Contemporary R&B facts for kids

Contemporary R&B
Stylistic origins	Rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop, electronic, dance
Cultural origins	Early 1980s North America; New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Montreal, Toronto
Typical instruments	Synthesizers, keyboard, drum machine, vocals, talkbox piano
Subgenres
Hip hop soul - Neo soul - G-funk - Nu-funk
Fusion genres
Quiet storm - New jack swing – 2-step – Grime - G-funk – Crunk&B – Snap&B - PBR&B - Zouk R&B
Other topics
Musicians

Contemporary R&B, often called just R&B, is a popular music style. It mixes sounds from rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop, and dance music.

This music has a special sound. It often uses drum machines for rhythms. Sometimes, you might hear a saxophone giving it a jazz feel, especially in older songs from before 1995. The singing style is usually very smooth and rich.

Today, electronic sounds are becoming more common. You'll often hear beats inspired by hip hop or dance music. However, the rougher parts of hip hop are usually made smoother in R&B. Singers in Contemporary R&B are famous for using melisma. This means they sing many notes on one syllable, like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey did.

The Story of Contemporary R&B Music

How Contemporary R&B Started

Contemporary R&B began in the late 1970s. This was when the disco music era was ending. Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones helped create this new sound. They added more electronic elements to the black music of that time. This made the music smoother and great for dancing.

Their first big success was the album Off the Wall (1979). Music expert Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it was a "visionary album." He explained that it opened up disco into a new world. The beat was strong, but it was also part of a mix of beautiful songs, smooth soul, pop, and funk.

The Rise of New Jack Swing

In 1986, Janet Jackson's album Control was very important for R&B. She worked with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They created a new sound. It mixed funk and disco rhythms with lots of synthesizers and sound effects. It also had a feel from rap music.

The success of Control led to rap styles being added to R&B. Janet Jackson continued to be a leader in this trend. In the same year, Teddy Riley started making R&B songs with hip hop influences. This mix of R&B singing and hip hop beats was called new jack swing. Famous artists who used this style included Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, and Guy.

Images for kids

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  Usher was named the top Hot 100 artist of the 2000s. He had 7 number-one songs.

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  Alicia Keys was ranked fifth on Billboard's Artist of the Decade list. Her song "No One" was a huge hit.

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  Beyoncé was named the most successful female artist of the 2000s by Billboard.

See also

In Spanish: R&B contemporáneo para niños