Urban contemporary music facts for kids

Urban contemporary music is a type of music often played on the radio. It's also called urban music, hip hop, or urban pop. A New York radio DJ named Frankie Crocker first used the name in the 1970s. He used it to describe music made by Black artists.

Urban contemporary radio stations play many types of music. These include R&B, pop-rap, quiet storm, and hip hop. They also play Latin music like Latin pop and Chicano rap. Some Caribbean music like reggae and soca is also included. This music style grew from genres like R&B and soul.

Most urban music is popular in the United States. Many radio stations that play urban contemporary music are in cities with many African-American people. Some of these cities are New York City, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

Urban contemporary music includes newer R&B sounds. It can also mix in elements from urban Euro-pop, urban rock, and urban alternative styles.

What is Urban Music?

The term urban contemporary music is strongly connected to African-American music. This is especially true for R&B music made by African-American artists. For Latin American listeners, reggaeton and Latin hip hop are seen as "Latin urban" music. This is because they are influenced by the same types of music.

Urban contemporary radio stations mostly play popular songs by top hip hop and R&B artists. Sometimes, they might play older soul songs from the 1970s or early 1980s. This helps to include fans who like the earlier sounds of the genre.

Many urban radio stations, like KJLH and WVEE, play gospel music or urban contemporary gospel on Sundays.

Mainstream urban and rhythmic contemporary are both types of urban contemporary music.

How Urban Music Started

The 1970s: A New Sound Begins

In 1971, Frankie Crocker started mixing different music styles. He combined jazz with R&B. In 1974, Crocker became the program director for a new radio station called WBLS. He created a unique mix of R&B and disco. This new mix helped to define what "urban contemporary" music was.

In 1975, a radio station in Cleveland called WDMT began playing a mix of rhythm, blues, R&B, disco, and rap. They had live DJs who would mix records every night. This station became very popular. By 1980, it was one of the top radio stations in the area.

The 1980s: Hip Hop Joins In

In 1983, WBLS in New York City was the first radio station to have a rap radio show. It was called "Rap Attack" and featured Mr. Magic and Marley Marl. Artists like Freddie Jackson and Luther Vandross became very popular in urban contemporary music during this time. Later in the 1980s, Whitney Houston also became a big star in this genre.

When WRKS-FM (98.7 Kiss FM) started, it became the first rap station in the U.S. Because of this, WBLS quickly added more rap songs to its playlists. By then, the urban music style included a mix of R&B, rap, reggae, dance, house, and freestyle. WBLS was still a main station for urban music, but Kiss FM became even more popular.

Another successful urban radio station was WDRQ in Detroit. It changed its music style in 1982 and quickly became very popular. Besides rap, R&B, and dance music, WDRQ also played mainstream pop songs that had a good dance beat.

Many radio stations copied the urban sound. This was because it made more money than other music styles. It also attracted white and Latino listeners, not just Black listeners. Another type of urban contemporary music is rhythmic contemporary hits. This style plays a lot of dance music and, more recently, a lot of Hip-Hop. WQHT-FM (Hot 97) and KPWR (Power 106) were among the first stations to use this style.

1990s to Today: Urban Music Takes Over

Since the 1990s, urban contemporary songs have often been at the top of the US pop charts. Many top 40 radio stations started playing songs that were popular on urban contemporary stations.

In the early 2000s, urban music became very successful. Many R&B and hip hop artists had huge crossover hits. This means their songs were popular on different types of music charts. In 2004, all 12 songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart were by African-American artists. They also had 80% of the number-one R&B hits that year. Artists like Usher, OutKast with "Hey Ya!", Snoop Dogg with "Drop It Like It's Hot", and Ciara with "Goodies" were very popular. Some people even said that in the early 2000s, urban music was pop music.

By the late 2000s, mainstream EDM sounds became more popular on top 40 radio. Some urban artists like Rihanna, Chris Brown, and Usher started making EDM songs for top 40 radio. However, they still made hip hop or pure R&B songs for urban radio stations. Pure urban music styles continue to be successful in cities with many African-American people. In smaller cities, urban music is often heard through rhythmic contemporary stations that mix danceable mainstream hits.

See also

• Urban adult contemporary