Oh You’re Doing That Now? Interesting Musical Crossovers - Page 5

There have been many artists that have crossed over to different music genres for a variety of reasons, but these 15 and their circumstances are among the most interesting. Click on to find out who made the list and why.

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From Rap to Reggae

Last month, Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dog) released his reggae crossover album titled Reincarnation, which debuted at number 16 on the Billboard charts – miles away from the number 1 spots earned by game changing albums like Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather. But though Reincarnation underperformed – or over performed, depending on who you ask – Snoop has made it very clear that he’s committed to his new sound.

You’ll remember Snoop Lion adopted the moniker after converting to the Rastafari movement and undergoing a mental, spiritual and musical transformation in Jamaica. Alongside the album, he also released a documentary by the same name that captured his journey of renewal.

From Rap to Rock

After much hype and delay, Lil’ Wayne released his debut rock album Rebirth in 2010. But though his intention was for the album to be “perfect”, the finished product – a mix of rock, rap and singing elements — seemed anything but. Many people felt Weezy’s interpretation of the genre was extremely insincere, made worse by its poor delivery and heavy use of auto tune. Still, there were a couple notable tracks that were praised, but not enough to make this album a winner by any standards.

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From R&B to Gospel to Dance

Michelle Williams has actually switched musical genres twice over the course of her three-album solo career. First in 2002, while she was still a member of Destiny’s Child. And again in 2008 after her second gospel album flopped. Her singles “Heard A Word” from her debut album and “We Break The Dawn” from her pop album were by far her most successful.

From Pop To Latin

Although the trend has generally been for Latin artists to crossover into mainstream English markets, Christina Aguilera took it in the opposite direction and released Mi Reflejo; a Spanish language album comprised of five Spanish versions of her previous hits and five completely new tracks. Despite not being fluent in Spanish, Christina’s album went on to sell millions, top music charts worldwide, and even earn a surprise Latin Grammy.

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From Country to R&B

In 2002, Hootie & The Blowfish front man Darius Rucker tried his hand at contemporary R&B and released Back To Then, a 13-track disc that flopped in comparison to Hootie hits like “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” Following the failure, Rucker quickly reverted back to his country roots in 2008 with his much more successful solo album Learn to Live.

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From R&B to Dance

Most of us didn’t know how to feel when Usher made the switch to pop and electro-dance – besides a little disappointed. Sure, he’s had some fire dance hits like “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” and “OMG,” but they were nothing compared to soul-heavy joints like “You Make Me Wanna…” and “U Got It Bad.” Lucky for us, Usher’s crossover hasn’t been too extreme. He still releases R&B tracks every now and then.

From R&B to Dance

Chris Brown too has made the leap from R&B to dance/electronic. On his 2007 album Exclusive, he diverted from his soulful roots and released a string of tracks that went harder in European discotheques than they did in American hip-hop clubs. Still, the change has been good for Breezy’s pockets. Tracks like “Forever” and “Yeah 3x” have been huge commercial successes worldwide.

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From Rap to Gospel

After achieving fame as one third of the hip-hop pioneer trio Salt-N-Pepa, Cheryl “Salt” James declared her devotion to God and set out to pursue a career in rap gospel. The switch hasn’t gotten her nearly as much mainstream attention, though she did appear on Kirk Franklin’s gospel hit “Stomp.”

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From Reggae to Dubstep

Reggae royalty Damian Marley stepped way outside the box when he teamed up with Skrillex on “Make It Bun Dem” – a hardcore dubstep track released in 2012. But though joining two seemingly incompatible genres was a risk, the crossover has paid off for Damian. “Make It Bun Dem” has racked up over 37 million views on YouTube and sold well enough to top the Billboard Digital Reggae singles chart.

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From Rap To Pop

In 2004, Nelly’s surprise country duet with Tim McGraw (“Over and Over”) became a runaway success, hinting at some possible future crossover plans. Sure enough, six years later Nelly changed it up with the release of his sixth album, 5.0. Instead of spitting rhymes like he’d done on Country Grammar, Nelly slowed it up and incorporated pop and R&B elements with the help of Kelly Rowland and Keri Hilson. The result was good. And the album fared somewhat better on the Billboard charts than his previous works had.

From Rap to Pop

In the 90’s, The Black Eyed Peas made a respectable name for themselves as an alternative hip-hop group, after having been discovered by Eazy E’s manager, but they changed up their style completely upon adding Fergie to the mix. The release of their 2003 pop debut album Elephunk proved to be one of the group’s most successful to date, with chart topping hits like “Where Is The Love” and “Let’s Get It Started.”

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From R&B to Pop/Rock

When Pink released her debut album Can’t Take Me Home, she was well on her way to becoming the next big R&B thing. But some serious soul-searching and advice from her idol Linda Perry inspired her to take a chance and release her super successful crossover album M!ssundaztood – which was much truer to her pop/rock personality.

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From R&B to Pop/Alternative

In the mid to late 90’s, Timbaland made his mark on music by producing major hits for big name hip hop and R&B artists like Jay-Z and Aaliyah. But by the time 2006 rolled around, Timbaland was ready to expand his production repertoire. He switched it up and began producing mainstream pop, dance and alternative sounds for vastly different artists like Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson and Björk.

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From Country to Pop

T-Swift lost major country cred upon the release of her second album Fearless, which was more mainstream pop than anything else. But though the country community was pissed, Taylor’s crossover has hardly been a surprise. Since her very first album it’s been clear that her pure singing style, teenage angst lyrics and wholesome image would easily appeal to mass markets and not just country ones.