There’s no doubt that hip-hop has overtaken the music industry as the highest grossing genre of music. With tons of new hip-hop acts emerging daily, does hip-hop has the staying power like R&B.
Just think back to when you were growing up. Most of our parents/grandparents would listen to music that had meaning, emotions, great sound, and would make everyone feel good. Once we got older, we would reminisce about those songs once they came on the radio. We could recall the younger days and how our parents would sing and dance to their favorite tunes.
While R&B which stands for rhythm and blues was originated in 1940s, the name's origin was created for use as a musical marketing term by Billboard magazine.
By the 1960’s R&B had found its place in music with acts such as The Temptations, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Gladys Knights and the Pips. Just to name a few. It carried over to the 70’s. But in the 80’s is when R&B really reached new heights. With acts such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston. This era of music was undoubtedly the best that R&B had to offer. The 90’s were pretty good as well. But the 80’s was magical.
Fast forwarding to today’s R&B, the modern style has all the ingredients of original R&B, the use of synthesizers and drum beat machines, as well as mixing platforms, are widely used to create a versatile, well-produced type of music that is loved all over the world.
R&B singer Kelly Price was quoted "It's not R&B if you have rhythm and no blues or if you have blues and no rhythm. So, for all of this rhythmic music that doesn't have soul, and it's not saying anything. That's not R&B in my opinion. It's a genre that just embodies so much. You have the blues in there, you have gospel in there, you have spirituals in there — it's a little bit of everything. And that's what's special about it to me. Literally inside of R&B, I can give you something that sounds like a quartet record but it's still R&B ... I feel like I can be everything I am musically inside of that genre."
R&B music still has a place on mainstream radio. It’s about time that the program directors start supporting the music that’s done so much for the culture and genre.
Cognizance Magazine
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