Ironic, then, that such a shift seems to have been ushered in by a death — not of R&B proper, mind you, but of one of its greatest modern pacesetters: The Weeknd. Since 2011, the persona inhabited by ...

For many decades, going as far back as the 1940s, artists from the world of R&B couldn’t really claim mainstream success until they’d crossed over to Top 40 radio and the pop charts. This century, it ...

This week’s R&B lineup features new music from Durand Bernarr, Joyce Wrice, Casper Sage, and Alina Baraz, offering a spectrum from soulful ballads to inventive alt-R&B. Current trends show the genre ...

A group of young singer-songwriters have transformed the genre by looking backward, without getting stuck in the past. Here and below are seven of the many contemporary artists who are redefining and ...

Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, ESSENCE editor Rivéa Ruff reports on the blending of hip-hop and R&B. Since the ...

WITH US MUSIC LOVERS. YOU’LL WANT TO HEAD TO HIGH POINT THIS WEEKEND. OKAY. THEY ARE HOLDING THEIR FIRST EVER R&B SOUL PICNIC ON SATURDAY. THE GOOD VIBES WILL BE HAPPENING INSIDE OF OAK HOLLOW ...

Long live the king. This week, Jacquees anointed himself the undisputed ruler of R&B— and all hell broke loose. “I just wanna let everybody know that I’m the king of R&B right now, for this generation ...