THE 35TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS : R&B; AND RAP : R&B; Winners Are Nothing to Rap About

The best R&B; really isn’t as slick, stodgy and wholesome as the material that filled the categories in this year’s Grammys. And rap--limited to just two categories--is usually dominated by bad mainstream material. That makes Arrested Development’s victory Wednesday in the rap duo/group category a surprising and encouraging development.

The worst development in the R&B; field was Al Jarreau’s victory in the male vocal category for “Heaven and Earth,” a so-so Jarreau album that didn’t even deserve a nomination. Neither did the efforts of Peabo Bryson, Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown. Promising young Tevin Campbell was tops in this category with his “T.E.V.I.N.” album.

Contenders for the female vocal award formed the strongest R&B; category. The winner was another terrible choice--Chaka Khan’s “The Woman I Am.” She probably got the award on reputation and vocal skills--not for the quality of this album, which is one of her least interesting. The best choices: Vanessa Williams (“The Comfort Zone”) or Oleta Adams’ “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

Boyz II Men won for best group vocal for “End of the Road” but Arrested Development’s “People Everyday” was easily the class of the group vocal field.

And the maudlin L.A. Reid, Babyface and Daryl Simmons composition (performed by Boyz II Men) “End of the Road” as R&B; song of the year? No way. Among the nominees, the En Vogue hit “My Lovin’ ” or TLC’s smash “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” were superior.

In the R&B; instrumental category, the late Miles Davis won because he’s Miles Davis. Did the voters even listen to this “Doo-Bop” album--one of the lows of his career?

Commendably, the cutting-edge unit Arrested Development won the rap group vocal for its scintillating “Tennessee.” But what did it beat? The contenders included the boring Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy for its snoozer “Greatest Misses.”

Sir Mix-A-Lot’s rap-solo winning “Baby Got Back” has humor, good production but pedestrian rapping. The best news is that laughable Marky Mark didn’t win.