Interesting Facts about Urban Contemporary Music

Urban Music or Urban contemporary is one of the most discussed musical terms today. Mostly hated by the new generation of Black artists for segmenting their music, many artists have boycotted the use of Urban in any way possible.

In the wake of anti-racism in the US and around the globe, many record companies disowned the term altogether. The recent biggest change came when The Grammy Awards announced that they’ll drop the award for urban contemporary for Progressive R&B.

Here are some interesting facts about the history of Urban Contemporary Music and how it changed over the course of 50 years.

1. Unlike certain music genres, Urban Music is an umbrella term that includes a playlist made up entirely of Black Music genres such as R&B, pop-rap, British R&B, quiet storm, adult contemporary, hip hop. It also incorporates Latin music, Chicano R&B, and Reggae.
2. 1. The term came into existence after the New York DJ Frankie Crocker, a program director of the newly created WBLS, used it in the 1970s as a synonym for “Black Music.”

a. Black Music or African-American Music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of musical genres largely developed by African Americans that arose out of the historical condition of slavery.

b. The term urban music can be traced back to the 1920s when US racial segregation laws extended to the cultural sphere.

c. Urban contemporary began as an American radio format designed to appeal to advertisers who felt that “black radio” would not reach a wide enough audience.

d. The Urban Music format surged in the 1980s and 1990s and became the most profitable radio format.

e. 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.

f. The genre “Chicago Blues” has been around since the Great Depression. The genre developed during the 30s and 40s. After WWII, different types of rural Country Blues made into the northern cities of the US and ended up influencing each other which made way for Urban Music.

g. Almost all urban contemporary type radio stations are found in cities that have lots of African-American people. Some cities that have Urban contemporary stations are; Los Angeles, California, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Charlotte, and Norfolk, Virginia, etc.

h. Some of the most popular artists associated with producing Urban music are Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Boyz II Men, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Jay Z, Eminem, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Akon, Usher, Snoop Dogg, etc.

1. The disagreement in the music industry followed regarding the use of the term “urban.” Many referred to the term as a “catchall for music created by Black artists, regardless of genre.”

2. Because “Urban music” is an umbrella term for the music genre, it isn’t included in the major music types around the world that includes Country, EDM, Hip-hop, Indie Rock, Jazz, K-Pop, Metal, Oldies.

3. Hip Hop music derived from Hip Hop culture and art movement. Although originally listed under urban music, Hip hop has become a major music genre outside Urban.

a. In the 1970s, an underground urban movement is known as “hip hop” began to form in the Bronx, New York City. It music follows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-rooted and Latino musical genres such as blues, jazz, ragtime, funk, salsa, and disco to become one of the most practiced genres worldwide.

b. Breaking, also called B-boying/B-Girling or breakdancing, is a dynamic, rhythmic style of dance which developed as one of the major elements of hip hop culture. It borrows heavily from 1930s-era street dancing, Brazilian and Asian Martial arts, and the dance moves of James Brown, Michael Jackson, and California funk.

c. Beatboxing, a technique of vocal percussion, is an integral part of creating Hip hop music. It is often categorized under the production element of Hip hop.

4. R&B or Rhythm and blues is a popular music genre that originated in African American communities in the 1940s. Although advertised as Black music before the 70s and as urban music in the 1970s, R&B became a major music type and even surpassed the popularity of the Rock genre.

a. R&B took inspiration from Blues, gospel, and soul music. Later it incorporated electric blues and rock and roll. Today, most R&B music combines and rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, disco, hip hop, and electronic music.

5. The major US music label, Republic Records, home to big-selling artists Drake, Rihanna, and Ariana Grande, revealed it has ceased using the long-standing genre classification “Urban music”. The move came in the wake of the anti-racism protests around the globe.

6. The organization behind the Grammys announced in June 20202 that they will cease using the term “Urban” to describe the music of black origin in its awards. The best urban contemporary album prizes will be renamed best progressive R&B album.

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Rick Perdian — Event and Music Management conducted research about urban music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Get in touch with us to learn more about the interesting history of different music genres.