Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, writer Jaelani Turner-Williams addresses claims that today’s R&B is too sexual. R&B’s ...

Sometimes, we’re blessed with talents that feel like they were sent directly from God—the kind of gifts that don’t need to be forced because greatness just lives in them naturally. What makes it hurt ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Tank was nervous after sending his manager a preview of “When We” — he’d never released a song that explicit. “He’s like, ‘You’re crazy, but it’s jammin’!’” the R&B singer recalled.

R&B music was never dead and is currently doing just fine according to Usher. The veteran singer took time from preparing for his highly anticipated halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII to talk to ...

SZA beat out Coco Jones, Halle, Victoria Monét and Robert Glasper, who were also vying for the category Julia Moore is a TV Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Kevin ...

Many contemporary albums arrive with less than a week’s notice, but Jhene Aiko started to roll-out her new full-length, Chilombo, months ago. She released four different tracks to stoke anticipation, ...

Rap and R&B have always been intertwined. As both prominent Black arts, many rappers and singers from both genres were taking off and occupying the same space in the 1990s, which carried on tradition ...

The 'Love Always Wins' artist and his wife tied the knot in 2019 Khyree Pleasant R&B singer KEM is expanding his family! The Love Always Wins artist, 58, is expecting his eighth baby, his fifth with ...

R&B in the 1970s was a defining era—one where soul, funk, blues, and disco converged to shape the sound of a generation. Solo ...

From Whitney Houston’s timeless hits still leading Gen Z playlists to emerging R&B artists reshaping the genre, 2026 blends heritage with innovation. Streaming platforms are powering this mix, giving ...