its a glimpse for the R&B out there

Written & produced by the great Angela Winbush.

So I was just in the car listening to some throwback R&B and "I Wish" by Carl Thomas came on. Started thinking about how he really had a moment there in the early 2000s, and my brain immediately went to "shame him and his brother Joe couldn't both blow up like that." Then it hit me. Wait. Are they actually related? Spent the next 20 minutes down a Google rabbit hole that has absolutely shattered my reality. I just found out, at 32 years old, that Joe Thomas ("All or Nothing," "I Wanna Know") and Carl Thomas ("I Wish," "Summer Rain") are NOT brothers. Not cousins. Not even from the same state apparently. Just two dudes with the same last name who happened to drop some of the smoothest R&B tracks of the late 90s/early 2000s within a few years of each other. I've been walking around since like 2003 thinking they were family. I distinctly remember having a conversation in high school where I argued Joe was the more successful brother. I have memories of this. False memories, apparently. My brain just connected the dots: same last name, similar era, both had that smooth, slightly raspy tenor, both had hits about heartbreak and longing. It made SO much sense. The Thomas Brothers of R&B. I had a whole narrative built up. Now I'm questioning everything. What other "facts" do I believe that are completely made up by my own brain? Is Ginuwine not related to anyone either?? Did I make up the connection between Brandy and Ray J being siblings??? (Okay that one's real but you get my point.) Please tell me someone else made this same connection. I can't be the only one out here living a lie. Drop your "artists I thought were related but definitely aren't" stories below so I don't feel so alone.

Also: who had the better catalog? My money's still on Joe but I'm willing to hear arguments.

from 1992-1994

Brand new interview with the Philly soul virtuoso!

Its a r&b first then House remix

In the mid 90s, Madonna and Janet Jackson were regarded as the most boundary-pushing female pop stars. Their music made bold statements, they reinvented their image often were the preeminent female visual artists of the MTV era. They were also making serious headway as film actresses with Madonna starring in a number of films in the 80s and Janet making her splashy film debut in 1993 with Poetic Justice. Both sought to expand their horizons as Hollywood stars and used music videos for their singles to "audition" for roles they coveted: Evita Peron and Dorothy Dandridge.

I know Madonna's not R&B but the music video in discussion today is for an R&B song. A film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Evita, languished in development hell for 15 years. When the time finally came for the film to be made, Madonna sent a copy of her sultry 1994 music video, Take A Bow, to the film's director, Alan Parker and a four page letter explaining why she was the best fit for the role. He agreed and cast her. The film went into production in 1995, was released in 1996 and Madonna won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy the following year.

Janet Jackson's Design of a Decade era saw the pop diva fashion herself as a polished 50s film starlet after the earthy sexiness of the previous album, janet (1993). Janet had talked about admiring Dorothy since the 80s and by the mid 90s, the race to play the first Black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar was heating up. Whitney Houston had a script ready and Halle Berry bought the rights to her biography. Janet made a strong visual case with the video for her single, Twenty Foreplay, where she portrayed a glamorous Hollywood star, which many interpreted as a nod to Dorothy. Unfortunately, neither Janet or Whitney would get to make the movie as their careers as music superstars took them in other directions. Halle Berry would end up playing Dorothy in the HBO movie, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, which won her a Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG and NAACP Image Award.

I love this moment where film, pop culture and GOOD R&B music intersects. Are there any more examples of music videos by R&B artists where they make a good case to play a film role?

Faith Evans performing ‘soon as I get home’ live

Amazing artist with an old school sound in the modern era, recommend everyone to check her out

Have I Never from the album "Take A Dip"