Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B and RnB, is a genre of popular African-American music. The term Rhythm and

Blues, R&B, was first used by Billboard magazine in the late1940 s. R&B was an African-American urban sound that ′

evolved from blues and jazz.

In the late 1940 s R&B was described as ′ rocking and jazz based with a heavy and insistent beat. R&B was becoming popular because of it dance ability. By 1949 the term had

replaced Billboard’s category Harlem Hit Parade.

The lyrics of R&B were about everyday life. The songs were about work, sex, and drinking. Concerts then would be hot

and wild, sometimes shut down.

By the 1950 s ′ R&B was starting to define the sound of Rock n Roll but by the 1960 s′ rhythm and blues would include soul music. In the seventies disco was added to the R&B category

as was funk. By the 1980 s ′ R&B was defining music that included soul, funk, rock n roll and pop music.

By the 90 s, ′ Classic-Soul and vocal harmonies were being popularized by Mariah Carey, TLC, R. Kelly, and Boyz II Men.

Going into the 21st century R&B would include New Jack Swing, Hip-hop, Neo-Soul, pop and funk., also known as

Contemporary R&B.

From research that I’ve done exploring R&B culture, music and entertainment magazines such as Vibe, XXL, The Source, Billboard and Hip Hop, I’ve seen a mass of pictures, listened to many songs and watched music videos from key artists of the genre. I have learnt that there is a specific code which males and females under the R&B/Soul/Hip-Hop umbrella tend to follow in order to fit into this genre in the industry.The clothes that the artists WEAR, the songs they SING and the gadgets/technology they USE and SHOW OFF make up their iconography aka, the things that the audience typically associates with that genre of music. Iconography is taken very seriously by R&B music lovers, meaning that my target audience will expect to see their favourite artists portrayed in a way that they would associate with R&B.

In today’s society, there have been an explosive amount of female rappers who have broken the mould and let go of this stereotypical image of females being sexual objects,

and instead made songs and dressed in a way that mocks/resembles males and signifies that they are strong, independent and feisty women but still own those

advantageous aspects to being a female such as large bust and stylish hair and make-up.

Women are very often sexualised, and made to fit into the industry by

wearing revealing outfits which show off the best of their body parts. This is

in order to attract a male audience who would be captivated by the image

of such a sassy and sexy female on the front cover of a music magazine. Stereotypically therefore, female R&B artists wear minimal clothing such as low cut tops and those which flaunt

their stomachs and midriffs as well as short skirts and tight dresses which emphasise the figure making them aesthetically pleasing to the male reader who, most of the time, sees

them as objects of desire.

…and by contrast to your typical hip-hop gangster, these

males wear less big chains and chunky jewellery but a

couple of long chains, perhaps watches and belts to show off

their wealth and have an overall slick image about

them. In order to entice the female audience, they are very often photographed topless in order to reveal large muscles, abs, toned bodies and tattoos, all of which would appeal to a

female.

R&B males in the industry actually tend to have quite a large influence on their target audience as they are associated with many things. For example, sex, drugs, alcohol and expensive cars are all glamorised by these artists and therefore are advertised a lot in

music magazines and in style/fashion. Items of clothing such as trainers, hoodies, watches, hats, earrings, jewellery and toned bodies for males, are being forced upon their male audience. Expensive brands are also a big MUST for the style of R&B artists as it is

important to show your authority in the industry and again appear as glamorous as possible.

Lovers of R&B music all have certain things in common:

• They are often partying/clubbing and this is one of their favourite hobbies.

• Therefore, pictures of them are often taken in locations such as night clubs, large houses/mansions or street areas such as around walls with graffiti and such.

• They all like to show skin and are aware of specific dance moves such as the dougie, daggering, twerking, grinding and whining and so some songs, apart from slow jams, are designed to make people groove.

• The majority of artists in within this genre are of African American decent however it is starting to become more and more mixed…