Case Study of rhythm and blues music

Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists. It is now performed worldwide by people of many cultures and ethnic groups. During the 1980s, James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone had used parts of psychedelic rock and other styles in their music. Funk became a big part of disco music. In the early 1980s, funk and soul had become sultry and more sexual with the work of Prince and others. The modern style of contemporary R&B came to be a major part of American popular music.

Today R&B uses a style of African - American music. It combines elements of soul music, funk music, pop music, and hip hop in what is now called contemporary R&B.

During the 2000's, the only big difference between hip hop and R&B was whether the vocals of the song had been sung or rapped. By this time, it also started to focus of solo artists rather than groups. By 2005, the most famous R&B artists include Usher, Beyoncé (formerly of Destiny's Child), Ashanti, and Mariah Carey.