Diary of an R&B Songwriter & Producer: Missy Elliott

Saturday March 28, 2020

Songbyrd Music House

D: 1:00 // S: 1:30 PM // $5/7

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The R & B Club is a group founded by music aficionado Ashley-Dior Thomas, entrepreneur, broadcaster, and writer, Marcus Dowling, plus well-respected journalist Justin Tinsley, to celebrate the legacy of soul music. Foremost in this quest is the "Diary of an R&B Songwriter/Producer" series, which will highlight the unsung heroes behind the music.

Up next the R&B Club celebrates Missy!

Her legacy is difficult to overstate. With her debut single, 1997’s MTV-dominating “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” she established a tough, minimal sound and woozy, Technicolor visual style that to this day feels like it was beamed back from the distant future. “Missy Elliott is badass,” says Demi Lovato, who featured Elliott on the 2011 track “All Night Long.” “She is so creative, groundbreaking and talented. Collaborating with her was a highlight of my career.”

On her own tracks and hits that she and Timbaland crafted for members of their crew (including Ginuwine, Tweet and especially the late Aaliyah), Elliott reinvented hip-hop and R&B, skewing tempos and rhythms in ways that initially made radio’s gatekeepers uncomfortable. “When we did [Aaliyah’s] ‘One in a Million,’ they wouldn’t play it at first,” she recalls of the tune, which went on to become the biggest song on R&B/hip-hop radio for six straight weeks in 1996. “Because they said it was off -- the rhythm, the melody, everything.”

On Saturday, March 28th, from 1:30-3 PM, join Thomas, Dowling, and Tinsley as The R & B Club both listens to, and discusses at-length, the impact and legacy of iconic soul music.

Grab advance tickets for $5!

Hosted by Classic Album Sundays Washington! Classic Album Sundays is the world’s most popular album listening experience and allows the listener to hear music contextually, communally, uninterrupted, and in great sonic detail. At our worldwide listening sessions, music fans are able to immerse themselves into an album that has helped shape our culture and in some cases, our lives.We relay the artist and album’s unique story and provide a musical context that gives the listening experience deeper meaning. We share the experience of hearing the album in its entirety, on vinyl, and on a world-class audiophile hi-fi so that fans can experience the music as close as possible to the artist’s original intention. Classic Album Sundays treats the album (and music in general) with the respect it deserves rather than as a free commodity or aural wallpaper. We remind people what they love about music.