Music genre
Urban contemporary music
, also known as
urban music
,
hip hop
,
[1]
urban pop
, or just simply
urban
, is a music
radio format
. The term was coined by New York radio DJ
Frankie Crocker
in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of Black genres such as
R&B
,
pop-rap
,
quiet storm
,
urban adult contemporary
,
hip hop
,
Latin music
such as Latin pop, Chicano R&B and
Chicano rap
, and
Caribbean music
such as
reggae
and
soca
. Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and
soul
.
[2]
Because urban music is a largely U.S. phenomenon, virtually all urban contemporary formatted radio stations in the United States are located in cities that have sizeable
African-American
populations, such as New York City; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Atlanta; Miami; Chicago; Cleveland; Philadelphia; Montgomery; Memphis; St. Louis; Newark; Charleston; New Orleans; Cincinnati; Dallas; Houston; Oakland; Sacramento; Los Angeles; Trenton; Columbia; Jacksonville;, Flint; Baltimore; Boston; Birmingham; Indianapolis; Charlotte; Savannah; Hartford; and Jackson.
Urban contemporary music includes the more contemporary elements of R&B and may incorporate production elements found in urban Euro-pop, urban rock, and urban alternative.
[3]
Summary
[
edit
]
The term
urban contemporary music
is heavily associated with
African-American music
, particularly with R&B in African-American contexts. For
Latin Americans
,
reggaeton
, and
Latin hip hop
are considered "Latin urban" due to influence of above mentioned genres.
Urban contemporary playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul songs from the 1970s and early 1980s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.
Many urban-formatted radio stations, such as
KJLH
,
KPRS
,
KMEL
,
KDAY
and
WVEE
, play
gospel music
or
urban contemporary gospel
music on Sundays.
Mainstream urban
is a branch of urban contemporary, and
rhythmic contemporary
is also a branch.
History
[
edit
]
The 1970s
[
edit
]
In 1971,
Frankie Crocker
would combine all the elements of his background, with
jazz
and
R&B
.
[4]
When Frankie Crocker was appointed as
program director
of the newly created
WBLS
in 1974, he created an eclectic music mix of
R&B
and
disco
redefining the R&B format as
urban contemporary
. In 1975, WDMT in Cleveland began programming a mix of rhythm, blues, R&B, disco, and rap. The station featured live
street jocks
mixing
vinyl records
each night. The station's popularity grew and in 1980, it was
Arbitron
rated No. 2 12+, just behind the No. 1 rated
WMMS
with the original "
Morning Zoo
".
The 1980s
[
edit
]
In 1983,
WBLS
in
New York City
was the first station to air a
rap
radio show, "Rap Attack" with
Mr. Magic
and
Marley Marl
.
[5]
Freddie Jackson and Luther Vandross were popular in urban contemporary music scene.
[6]
Late 1980s, Luther Vandross, Freddy Jackson, and
Whitney Houston
were popular in this genre.
[7]
During the early 1980s as newly formed
WRKS-FM
(
98.7 Kiss FM
) became the first rap station in the United States,
[8]
WBLS quickly began adding more rap songs to its playlists. The urban format by this time was redefined by an eclectic mix of
R&B
, rap,
reggae
,
dance
,
house
, and
freestyle
. WBLS continued as the flagship station of the urban format; however,
Kiss FM
surpassed them in the ratings.
Another successful early urban outlet was
WDRQ
in Detroit, which switched from a top 40 format in the spring of 1982 and made a #2 showing 12+ in its first Arbitron ratings book. In addition to rap, R&B and dance music, WDRQ featured mainstream pop music with a danceable beat from artists.
Many radio stations imitated the urban sound since it was proven to be more profitable than other formats and had proven itself more adept than straightforward black-targeted R&B formats at attracting white and Latino listeners.
Late in the decade
WVAZ
Chicago
and
WALR
Atlanta
became some of the first
adult R&B
stations, playing artists that appealed to adults rather than rap or other styles that young people enjoyed.
[9]
Another subformat of urban contemporary is
rhythmic contemporary hits
. Stations playing rhythmic contemporary hits plays a great deal of dance music; however, hip-hop has become increasingly popular in the format in recent years.
WQHT-FM
(Hot 97) and
KPWR
(Power 106) were the first stations to utilize this format.
1990s?present
[
edit
]
Since the 1990s, as urban contemporary hits have dominated the US pop charts, many
top 40 stations
have turned to playing tracks popular on urban contemporary radio stations.
Following periods of fluctuating success, urban music attained commercial dominance during the early 2000s, which featured massive
crossover
success on the
Billboard
charts
by R&B and hip hop artists.
[10]
In 2004, all 12 songs that topped the
Billboard
Hot 100
were African-American recording artists and accounted for 80% of the
number-one R&B hits
that year.
[10]
Along with
Usher
's streak of singles, top 40 radio and both pop and R&B charts were topped by
OutKast
's "
Hey Ya!
",
Snoop Dogg
's "
Drop It Like It's Hot
",
Terror Squad
's "
Lean Back
" and
Ciara
's "
Goodies
".
[10]
Chris Molanphy of
The Village Voice
later remarked that by the early 2000s, urban music
was
pop music.
[10]
By the late 2000s, urban music had taken a backseat on top 40 radio to mainstream
EDM
sounds, and several successful urban artists, including
Rihanna
,
Chris Brown
,
Ciara
,
Usher
,
Nicole Scherzinger
,
Akon
,
Trey Songz
,
Pitbull
,
Flo Rida
, and
Ne-Yo
, were making EDM records for top 40 airplay while continuing to make hip hop or pure R&B records for urban airplay. Pure urban formats continue to be successful in markets with large
African-American
populations, while medium or smaller markets are more likely to feature urban music through the subset of
rhythmic contemporary
stations with danceable mainstream hits mixed in.
The
Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
has been awarded since 2002.
Name controversy
[
edit
]
In 2020, members of the music industry voiced disagreement over the use of the term
urban
in describing music genres and formats, especially among African-American artists who see the term as a "catchall for music created by black artists, regardless of genre".
[11]
Contributing to the debate, Lance Venta of radio industry publication
RadioInsight
claimed that the term
urban
was outdated in that hip hop and R&B music had gained massive popularity outside the inner cities and the descriptor should not serve as a euphemism for "black music". He recommended substituting the terms
hip hop
for the urban contemporary format and
adult R&B
for
urban adult contemporary
.
[1]
Tyler, the Creator
also spoke out, stating "[i]t sucks that whenever we ? and I mean guys that look like me ? do anything that's genre-bending or that's anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category", adding that "I don't like that 'urban' word ? it's just a politically correct way to say the
n-word
to me".
[12]
Myron Fears, operations manager and program director of the black owned Carter Broadcast Group in Kansas City, defended the use of the
urban
tag. Responding to Republic's elimination of the term, he expressed concern that the action diminishes the status of black music executives within record companies and the industry as a whole:
I do not think it's a great idea because it nullifies all the hard work that past African American music executives built. This potentially leads to the dissolving of people and positions within the Urban music division. Hip Hop and R&B is leading the way for the surge in music sales and usage of streaming. Are the other positions, titles and departments within a record company going to change or dissolve? ... Do they realize the cultural power of Urban Music?
?
Myron Fears, Carter Broadcast Group operations manager/program director
[13]
In the wake of the
murder of George Floyd
and the subsequent
protests
, a number of institutions dropped the term
urban
in favor of other terms. In June 2020,
Republic Records
and artist management company Milk & Honey stated that they would drop the use of the word in relation to music of a black origin.
[1]
[14]
That same month, the
National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences
renamed and redefined the
Grammy Award
for Best Urban Contemporary Album with
Best Progressive R&B Album
, "to appropriately categorize and describe this subgenre. This change includes a more accurate definition to describe the merit or characteristics of music compositions or performances themselves within the genre of R&B".
[15]
They also renamed the Best Latin Pop or Urban Album to
Best Latin Pop Album
, while changing the name of the Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album to
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
.
[15]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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Stylistic origins
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Styles
| |
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Regional variants
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The Americas
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Asia
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Related topics
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- ^
a
b
c
Venta, Lance (June 5, 2020).
"Republic Records Eliminates Usage Of "Urban"; Urges Rest Of Industry To Follow Suit"
.
RadioInsight
. RadioBB Networks
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Urban contemporary music - music"
.
britannica.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 17, 2008
. Retrieved
April 14,
2018
.
- ^
McPhate, Tim (June 8, 2012).
"The Recording Academy Announces Board Of Trustees Meeting Results"
.
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
June 11,
2012
.
- ^
"Urban Contemporary/Black"
.
University of Delaware
. December 27, 2004.
Archived
from the original on December 27, 2004.
- ^
Kurutz, Steve.
"Mr. Magic"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
October 22,
2009
.
- ^
"Music Sermon: The Divinity Of Luther Vandross"
.
Vibe
. April 21, 2019.
- ^
Whitney Houston
retrieved 29 November 2021
- ^
"Archived copy"
. Archived from
the original
on March 12, 2016
. Retrieved
February 25,
2016
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Leight, Elias (May 11, 2024).
"Adult R&B's Youthful Look"
.
Billboard
.
136
(7): 20.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Molanphy, Chris (July 16, 2012).
"100 & Single: The R&B rhythm blues /Hip-Hop Factor In The Music Business's Endless Slump"
.
The Village Voice Blogs
.
Village Voice Media
.
Archived
from the original on July 20, 2012
. Retrieved
July 16,
2012
.
- ^
Lewis, Sophie (June 11, 2020).
"Grammy Awards renames controversial "urban" category"
.
CBS News
. Retrieved
June 14,
2020
.
- ^
Owoseje, Toyin (January 27, 2020).
"Tyler, The Creator slams Grammys' 'urban' category as a politically correct version of the n-word"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
June 14,
2020
.
- ^
"Republic Records Stops Using The Term 'Urban' For Music, Execs & Department -- Other Labels And Radio Programmers Weigh In"
.
All Access
. All Access Music Group. June 8, 2020
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
Savage, Mark (June 8, 2020).
"Drake and Ariana Grande's record label drops the term 'urban'
"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
June 8,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"The Recording Academy Announces Changes For 63rd Annual GRAMMYs, Releases Rules And Guidelines"
.
Grammy.com
.
The Recording Academy
. June 10, 2020
. Retrieved
June 14,
2020
.