet Jackson’s Control, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, which mixed hard rhythms with soul, real R&B with 808s and a hard shuffle. Producer Teddy Riley pushed these sounds a little further in the late 80s, blending them with hip-hop because - as strange as it may seem today - hip-hop in the 80s was barely integrated into R&B. Solo acts like Karyn White (“The Way You Love Me”) and Jasmine Guy (“Try Me”) followed in Janet Jackson’s futuristic footsteps, inspiring a host of female groups that followed in the early 90s. The pioneers were the Good Girls, a Motown group who set out to become the Supremes of swingbeat, with the wonderful “Your Sweetness” in 1989. In 1990, the R&B superstars En Vogue burst onto the scene, whose confidence and style proved that swingbeat was not just a genre for boy bands. Xscape (“Love On My Mind”) followed in 1991, while SWV (“I’m So Into You”) and Jade (“Don’t Walk Away”) both had their first UK hits in spring 1993. These hits were also pop classics in their melodies and lyrics, recalling the girl groups of the 60s while looking toward the 21st century. “New Jill Swing” was compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint-Etienne and is historically important because it is the very first compilation of the genre. New Jill Swing may draw on hip-hop, but it is more intelligently styled and resolutely retro-modern in its look, whether in En Vogue’s old Hollywood references, the Good Girls’ plaid skirts or Jade’s baseball caps and braids. It also, unintentionally, lays the groundwork for the ultra-modern sounds that would come later in the decade, notably TLC and Missy Elliot.