R&B is the epitome of musical resilience. First emerging in the late 1940s, the genre was initially categorized as “race music,” as Black artists tried to find their footing in a new genre that borrowed from jazz and blues. In the late 1940s, Billboard editor Jerry Wexler erased the derogatory roots of “race music” by mainstreaming the term “Rhythm and Blues” for the magazine’s Black music chart. R&B was born by shattering its pre-determined socio-political confinements, thus signaling the genre’s progression that would continue for decades to come.
The genre is historically rooted in evolution, constantly shape-shifting since its inception seven decades ago. It has since redefined its traditional melodies for the modern era, trading church-born soul for experimental fusion — a pointed reflection of both the streaming and social media ages. This change had many questioning R&B’s impact, as it temporarily took a backseat in the early 2010s as pop and hip-hop battled for the mainstream spotlight. There have been debates in recent years arguing if R&B is “dead.” For those who believe it is, they’re stuck in a mindset that relies too heavily on its nostalgic heydays, choosing to remain stagnant rather than accepting the sound’s growth.
But this is ultimately a tired argument. R&B is everlasting, with artists both old and new excitedly breathing life into its core.
“R&B is constantly evolving. It is ever-present. It will always be ever-present, but it changes. It’s not going to sound like it did even five years ago. That’s the beauty of it,” Alex Isley, daughter of legendary guitarist Ernest Isley, said in 2022. “Anyone who says R&B is dead, it’s because their outlook on R&B is dead.”
Usher, a contemporary R&B pioneer, shared similar sentiments last year: “I’m very happy that there’s a new installation of R&B artists who care to be authentic to what they are creating, inspired by artists of the past. Everybody who has ever said to me that R&B is dead sounds crazy. Especially when I know the origins of R&B are in all other genres of music.”
So why have the standards of R&B changed? The turning point came in a year when the streaming era pushed the industry into entirely new territory. According to Nielsen’s year-end music report, on-demand streaming services grew to 317 billion streams in 2015, doubling from 164.5 billion songs streamed the year prior. The increase equated to 211.5 million stream-equivalent albums. Streaming platforms — including Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal — officially held the torch that traditional album sales held for so long.
The transition to streaming effectively blurred the lines of music, especially R&B. Playlists, whether personalized by algorithmic release dates, created by listeners or editorially curated by the streaming services themselves (think Spotify’s various mixes, from “Chill R&B” to “Sensual R&B,” and “Hip-Hop R&B”), spotlight that genres no longer felt rigid, thus giving both artists and listeners the thrill of tinkering with R&B’s traditional bones. Spotify even acknowledged its participation in this shift, releasing its “The 100 Greatest R&B Songs of the Streaming Era” playlist in 2024, which was based on criteria such as quality, impact, replay value, influence, and cultural significance.
“When you have the entire world’s music library at your fingertips, the potential for exploration and discovery of different styles and different types of music is greater than ever,” Kevin Weatherly, former head of North American programming at Spotify, said in 2021. “Prior to Spotify, you were spoon-fed what music you listened to by traditional gatekeepers. All of that has been shattered.”
Contemporary R&B, which thrived in the ’90s and ’00s, has been given a facelift thanks to ambitious artists who are unafraid to inject their love for other sounds — pop, hip-hop, country, Afrobeats, electronic, disco, alternative, and indie — into the genre. The beauty of R&B lies within its emotional storytelling, unforgettable belting bridges, and heartstring-pulling melodies. R&B may sound different in 2025, with the new school embracing more fluid, boundary-blurring approaches, but the genre’s foundation is still firmly in place.
R&B is now a kaleidoscope of creativity. There’s Kehlani and Jhené Aiko’s spiritual energy, the vulnerability of Summer Walker, the hip-hop swagger of Bryson Tiller and Brent Faiyaz, the cool-girl vibes of Kelela, Tinashe’s genre-blurring pop-R&B, FKA twigs’ avant-garde sensuality, SZA’s embracing of Black girl-next-door relatability, Coco Jones, Victoria Monét and Jazmin Sullivan’s upliftment of classic soul, FLO’s modernization of the ‘90s girl group formula, Steve Lacy’s pop perspective, Tyla’s diasporic melodies, Lucky Daye and Leon Thomas’ slick sensuality, and many more. While these artists are all wonderfully diverse, what connects them is their intriguing personalities and self-expression, which is reflected in the music, during live performances and on social media.
But what the latest R&B acts are accomplishing isn’t necessarily new. We’ve seen various stages of this evolution throughout the ’90s, with neo-soul movement led by artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and the late D'Angelo, as well the emergence of “hip-hop soul” (shaped by New Jack Swing in the ’80s) led by Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey effortlessly fusing R&B with hip-hop and pop. Thanks to the Y2K craze, early ’00s era R&B became synth-driven, with Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, and TLC digging into futuristic pockets. Even more contemporary R&B artists like Toni Braxton and Janet Jackson leaned into the icy sounds of that time.
“In my earlier days, I felt there was a big need for people to box me in and [make me] feel like I needed to choose a direction,” singer Tinashe said in 2024. “But I don’t really subscribe to that anymore, so I don’t feel that pressure. I just make what I want to make. From day one to now, you can see that the range of things that are inspiring or interesting to me is pretty consistent. I think I am some type of hybrid, in between a lot of different feelings or vibes.”
Yet, there are still traces of R&B’s old guardrails, echoing the discriminatory underlining from the ’40s. R&B is undoubtedly Black music, but that doesn’t mean all Black singers are confined to R&B. “Any music I do will easily and quickly be categorized as R&B because I’m a Black woman,” Chlöe Bailey said in 2024, in response to fans questioning why she began making uptempo music, which they deemed more for white listeners. “If someone who didn't have my skin tone made the same music, it would be in the pop categories. That’s just the way it’s always been in life.”
Since the rise of the streaming era in 2015, R&B has thrived through digital discovery, breaking down longstanding geographical barriers. Afrobeats, a genre originating from the West African diaspora, rapidly expanded worldwide in the late 2010s. Similar to new-age R&B acts, artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Mr Eazi, Tiwa Savage and more redefined classic West African sounds to usher in a modern era. Across the pond, British artists such as Cleo Sol, Jorja Smith, NAO and Ella Mai — followed by a newer wave including KWN, FLO and Olivia Dean — have successfully broken into the American R&B landscape through social media visibility and playlist discovery.
The fusion and collaboration nets widened with Burna Boy sampling ’90s contemporary R&B singers Toni Braxton and Brandy on 2022’s “Last Last” and 2023’s “Sittin on Top of the World,” respectively, and Rema sampling Sade’s 1985 song “Is It a Crime?” for his hit single “Baby (Is It a Crime).” Jorja Smith paired with dancehall star Popcaan for 2020’s “Come Over” and Burna Boy for 2019’s “Be Honest,” while FLO has paid homage to iconic girl groups like Destiny’s Child and TLC throughout their growing discography. The music business is also taking notes: back in 2023, Spotify even partnered with COLORSXSTUDIOS for a multi-day R&B writing camp in Nairobi, Kenya.
This year, kwn (pronounced “kay-one”) teamed with Kehlani for her “Worst Behaviour” remix, while fellow British R&B singer Mahalia embraced her Jamaican heritage with the dancehall-laced Luvergirl EP. Nigerian singer Tems’ genre fluidity was solidified at the Grammys as her single “Burning” was nominated for Best R&B Song while “Love Me JeJe” won Best African Music Performance.
The current state of R&B couldn’t be more exciting as today’s class of genre-benders continue to embrace freeness. The contemporary generation has also gotten on board, as seen with Babyface’s 2022 album Girls Night Out, which included collaborations solely with newer female R&B artists. Recently, Kehlani’s “Folded” — the beloved single that earned Grammy nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance — sparked a Folded (Homage Pack) EP featuring remixes with Toni Braxton, Brandy, Ne-Yo, JoJo, Tank, and Mario.
Thanks to these predecessors, the new generation has musical insight and all of the necessary tools on how to keep R&B alive — they’re just doing it on their own terms.
