The History of New Jack Swing Music
The Evolution of the New Jack Swing sound from the ‘80s to ‘90s
New Jack Swing was the best thing to come out of R&B and hip-hop. It was a fusion genre of all the elements of African American music including jazz and funk. It was an upbeat take on dance and hip-hop that took over the late 80s and early 90s. It’s one of the subgenres that helped you identify 80s and 90s black music. I wanted to deep dive into one of my favorite subgenres of music for Black History Month.
Early Beginnings in the Mid-to-late ‘80s
New Jack Swing was one of the sounds that defined black radio. The name “New Jack” came from Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers. “Swing” came from connecting music to the crack generation. In the mid-80s, R&B producers Teddy Riley and Lenny White state that New Jack Swing started with Junior Giscombe’s “Oh Louise.” However, other critics would state Full Force’s “Alice (I Want You Just for Me).” Janet Jackson’s Control was a big influence on the rise of New Jack Swing because of its R&B, funk, and jazz appeal. Along came Teddy Riley becoming a big New Jack Swing pioneer. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also tagged along with working on Rhythm Nation 1814.
