R&B
Rhythm and blues — an African-American genre combining blues, jazz, and gospel with a strong rhythmic feel.
In Depth
R&B originated in the 1940s as a marketing term for music made by Black artists, replacing the earlier label race music. The original R&B was blues-based music with a strong beat, horn sections, and gospel-influenced vocals. Over the decades, R&B evolved through soul, funk, quiet storm, new jack swing, and contemporary R&B.
Modern R&B (from the 1990s onward) blends smooth vocal styles with electronic production, hip-hop beats, and pop songwriting. Artists like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Usher, Beyoncé, and The Weeknd have defined the genre's evolution. R&B's influence on pop music is so pervasive that the boundary between the two genres has become increasingly blurred.
The term R&B was coined by Billboard journalist Jerry Wexler in 1947 to replace the term race music on the charts — a small editorial decision that had a lasting impact on how Black music was categorised.