Singer Jacquees kicked off the week with a bold declaration: He’s the new King of R&B.
In a video clip posted to social media, the Georgia native proclaimed himself the heir apparent to Bobby Brown’s throne, and put all of his peers on notice.
“I just want to let everybody know that I’m the king of R&B right now…for this generation,” Jacquees declared.
“I understand who done came and who done did that and that and that but now it’s my turn,” he added. “Jacquees, the king of R&B. I just heard em said and I feel it. ATL, let’s get it. I’m the king of R&B.”
While Jacquees has certainly been building his fan base, declaring yourself “the king” of a whole genre typically requires receipts. So far, he’s released just two studio albums, a host of mixtapes, and has built his name on remixing other people’s songs.
Though Jacquees certainly has a bright future ahead of him, proclaiming himself the King of R&B, without even coming close to a top 10 album or song on the charts, didn’t go over so well on social media.
One Twitter user joked, “Jacquees ain’t even the R&B Employee of the Month, what the hell made him think he was the King of a generation?” While user @tleighmedia blamed the singer’s overly-confident sense of self on his fans.
“Y’all gassed up Jacquees’ version of Trip and now this man thinks he invented music,” she said.
Others just used the moment to crack jokes or offer their own suggestions for title.
Jacquees said he’s the King of R&B. That shit better stand for Raisin and Bran, the fuck outta here
Jacquees is supposed to feel like he's the King of R&B, but Chris Brown...
1. Still isn’t 30 2. Hasn’t missed Billboard in 13 years 3. Just went 2x platinum on a barely marketed album 4. Had a worldwide top 5 streamed album of 2018 without releasing one
R&B vet Tank came through with his own list — which, of course, included himself along with Chris Brown, Trey Songz and Usher.
According to Tank, “If you can’t go to the studio BY YOURSELF and make a hit record, you’re not my king. If you can’t sing it better live, you’re not my king.”
And while we think you can’t talk about R&B without talking about Miguel, who do you think is the King of R&B for this generation?