Now widely recognized as soulful and chill music brought to life with various musical instruments, the genre of rhythm and blues, also known as R&B, was originally introduced to market African ...

Billboard chooses its top R&B albums of the year, featuring sets from SZA, Summer Walker, GIVEON and many more. There’s one thing you can say about 2025 musically: it was a very good year for R&B.

Otis, who died in 2012, started out leading a big band. Later, as a talent scout, he discovered such performers as Big Mama Thornton, Esther Phillips and Etta James. Originally broadcast in 1989. This ...

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 ...

James was discovered as a teen by talent scout Johnny Otis. Her career took off in the '60s with hits like "All I Could Do Was Cry" and "At Last." She died in 2012. Originally broadcast in 1994. This ...