Contemporar R&B

Contemporar R&B
Stylistic oreegins	Rhythm an blues pop disco funk soul jazz blues electronic hip-hop
Cultural oreegins	Late 1970s an early 1980s, North Americae
Teepical instruments	guitar bass guitar keybuirds synthesizers electric guitar drums sampler flute saxophone trumpet trombone violin viola cello Akai MPC Roland TR-808 Hammond B3 organ Fender Rhodes synth bass
Derivative forms	Neo soul nu-funk 2-step alternative R&B afroswing
Subgenres
Hip-hop soul RnBass
Fusion genres
Crunk&B Laitin R&B new jack swing pluggnb raï'n'B rhythm & grime snap&B

Contemporar R&B is a popular muisic genre, oreeginatin frae African-American muisickers in the 1970s that combines rhythm an blues wi elements o pop, disco, funk, soul, jazz, blues, electronic, an hip-hop. The incorporation o disco an electronic texturs an production styles, that cam tae prominence syne the 2010s decade, brocht forth a style cried electro-R&B.

The genre featurs a distinctive record production style an a smuith, lush style o vocal arreengement. Electronic influences an the uise o hip-hop or dance-inspirt beats are teepical, awtho the roughness an grit inherent in hip-hop mey be reducit an smuithed oot. Contemporar R&B vocalists aften uise melisma, an syne the mid-1980s, R&B rhythms hae been combined wi elements o hip-hop cultur an muisic, soul cultur an soul muisic.

Precursors

Accordin tae Geoffrey Himes speakin in 1989, the progressive soul muivement o the early 1970s "expandit the muisical an leerical boondaries o [R&B] in weys that haena been equaled syne". This muivement wis led bi soul sangsters, sangwriters an producers sic as Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, an Stevie Wonder. Norman Whitfield's productions at Motown, the record label o Gaye, wis forby pioneerin fur settin the soul vocals an semple heuks o earlier rhythm an blues records against strang backbeats, vocal harmonies, an orchestral soonds, aw o that thickened the textur o the muisic. Gaye's awn muisic on albums sic as What's Going On (1971) incorporatit jazz influences that led the genre intae a looser muisical direction.

The nearest precursor tae contemporar R&B cam at the end o the disco era in the late 1970s, whan Michael Jackson an Quincy Jones eikit mair electronic elements tae the soond o the time, creatin a smuither danceflair-freendly style. The furst result wis Off the Wall (1979), that—accordin tae Stephen Thomas Erlewine frae AllMusic—"wis a veesionary album, that foond a wey tae brak disco wide appen intae a new warld whaur the beat wis undeniable, but nae the primary focus" an "wis pairt o a colourfu tapestry o lush ballads an strings, smuith soul an pop, soft rock, an allurin funk".

Richard J. Ripani wrate that Janet Jackson's Control (1986) wis "important tae the development o R&B fur seevral raisons", as she an her producers, Jimmy Jam an Terry Lewis, "craftit a new soond that fuses the rhythmic elements o funk an disco, alang wi hivy doses o synthesizers, percussion, soond effecks, an a rap muisic sensibility." Ripani wrate that "the success o "Control" led tae the incorporation o stylistic traits o rap ower the neist few years, an Janet Jackson wis tae continue tae be ane o the leaders in that development." That same year, Teddy Riley begoud producin R&B recordins that includit hip hop influences. This combination o R&B style an hip hop rhythms wis termed "new jack swing" an wis applee'd tae airtists sic as Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Johnny Kemp, an Bell Biv DeVoe.

1990s

The Recordin Industrie Association o Americae (RIAA) certifee'd Michael Jackson an Whitney Houston as the twa best-sellin R&B airtists o the 20t century.

Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992) eventually selt ower 45 million units warldwide becomin the best-sellin soondtrack o aw time. Janet Jackson's sel-titled fift studio album Janet (1993), that cam efter her multimillion-dollar contract wi Virgin Records, selt ower 14 million units warldwide. Boyz II Men an Mariah Carey recordit seevral Billboard Hat 100 No. 1 hits, includin "One Sweet Day", a collaboration atween baith acks, that becam the langest-rinnin No. 1 hit in Hat 100 history. Carey lowsed a remix o her 1995 single "Fantasy" an aa, wi Ol' Dirty Bastard as a featur, a collaboration format that wis unheard o at this pynt. Carey, Boyz II Men an TLC lowsed albums in 1994 an 1995—Daydream, II, & CrazySexyCool.

In the late 1990s, neo soul, that eikit 1970s soul influences tae the hip-hop soul blend, arose, led bi airtists sic as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill an Maxwell. Hill an Missy Elliott further blurred the line atween R&B an hip-hop bi recordin baith styles. Beginnin in 1995, the Grammy Awairds enactit the Grammy Awaird fur Best R&B Album, wi II bi Boyz II Men becomin the furst recipient. The awaird wis later received bi TLC fur CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich fur Words in 1997, Erykah Badu fur Baduizm in 1998 an Lauryn Hill fur The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999. In 1994, Aaliyah lowsed her debut album an in 1996 she lowsed her seicont album cried "One In A Million" wi different soonds an produced bi Missy Elliott an Timbaland, unkent at that moment. At the end o 1999, Billboard magazine rankit Mariah Carey an Janet Jackson as the furst an seicont maist successfu airtists o the 1990s.

Simultaneously, in the seicont hauf o the 1990s, The Neptunes an Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporar R&B an hip-hop muisic.

2000s

Writin in 2003, muisic creetic Robert Christgau descrieves modren R&B as bein "aboot textur, muid, feel—vocal an instrumental an rhythmic, airticulatit as thay'r smuished thegither".

Usher wis citit bi Billboard as the no. 1 Hat 100 airtist o the 2000s decade, wi 7 nummer-ane singles that accumulatit 42 week at the tap.

Follaein periods o fluctuatin success, urban muisic attained commercial dominance durin the early 2000s, that featurt massive crossower success on the Billboard chairts bi R&B an hip hop airtists.

Alicia Keys rankit fift on Billboard Airtist o the Decade leet. "No One" ranks No. 6 on the Billboard Hat 100 sangs o the decade.

In 2001, Alicia Keys lowsed "Fallin'" as her debut single, peakin at nummer ane on the Billboard Hat 100, Mainstream Tap 40 an Hat R&B/Hip-Hop Sangs chairts. It wan three Grammy Awairds in 2002, includin Sang o the Year, Best R&B Sang, an Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. It wis nominatit fur Record o the Year an aa. Beyoncé's solo studio debut album Dangerously in Love (2003) haes selt ower 5 million units in the Unitit States an earnt five Grammy Awairds.

Usher's Confessions (2004) selt 1.1 million units in its furst week an ower 8 million units in 2004, syne then it haes been certifee'd Diamond bi the Recordin Industrie Association o Americae (RIAA) an, As o 2016 haes selt ower 10 million units in the US an ower 20 million units warldwide. Confessions haed fower consecutive Billboard Hat 100 nummer ane singles—"Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II" an "My Boo". It wan three Grammy Awairds in 2005, includin Best Contemporar R&B Album, Best R&B Performance bi a Duo or Group wi Vocal fur "My Boo" an Best Rap/Sung Collaboration fur "Yeah!"

Beyoncé wis named bi Billboard the maist successfu female ack o the 2000s.

In 2004, aw 12 sang that tappit the Billboard Hat 100 wis African-American recordin airtists an accoontit fur 80% o the nummer-ane R&B hits that year. Alang wi Usher's straik o singles, Tap 40 radio an baith pop an R&B chairts wis tappit bi Outkast's "Hey Ya!", Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot", Terror Squad's "Lean Back" an Ciara's "Goodies". Chris Molanphy o The Village Voice later remarkit that "bi the early 2000s, urban muisic "wis" pop muisic."

Atween 2005 an 2009 Raymond, Knowles an Keys lowsed albums—B'Day, Here I Stand, I Am... Sasha Fierce an The Element of Freedom.

Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) debuted at nummer ane on the Billboard 200 an earnt ten Grammy Awaird nominations. The seicont single "We Belong Together" tappit the Hat 100 chairts fur 14 week, an wis later hailed "sang o the decade" an wan a Grammy Awaird fur Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2006.

The mid-2000s cam wi the emergence o new R&B acks Ashanti, Keyshia Cole an Akon. Ashanti's eponymous debut album tappit baith US Billboard 200 an Tap R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chairts. It earnt her three Grammy nominations winnin ane fur the Best Contemporar R&B Album. R&B newcomer Chris Brown lowsed his sel-titled album in 2005 that debuted at nummer twa on the Billboard 200. His debut single "Run It!" peakit atap on the Billboard Hat 100, Hat R&B/Hip-Hop Sangs an the US Radio Sangs.

Durin this time cam the emergence o R&B sangwriters an aa. Bryan-Michael Cox co-wrate Usher's "Burn" an "Confessions Part II"(2005), Mariah Carey's "Shake It Off" an "Don't Forget About Us" (2006), an Chris Brown's "Say Goodbye"(2006). Keri Hilson wad co-write sangs Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am" (2006), Omarion's "Ice Box" (2006), an Ciara's "Like a Boy"(2006). Rico Love co-wrate Usher's "Throwback" (2005), Keri Hilson's "Energy"(2008), Pleasure P's "Boyfriend#2"(2008). The-Dream wrate Rihanna's "Umbrella"(2007), J. Holiday's "Bed" an Usher's "Moving Mountains" an "Trading Places"(2008). Ne-Yo wrate Mario's "Let Me Love You", Rihanna's "Take a Bow" an "Unfaithful", Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable"(2006) an "Me & U"(2006) bi Cassie.

Accordin tae Billboard, the maist commercially successfu R&B acks o the decade wur Usher, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo an Akon.

2010s

Contemporar R&B airtists Chris Brown an Usher hae experimentit wi EDM.

Continuin frae the 1990s an 2000s, R&B, lik mony ither genres, drew influences frae the technical innovations o the time an begoud tae incorporate mair electronic an machine-makkit soonds an instruments, this evolvin style cried electro-R&B slawly begoud dominatin the genre. Historically, the electro-R&B soond haed been associatit wi R&B sangs wi an electronic backbane bi 1990s or 2000s lass groups lik TLC or Destiny's Child. The uise o effecks sic as Auto-Tune an new computerised synths hae gien R&B a mair futuristic feel whiles aye attemptin tae incorporate mony o the genre's common themes sic as luve, relationships, hertbreak, an loss. As defined bi Apple Music, electro-R&B is "at the intersection o R&B an electronic muisic, creatin abstract hip-hop that blends the muidier end o electro wi meenimal R&B beats".

Accordin tae Christgau in 2017, "awmaist aw R&B gaes fur vyce-plus-soond raither nor vyce-plus-sang, wi the soond reengin frae preceesion track-an-heuk tae idiosyncratic atmospherics."

Early 2010s airtists Usher an Chris Brown begoud embracin new electronic influences whiles aye keepin R&B's oreeginal feel. Usher's "OMG" an "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love", an Chris Brown's "Yeah 3x" are aw EDM-orientit.

Sangsters Miguel, John Legend an Jeremih are popular in mainstream hip hop fur mony collaborations wi rappers sic as Wale, Rick Ross an J. Cole. The day's R&B is far mair diverse an incorporates mair sonic elements nor afore, as it expands its appeal an commercial viability. Trap muisic's influence maintained a strang presence on the muisic chairts wi R&B sangster Beyoncé's sangs "Drunk in Love", "Flawless" an "7/11", Bryson Tiller's debut studio album, Trapsoul an Mary J. Blige's "Thick of It".

Laitin R&B is gainin grund syne the waw o airtists begoud mixin trap wi that soond in the middle o this decade. Spainish-leid singles bi Alex Rose, Rauw Alejandro an Paloma Mami, whilk borrae shrewdly frae R&B, are captivatin a global audience. In Laitin Americae, the genre becam popular wi Alex Rose's "Toda", an Sech's "Otro Trago".

See an aw

• Leet o R&B muisickers

Further readin

• Christgau, Robert (18 November 1997). "Our Love Is the Cl––!!". The Village Voice. New York.