>Country is a sure way to sell some records... especially for a
>guy like Richie who was always loved by whites.

I don't know if that was always his rep. In fact, I'd wager that before "Easy"? They may not have known who he was (as much as when he was a solo artist... and even then, not since the second album).

From that NPR article linked above (swipe):

'Just Too Black' And 'Not Black Enough'

Listening back to Richie's catalog, suddenly country music makes a lot of sense. But sometimes it's hard for artists to cross genres.

"You know what happens a lot of the time, record companies — mainly for just marketing — we have to try to divide things up, so we can clearly market things," Richie says. "But I remember walking into a radio station and the guy said, 'I'm sorry, Lionel, but this record is just too black.' And I said, 'OK, well, it's No. 1 on the R&B .' I came back with the next record, Easy Like Sunday Morning, and the guy said, 'OK, Lionel, now this record is perfect for pop, but it's not black enough.' So, it's just one of those things where I've kind of gone against the grain throughout my entire career. And if I had to have another title for this record besides Tuskegee, it would be called All the Songs That They Told Me Would Ruin My Career. Every time they told me, 'This is not where you're supposed to be,' I just went there, just defying the laws."

</end swipe>

Lionel Richie is very much like the MC Hammer of R&B.

Lionel is essentially the enduring symbol of genre-crossing crossover, predating Prince who came in the game with a host of underground and "un-traditional" influences that he would brandish as a solo artist to much success (and minimized criticism). However, because of the success he held, and not only that, the degrees to which he flipped the script he took a huge hit with the crowd he started with.

Such a reaction, both critical and commercial, overshadows the risk he took as an R&B artist (which, never mind its tendency not to hold on to tradition anyway) to include a song like "Easy" on a Commodores album, which essentially was at the time, a bit of anathema. The Commodores even took a hit for their album MIDNIGHT MAGIC in the eyes of some fans, as I've read, for going "disco". Which is bullshit in my eyes... that album is not only low on the actual "disco-by-numbers", but it's essentially a showcase for the band's excellent R&B arrangements and in particular bassist Ronald LaPread (one of the unsung heroes of R&B bass). Outside of Lionel's signature numbers the album is pretty much hardcore R&B and non-crossover funk with a touch of late '70s sophistication.

Compare that with Hammer. He was essentially an underground rap artist who made party music with a Bay Area flavor, then hit it big with obvious Rick James and Prince samples and R&B remakes. Then he was EVERYWHERE. Endorsing shoes, chicken, essentially getting the James Brown endorsement. While I won't go in so far to defend his "hardcore credibility", certainly 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT was his DANCIN' ON THE CEILING album wise. He took a big commercial hit and went so far to change his image radically to fit in with the mainstream which had now gone "Rap & Bullshit" style hardcore.

You'll never see him get the props of a RUN-DMC or NWA because his records past his first don't really have that "underground appeal" and the ones in the middle before FUNKY HEADHUNTER kind of appeal to ages lower than most rap did... but his success did take some of the "sting" off promoting rap during the daytime.

It's not a perfect allegory but I see the similarity.