Grammys 2020: Best R&B Album goes to Anderson .Paak for critically-acclaimed 'Ventura' featuring a live band
The Best R&B Album was originally awarded only to the artists recorded the album, but now includes producers, engineers, and mixers who contributed to the project as well.
H.E.R.'s self-titled album won the Best R&B Album award in 2019. Grammy rules state the award is specifically for "albums containing at least 51% playing time of new R&B recordings".
Despite being a compilation album featuring tracks from previous EPs, 'H.E.R.' included six additional tracks allowing it to qualify for the category.
The nominees for Best R&B album in 2020 included BJ The Chicago Kid for '1123', Lucky Daye for 'Painted', Ella Mai for her self-titled album, and PJ Morton for 'Paul'.
Anderson .Paak won the Grammy for Best R&B Album for 'Ventura', which features performances from Smokey Robinson, André 3000, Jazmine Sullivan, Lalah Hathaway, Sonyae Elise, and Brandy. Nate Dogg is also featured posthumously.
'Ventura' was met with critical acclaim, garnering praise for its use of a live band as well as for .Paak's vocals. His use of classic Motown groove and name-dropping the town he came from were also appreciated.
Many saw it as a seamless follow-on from his previous release, 'Oxnard', but some critics pointed out that the similarities between .Paak's sound on this album and his previous work made them indistinguishable.
