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En Vogue: A throwback to the 90s

Written by Vanessa Oben
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 00:00

Watching the MTV Video Music Awards this year, I couldn’t help feeling dismal. Like everyone else, I tuned in- remote control at the ready, waiting to see a show.

In fact, dying to see a show. Something. Anything different from the usual publicity stunts and predictable line-up of artists and performances. In fact- praying that something would be different. Something that would signal change; that we are in fact not slipping further and further out of the irretrievable and abstract grasp of good music and into the dark abyss of “I don’t know what”. In fact, it was this precise feeling of “I don’t know what” that kept me distinctively uncomfortable. While presenter Russell Brand continued to heap praise upon every other act like the talented thespian he is (Lil Wayne- “an amazing man”…really?) I couldn’t help feeling like I was the victim of some type of brain-washing media conspiracy on the part of the industry designed to distort my thinking and cloud my perception. Was it the fact that I could no longer relate? Was I getting old? Did I expect too much? Had the MTV Video Music Awards always been this mindless? Had generic Hip-hop and Pop-ish RnB become the music for a new generation? Who else was tuning in- and were they enjoying it? Or were they like me- turning off the television, left with a bottomless feeling that Beyonce and Britney Spears wasn’t all that good dance music has to offer today? And if not, failing perpetual retreat into that elusive “golden age” of music like the old moaners and complainers we are, where should we turn for inspiration?

It wasn’t until several weeks later, flicking through the T.V, that I began to understand what the feeling of “I don’t know what” at the back of my mind was. I was cruising through MTV one evening when I came across an old video from female quartet En Vogue, re-working Aretha Franklin’s original hit "Giving Him Something He Can Feel". The premise was simple: four women in long red evening gowns and black long-sleeved gloves performing subtle moves and shakes before an audience of an array of black men donning suits and tuxedos in a performance more classy and more sensual than anything Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey or Beyonce put together could achieve today. I felt a re-awakening of my love for these women- for their timeless music, in addition to a re-discovery of my pride in being a female. All of this led me to further explore their intrigue and phenomenon as a group.

Before The Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child and the Pussycat Dolls: there was En Vogue. I learned that they have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in history with a total of seven VMAs, sold over 20 million albums and singles worldwide and received seven Grammy nominations.

And what’s best of all is: they could actually sing.

I was lead to a fiery performance on Youtube of their Billboard Chart-topping single My Lovin (Never Gonna Get It) at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. I watched them command the crowd’s attention with harmonies, a synchronization of style and movement and a combination of subtle maneuvers that only acted to highlight a tightly reigned-in, bubbling below- the -surface sexuality. Something that Beyonce Knowles, however well-meaning- could not achieve at the VMAs this year in her self-conscious, decorative leotard, complete with “big” hair and over-the-top pelvic thrusts and vocals.

Furthermore, listening to the single “Free your Mind” from the same album- I realize that the song does something that I miss hearing in the “Top Ten” Rnb/Pop and Hip-hop singles today: it makes a statement. A statement, that is- on something other than what colour watch to wear to match to your outfit to go to the club tonight.

Borrowing the title from man-of-funk George Clinton’s "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow"--the song addresses the issue of prejudice in the racially-charged aftermath of the Rodney King beatings and L.A riots of 1992. It openly discussed the taboos of being a black woman, like receiving flack for interracial dating from your own race or facing prejudice when being served in a high-end department store- ideas that are not as outdated as they might first appear. Several aptly expressed lines go: “So I’m a sister/Buy things with cash/That doesn’t mean that all my credit’s bad…I can’t look without being watched/ You rang my buy before I made up my mind”. Then the final verse ends with clever, humorous overtones: “I can’t change your mind…you can’t change my colour.”

The message is timeless: black women existing on their own terms.  Ironically, despite being about racial barriers it managed to capture the popular imagination in an outlandish nineties-style music video complete with thigh-high vinyl boots, flashing camera bulbs and an electrifying guitar rift.  Even listening to the song today, one feels the power emanating from the impassioned way in which the message is delivered singularly by the unique members of the group. As young twelve year old girls, friends of mine in our English boarding school loved it-completely ignorant of any message it conveyed.

The album, which went multi-platinum on its release in 1992 was aptly entitled Funky Divas. And funky divas they were. The real divas- with style, attitude and a confidence and talent to match before the word diva became a staple in the vocabulary of anybody describing a black female ‘celebrity’ (whether deserving or not of the title). They were authentic women- the type of women you would want to emulate in style, grace and talent. They made me feel proud to be a black female in a way that the videos today by female artists- with their focus on fashion, long, straight hair and fitting in (or worse- trying not to fit in a la Lady Gaga antics)- don’t. This, amongst other things-I’m realizing is an example of the “I don’t know what” feeling that something is missing in today’s popular entertainment.

I call to mind at this point, RnB singer Ciara gyrating gratuitously in lycra and spreading extremely well-toned thighs in the video for "Love, Sex and Magic" with former member of Pop group Nsync, Justin Timberlake closely in tow. Whenever I try to watch the video for more than a few seconds, I get this creeping feeling up my neck that something has gone very wrong. These girls seem like trains that have gone off the rails. Sexuality for sexuality’s sake, not knowing what they’re trying to achieve but knowing it will appeal to someone out there…anybody.

By all means, sex appeal or using it to sell records is not a new thing. A look back and you will see examples of it throughout the genres. 1990s Hip-hop trio Salt-N- Pepa were sassy and feminine and had an ‘in-your-face’ style, complete with the low-cut shorts and tank-tops that were the popular fashion at the time .But their style and music, you felt was their own and evidenced by the socially-conscious verses they delivered in their raps. The song "None of Your Business" from the 1993 album Very Necessary contains a direct message about feminine self-will that embodied not just female sexuality but was stretched to include anyone felt hard-done by in the video which also portrays gays and lesbians in one shot . Similarly, "Heaven and Hell" which also features on the same album is a hard-hitting track that speaks out against inner-city violence amongst male youths, whilst in "Whatta Man" En Vogue join Salt N Pepa to sing a funk-infused celebration of the main men in their lives.

The moral of the story is simple: in addition to having style and sex appeal - the music had substance.

In fact, substance is exactly what former Club Nouveau members Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy had in mind when they conceptualized the group En Vogue. I learnt that at the time they were looking to assemble a Supremes-style vocal group with a modern New Jack Swing and Hip-hop twist and after auditioning various women, former Miss Black California, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson made the final cut. What differentiated these ladies from the others is that the producers were specifically looking for women who were not only talented vocally but were also intelligent. My background research also revealed to me that they too received training similar to that given to Motown female groups of the 1960s and various world-renowned make-up artists, stylists and music video directors were then brought in to create their very stylized look.

Hence, following in the footsteps of old school groups like the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, LaBelle and the Pointer Sisters, En Vogue pioneered a multitude of female girl-groups of the nineties in celebrating musical talent, creativity and singing. Group names like Sisters with Voices (SWV) – a gifted trio of smooth crooners that brought us the melodically turned-out "Weak" in the mid-nineties is a testament to the focus in what was then RnB music on lyrical content and delivery. Women like myself that were teenagers during the time remember RnB group Jade’s short telephone harmony at the beginning of the song "Don’t Walk Away". Similarly, listening to soulful duo Zhane harmonize in angelic tones about friday night and the weekend being here on "Hey Mr. D.J" up until today never fails to illicit a smile from me in invoking memories of endless long, hot summers and lively house parties.

In short, music back then by RnB female girl-groups was not only nice to listen and dance to, but was positive and spiritually uplifting music often based on a simple premise and lyrics that probably didn’t take long to come up with, yet didn’t resort to any “male-bashing” antics or one-line choruses. I put to you the slew of offerings by female acts emerging on the scene recently, including former Destiny’s Child member Letoya Luckett, Livvy Franc, Kristinia Debarge, Teairra Mari and girl-group Richgirl. With song titles that read like a transcript from the Jerry Springer Show, the underlying themes are so similar that they could easily be mistaken to have been written in response to one another. Picture the scene: a girl comes in and catches her boyfriend cheating (Teairra Mari’s “Cause a Scene Up In Here”); the other female denies any wrongdoing (Richgirls’ “He Ain’t With Me Though”); the girlfriend addresses her cheating boyfriend (Letoya Luckett’s “She Ain’t Got [S***t on Me]”);  the other girl boasts to the girlfriend (Livvy Franc’s “Now I’m that B****”); girlfriend exits hastily (Kristinia Debarge’s “Goodbye”).

Can we spot a pattern here?

All I get when I watch these videos- in addition to an eyeful of skimpy clothing-is a lot of anger at…well again, I have to say-“I don’t know what”. It seems the spunk and assertiveness of female groups of the nineties in the current musical climate has evolved into fashionable rage.

Nor does this, worryingly seem to be a trend that is limited to the RnB genre. Today the mood is brash, combative and futuristic and a look down the Billboard Charts will reveal artists divided into fashion-conscious tribes with suitably defensive and self-assured song titles such as Battlefield, You’re a Jerk, Knock You Down and Run This Town. Rewind seventeen years back to the Billboard Charts of which En Vogue’s single "My Lovin (Never Gonna Get It)" features and the first thing you will notice is how often the word “love” materializes in the charts. "Real Love" by Mary J. Blige. "We Got a Love Thing" by Ce Ce Peniston. "I Can’t Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Rait. "That’s What Love Is For" by Amy Grant. "All 4 Love" by All for One. "I Love Your Smile" by Shanice.

So, I have to ask at this point: where did all the love go?

A further inspection will also yield more poetic-sounding songs like Boys to Men’s "End of the Road", Eric Clapton’s "Tears in Heaven", Gun N Roses’ "November Rain", Vanessa William’s "Save the Best for Last" and Mint Condition’s "Quit Breaking My Heart", amongst a host of others. But what strikes me the most (and not without a tinge of nostalgia I must add) is how all of these songs are songs that I would download onto my ipod in a heartbeat today: all distinctively RnB, Rock, Dance, Pop and Hip Hop -and all uniquely inspiring.

Contrast this with the current state of musical anarchy we have today and it seems to have become about who can make the most noise and get the most attention- with artists, producers, industry insiders and record executives alike all cashing in on the trend. Of all the genres, however, RnB and Hip-hop appear to have become the chosen sacrifices in the 21st century; sucked in, chewed up and spit out by the greedy Pop money-making machine, generic act after generic act. Originally music for the mind, body and soul in previous decades- today any warmth, harmonies, melody or positive message has become buried beneath the loud pulsating beats and cacophony of synthesized noises and un-poetic bleating. Even veterans of the industry such as R. Kelly and Mariah Carey- pockets now full from the wonderful tunes they delivered to us in the nineties are adjusting accordingly in an increasingly young teenage market in an age of over-information and spewing out mundane lyrical efforts in songs such as “Number One” and “Obsessed”. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but it seems to receive heaps of media attention and endless accolades these days for “I don’t know what”- all that’s required is to show up in the latest stiletto heels, shutter-shades and hair-cut.

But perhaps I lament too much and my dilemma is simply endemic of that perpetually expanding category of the ‘older generation’, whereby music always seems to be getting worse for those that have had the privilege of experiencing something different. Perhaps we will look upon some of the Billboard Top 100 “hits” being churned out today as innovative musical genius in years to come. At least- I hope so.

For now, I will have to proceed peacefully in the knowledge that the only way back is ever continuously forward. If there’s any consolation to be found in this- it is that history does have a way of repeating itself. On this premise do I express the hope that we will one day witness a return to the simplicity of previous decades, in addition to a renewed focus on the making of good, honest music- hair-weaves, egos, publicity stunts and fashion gimmicks aside.

I leave you with the example of En Vogue singing a capella to Smokey Robinson’s "Who’s Loving You" in the opening of their single "Hold On" from the 1990 certified platinum album Born to Sing. Harmonizing in unison without the use of any background vocals, computerized noises or instruments- all they had to do to capture the attention of the listener, even after all these years: is open their mouths and sing.

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After the release of their third album in 1993, “Runaway Love”, En Vogue appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Panther in 1995 and Set It Off in 1996- which spawned their biggest hit to date “Don’t Let Go” which was certified platinum. In 1995, Terry Ellis released a solo album entitled Southern Gal and since then the group have been in the studio several times with a different line-up to produce the albums “EV3” in 1997, “Masterpiece Theatre” in 2000 and “Soul Flower” in 2004.

Recently, the original members of the group re-united again and can be seen performing at various venues in North America including an upcoming date at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on November 8th 2009.