El R&B o Rhythm and Blues es un género musical afroamericano que se originó en la década de 1940, fusionando elementos del blues, el jazz y el gospel. En sus inicios, el R&B era conocido como "race music" (música de raza) y estaba dirigido principalmente a la audiencia afroamericana.
El R&B se caracteriza por la presencia de una sección rítmica que incluye batería, bajo y guitarra, junto con voces expresivas y emotivas. Las letras a menudo abordan temas de amor, relaciones, dolor y cuestiones sociales.
En la década de 1950, el R&B se popularizó a nivel mundial con artistas como Ray Charles, Sam Cooke y Etta James. En los años 60, evolucionó hacia el soul con figuras como Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding y James Brown. Finalmente, en las décadas de 1980 y 1990, el R&B se fusionó con el hip hop y se convirtió en un género altamente influyente en la música comercial, con nombres como Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston y Mariah Carey.
Hoy en día, el R&B sigue siendo un género musical popular y ha dado lugar a subgéneros como el neo soul y el trap soul.
Christopher Brent Wood (Columbia, Maryland; 19 de septiembre de 1995), más conocido por su nombre artístico Brent Faiyaz, es un cantante, compositor y productor estadounidense de R&B. Su padre es originario de Puerto Rico. Wood tomó "Faiyaz" de un "homie musulmán" que le mencionó que la palabra significa "artista" en árabe. En la secundaria, era un estudiante notoriamente malo que encontró una salida creativa en la música. Aunque inicialmente le atrajo el rap, Faiyaz pronto se dio cuenta de que también tenía un don para el canto. "Siempre podía cantar mientras tocaba un instrumento, pero no quería ser un cantante", dijo. "Pensé que era una completa tontería. Antes que nada, quería ser un rapero. Simplemente solía hacer ritmos y empezaba a tararear para nivelar mis ritmos y así fue como me di cuenta de que podía cantar".
Ayy, yeah-ayy
Look, look
They just wanna take me off of here
They just wanna knock me off my square, look at that
I can't fake a smile, it's hard to wear
And I can't show no love, that shit too rare
Is it 'cause my whip so fast you don't see no flaws? (Whew, whew, whew)
Is it 'cause my bitch so bad she blew you off? Look at that
All of the things they want
And don't know why they want it (I know, look)
They don't wanna give you time to heal
They just wanna bleed you dry, for real
And if you're comfortable (yeah), don't let no one know
They'll fuck it up (I know), that's right (ayy, yeah-ayy), look
(The fame) I swear it isn't everything
(Glitz and glam) it isn't everything
(People screaming your name) I swear it isn't everything
(The demands) it isn't everything
They just wanna take me off of here
They just wanna knock me off my square, look at that
I can't fake a smile, it's hard to wear
And I can't show no love, that shit too rare
Is it 'cause my whip so fast you don't see no flaws? (Whew, whew, whew)
Is it 'cause my bitch so bad she blew you off? Look at that
All of the things they want
And don't know why they want it (I know, look)
They don't wanna give you time to heal
They just wanna bleed you dry, for real
And if you're comfortable (yeah) don't let no one know
They'll fuck it up (I know), that's right (ayy, yeah-ayy), look
(The fame) I swear it isn't everything (everything)
(Glitz and glam) it isn't everything
(People screaming your name) I swear it isn't everything (everything)
(The demands) it isn't everything
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real
You don't need someone to make you feel better
Than you've ever felt (ooh, ooh)
You know what you need is someone who will be there
When you don't feel yourself (ooh, ooh)
Oh, I ain't sellin' dreams to you, baby
That ain't my style
I never said that I was the best in the world (nobody perfect)
But I'm the best for you, girl (and so it's worth it), just stay for a while
Or until you feel like leaving
It's on you, all of it (oh, oh-oh)
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real (I'm real)
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real (oh, baby)
Hardest to try
You still get mad at this guy
'Cause you been fighting all your life, fighting all your life (ooh, ooh)
(I've been praying for ya)
Even though sometimes it's like I don't know ya
But some time is all we have (the present is a blessing)
(If you didn't know, stop fucking 'round)
Oh, I ain't sellin' dreams to you, baby
That ain't my style
I never said that I was the best in the world
But I'm the best for you, girl, just stay for a while (can you stay for a while)
A while
(Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh)
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real (I'm real, ooh, woah-oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh, ooh, woah, oh-oh)
If you feel what I feel
You know that I'm real