Of all the so called music genres....rythmn and blues has got to be the most difficult to be original in! Take Frank Ocean's Orange album ????....rave reviews but it didn't do much for me as it sounded like same old same old! It appears that r n'b has been extensively coverd and mission accomplished in the sixties and seventies! Many rb artists have to do a lot of covers to get recognition these days except for the incomparable Bruno Mars!
The ultimate connection is between a performer and its' audience!