Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and Blues (or simply R&B) is a genre of popular African-American music. The term was coined in the 1940s to describe the "black music" currently playing on the radio during that time in America. The music itself was a hodgepodge of blues music and rhythmic interplay, with gospel and jazz sounds thrown into the mix.

Nowadays, R&B music pretty much envelops a lot of sounds from the traditional sounds to Funk and Soul, and nowadays Hip Hop and Pop. The vocal quality of R&B singers is another important element, and most R&B fans aren't kind to thin-voiced singers. A singer, who need not be Aretha Franklin, usually must be at least a little more than competent at carrying a tune.

R&B is split into or encompasses these genres:

• Alternative R&B
• Contemporary R&B
• Neo Soul
• New Jack Swing
• Hip Hop Soul
• Soul
• Disco
• Funk
• Jazz
• Pop