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Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (also known as simply R&B) is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, pop, soul, funk, and hip hop.

Although the abbreviation "R&B" originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African-American music originating after the departure of disco in the 1980s. Some sources refer to the style as urban contemporary.

Contemporary R&B has a polished record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel (mostly common in contemporary R&B songs prior to the year 1995), and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Electronic influences are becoming an increasing trend, and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop may be reduced and smoothed out. Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by vocalists such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey.

History
As the disco era came to a close, a new generation of producers began adding synthesizers and slick drum machine beats to African-American music. Michael Jackson was among the first post-disco black musicians to cross over to mainstream audiences. In its early years, mainstream R&B was very pop-oriented. Notable 1980s R&B musicians include Luther Vandross, the SOS Band, Mtume, Freddie Jackson, DeBarge, Loose Ends, Stephanie Mills, and Marvin Gaye.

Tina Turner made a comeback during the second half of the 1980s, while Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson broke into the pop music charts with a series of hits. Richard J. Ripani wrote that Janet Jackson's third studio album Control (1986) was "important to the development of R&B for a number of reasons", as she and her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "crafted a new sound that fuses the rhythmic elements of funk and disco, along with heavy doses of synthesizers, percussion, sound effects, and a rap music sensibility." Ripani wrote that "the success of Control led to the incorporation of stylistic traits of rap over the next few years, and Janet Jackson was to continue to be one of the leaders in that development."

1990s
In contrast to the works of Boyz II Men, Babyface and similar artists, other R&B artists and groups from this same period began adding even more of a hip-hop sound to their work, like the innovative group Jodeci. The synthesizer-heavy rhythm tracks of new jack swing were replaced by grittier East Coast hip hop-inspired backing tracks, resulting in a genre labeled hip hop soul by Mary J. Blige and producer Sean Combs who also had mentored group Jodeci in the beginning and helped them with their unique look. The style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced rebirth.

During the mid-1990s, Michael Jackson, Zapp and Roger, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, TLC, Brandy and Boyz II Men brought contemporary R&B to the mainstream. Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first and second most successful artists of the 1990s.
Simultaneously, in the second half of the 90s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music.

2000s
By the 2000s, the cross-pollination between R&B and hip hop had increased. Mainstream modern R&B has a sound more based on rhythm than hip hop soul had, and lacks the hardcore and soulful urban "grinding" feel on which hip hop soul relied. That rhythmic element descends from new jack swing. R&B began to focus more on solo artists rather than groups as the 2000s progressed. In 2004, all 12 songs that topped Billboard Hot 100 were African-American recording artists and accounted for 80% of the number-one R&B hits that year. Along with Usher's streak of singles, Top 40 radio and both pop and R&B charts were topped by OutKast's "Hey Ya!", Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot", Terror Squad's "Lean Back", and Ciara's "Goodies".

According to Billboard magazine, the most commercially successful R&B acts of the decade were Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Rihanna and Ne-Yo. Other recording artists today have combined traditional R&B with elements with various pop styles, such as contemporary pop, pop rock, dance-pop, and electro-pop, to create a lighter and more international sound.

2010s

In the 2010s, contemporary R&B of this period essentially remains the same as the 2000s, except that songs of contemporary R&B are usually given a somewhat futuristic twist to create a brand new sound of the new era. Since then, many R&B artists as groups are gradually making a comeback. An example of such artists of this period includes teen boy band, Mindless Behavior. This band is responsible for combining contemporary R&B and techno to create a new sound and called their new style, sci-fi R&B or space-age R&B.