COVER STORY | The dawn of the New Jack Swing movement was predominantly a boy’s club. Coined by writer and director Barry Michael Cooper (New Jack City, Above The Rim, Sugar Hill) and charged by producer Teddy Riley, the subgenre dominated from 1988 – 1993 by fusing hip-hop and dance music with contemporary rhythm and blues, exemplified by New Edition, Johnny Kemp, Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown and Guy. Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records carried the innovative new groove into commercial success with acts like Al B. Sure, Jodeci, Christopher Williams, Jeff Redd, Father MC, and Heavy D and the Boyz.
Often neglected from the narrative is the role that female artists played in the genre’s legacy. More than just objects of men’s affection, these swingbeat sistas leveled the playing field by proving they could hang with the boys. Zumble celebrates the ladies of New Jill Swing.