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 ...

This photo provided by Kelvin Worthey Jr. shows Christian rapper Childlike CiCi performing on Oct. 12, 2025. (Credit: Kelvin Worthey Jr./Kashvision Multimedia & Broadcasting LLC via AP.) Listen A new ...

Hours before Usher took a victory lap on roller skates for all of America to see, around 50 people piled into Songbyrd Music House near Union Market to celebrate the musical tradition the Super Bowl ...

Since the turn of the 21st century, critics have prophesied that R&B, a once-dominating music genre, is dead. Male artists aren’t professing their love in pouring rain, draped in silk shirts anymore.

Platinum-selling singer Brent Faiyaz said genres don’t matter anymore, calling it a “primitive” way to think about music. Diddy sparked a debate about the state of R&B, but Brent Faiyaz thinks artists ...

Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On" James Brown, "The Payback" Stevie Wonder, "As" Aretha Franklin, "(To Be) Young, Gifted And Black" Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, "The Love I Lost" R&B music would not ...

Drake and Justin Bieber are among the biggest popular music stars in the world. Part of their appeal has been blurring pop, hip-hop and R&B — music genres the music business has traditionally ...

Christian rapper and influencer Lecrae Devaughn Moore photographed in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. A new wave of artists is transcending traditional notions of Christian music, drawing young ...

A new wave of artists is transcending traditional notions of Christian music, drawing young global audiences to faith-based rap, Afrobeats and R&B. Often boosted by social media, many of them got ...