90s New Jack Swing x K-Pop

New Jack Swing was one of the coolest sounds back in the late 80s and early 90s. I listened to a lot of Top 40 radio as a kid (The Philippines has a lot in common with American Top 40) and I remember hearing all of these R&B songs on the way home from school in our bus.

I went to an all-boys school, and when we started meeting girls in high school, we’d send each other letters and mixtapes (yes, nascent internet days folks…). Most of the mixtapes would have hip-hop and R&B, and the big names at the time included acts like Boyz II Men and TLC.

Before their breakout success in the mid-90s, both of them had debut albums that featured a mix of different R&B, motown and soul vibes. New Jack Swing was the sound du jour, so it’s unsurprising that those early records by Boyz II Men and TLC had some NJS joints which I’ve included in this mix.

One of the reasons why I absolutely love K-Pop is that the bands and producers unashamedly reference americana I grew up with as a 90s kid, and New Jack Swing is no exception. They mine American genres, production styles, and aesthetics while giving it a unique spin that is distinctly South Korean.

When I visited Seoul on honeymoon with my wife in mid-2024, I loved going to all the vintage and thrift shops because they were predominantly clothes and curio from 70s, 80s and 90s America: blue jeans, workwear, and varsity jackets.

This mix aims to bridge the three decade gap between US 90s New Jack Swing and 2010s/2020s K-Pop. There are more New Jack Swing K-Pop tracks than featured here of course, and they will be in a future mix for sure. Enjoy!