As a radio format that prized legacy artists plays more acts in their 20s and 30s, staples of the genre face intense competition. By Elias Leight In March, the singer Maeta hit No. 1 on Billboard’s ...

In celebration of Valentine's Day and Black History Month, Billboard looks back at the genre's rich romantic legacy. When it comes to making love songs, arguably no other genre has mastered that craft ...

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,” said the ...

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 ...

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 ...

“If I Get Caught,” the first single from the R&B duo Dvsn‘s upcoming album, released last month, is far from subtle in its description of what some might call “toxic” behavior. In the chorus, destined ...

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 ...

The smoothest, strongest jams of the decade, and the visual accompaniments that went with them— these are the Best R&B Videos of the '90s.