This document discusses the genre of R&B music. It begins by defining R&B and describing its origins in genres like jazz, gospel and blues. It notes the tight rhythm sections and soulful singers that characterize R&B. The document then discusses the origins and evolution of R&B from the early 1950s to today, mentioning influential record labels like Motown and artists from different eras. It describes how R&B incorporated influences from pop, rock and jazz over the decades. In the 21st century, R&B has taken on new styles while maintaining its gospel and blues roots.

1. The Genre of R&B

2. What is R&B
“Rhythm and Blues”
Hybrid of Jazz, Gospel, and Blues
Tight Rhythm section (piano, bass,
guitar, drums)
Soulful singers and players
Funky/smooth chord changes and
bass riffs

3. Origins of R&B
Early 50’s & 60’s
Gospel music from african
american churches began to
influence the music.
Also during segregation, when
slavery was in the Americas many
of the slaves would sing along
while they worked in the fields and
this is how the blues was born, and
began to come into the music
scene
R&B began to take form once
these two genres of music began
to melt together

4. Motown
60’s and 70’s of
R&B
Motown- first African American
owned record company.
Founded by Barry Gordy
Artist – Stevie Wonder, Smokey
Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Gladis
Knight, Diana Ross, The Four
Tops, The Supremes, Jackson 5
First Time African American Music
was played over the radio for
everyone to listen too.

5. Mid 80’s and 90’s
This era of R&B was influenced by
Pop, Rock, and mainly Jazz, But
still keeping its gospel and Blues
Roots
During this time period the aspect of
fusion began to come into the scene
Artists like Prince how had a very
pop and rock influence to his funky
tunes like, kiss, purple rain, wanna
be your lover.
Artists during this time period really
began to pull from many different
styles and backgrounds to add to
add to their music
MJ and Rock Genre

6. Turn of the
Century and
Music
During the turn into the 20th Century
it was a very exciting time and you
could hear it this through the music
Styles where very synthesizers and
drum machines.
The most popular style during this
era was a Mix of Hip Hop and R&B
which was called New Jack Swing.
New Jack Swing was a party syle of
music that was played all over the
country in night clubs and on the
radio
Artist that were in the era of New
Jack Swing would be people like
Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Bell Biv
Devoe Boyz Two Men

7. 21st Century of
R&B
New Styles and interpretations of
Soul, R&B, and Funk
The genre is really starting to take
form to what it is we know today
This decade we have artists like
Usher, Beyoncé, Brian McKnight,
Eric Benet, Mariah Carey, Luther
Vandross, Alicia Keys and many
more
Also the Neo-Soul era began with
artists like D’angelo, Jill Scott,
Maxwell
Convergence?
Dynamic?

8. Black &
White/Grey
Scale/Sepia
adds sensual
tone to the
imagery in the
videoEditing used include
fades, quick cuts in
between scenes
Usually
Performance or
Narrative based

9. Continued…

10. Often occurs
in male
artists music
videos
Used to add
appeal to the
music video
Used as
voyeurs in the
majority of
videos
Usually wearing
limited clothing
The target audience
responds to this,
attract the male gaze
onto the women
Sexually
provoking dancing
& routines

11. Fashion
Minimal clothing – women in R&B usually have very little clothing on and
their stomachs are on show a majority of the time; this is because to fans they
are meant to be seen as objects of desire/ aspire
Hair & Makeup – their hair is always styled in a very dramatic and eye
catching way. Their makeup is also very bold and defined, especially their eyes
they always have dark coloured eyeshadows with golds which makes their
eyes very alluring. To show power some females wear red lipstick in their
videos.
Heels – R&B females wear very high heels to elongate their legs because if
they are wearing hardly any clothes the higher the shoes the longer their legs
will look. However some R&B females wear trainers in their videos for
choreographed scenes. HIP HOP / Genre
Jewellery – Big earrings, necklaces (for example: this picture of Keri
Hilson) but usually when they wear a lot of necklaces they are
breaking gender stereotypes because it is usually R&B males that
wear that much jewellery.

12. Male artists tend to use
this as part of their
image
It tends to be rappers
that have strong
reference to money in
their music videos
Use of ‘fast & flash’
cars make them
aspiring to the
target audience
Most popular
artists are
wealthy &
successful
Reference to wealth or
money is very common
This is a way of artists
showing their power,
money can also be
shown through their
possessions such as
BLING & cars
Dominant ideologies
=CAPITALISM/
CONSUMERISM

13. Music videos
• Slow R&B songs these days are usually in greyscale or a sepia tone.
• soft which adds to the tone of the song because dark colours evoke emotion. The white balance on these
videos is usually quite high because if the grey in the video goes more towards to the black side it can
depict a sense of power instead of showing softness. If the video is not shot in greyscale, the video is
always softened and a lot of natural lighting is used to show a sense of reality. Slow R&B songs also
usually follow a narrative, which means having a co-star alongside the musician this is a convention
which is very common in R&B ‘slow jamz’. The co-star is also pictured wearing minimal clothing which
adds to the depiction of sexuality; there are also a lot of close up kissing shots of the musician and the
actor/actress in the video. However this convention is typically found in videos by R&B males and songs
that are about sex.
• grey hues displayed, with similar backgrounds and clothing kept very simple

14. Music videos
• However slow R&B songs that are about being in love or breaking up, does not have as much nudity as
sexual R&B music. These kind of “love” songs are usually done by females, instead of wearing very
minimal clothing, females in these songs will wear clothing that depict them in the same light as
goddesses; the clothing will be bright and colourful to show happiness if the song is about being in love.
Whereas if it is about breaking up the typical convention that these videos use is the greyscale filter to
show emotion and they will be wearing dark clothes. A lot of nude coloured/natural makeup will be used
to convey the sense of natural beauty, because there a lot of close ups on the artists face. Some of these
types of songs have a narrative but some of them will just be shots of the artist. A majority of the time
the location for these songs will be a beach or a tropical island looking place (this will then mean a lot
of wide shots showing the location) – that’s if it is a love song. Songs about breaking up usually take
place in a plain black room which will probably have a chair or very minimal items in the room, because
these songs tend to concentrate on the artist by using close ups to show significant figure expression.

15. Music videos
• Fast R&B songs consist of bright colours, flashy cars, jewellery – almost like a party scene. These videos
involve a lot of choreography. These videos are the ones that depict R&B males in a wealthy light and
R&B females in a powerful light. The typical conventions of a fast tempoed music video for an R&B male
artist will involve being in a club, champagne, artificial lighting and women wearing minimal clothing –
usually short dresses – these videos will portray the stars as fun loving people. Another common item of
clothing/accessory that R&B males wear in these type of songs are sunglasses, they convey a sense of
coolness which their target market will find very appealing. The props in these videos are bottles of
expensive alcohol which there will be a few close ups on for advertising purposes.

16. Music videos
• Fast tempoed R&B songs by females also, involve bright colours and highkey lighting but it not about
being in the club like the way the males depict themselves
• studio because there are a lot of special effects especially in the background (for example: Rihanna –
rude boy).
• The typical clothing for these type of videos are very revealing clothes with high heels to elongate legs, a
lot of jewellery is worn as well where as in the slower songs, jewellery was kept to a minimum. Brightly
coloured makeup is also worn, if it is not strong eye makeup it is usually very strong lip colours like reds
and bright pinks.
• Performance rather than narrative. These videos do not tend to follow a narrative but will usually have
a male co-star or also involve male dancers because there is usually a lot of dancing and choreography in
these videos. These videos will also portray the musicians in a more powerful light although there is not a
total gender switch up, they still seem more powerful than they do in videos for love songs.
• Fast paced editing

17. CD Covers
• Close Up/ Mid Shot
• Direct address
• RnB clothing
• Bold text
• Consistency (front back)
• High key lighting
• Sepia/ mono tones
• Urban locations

18. • These days some videos are challenging gender stereotypes,
this is mainly done my female R&B stars.
• depict themselves like how males do in their videos, usually
to convey a message to their audience – musicians who have
famously done this in their videos are Ciara and Beyonce;
• The common ways to do this is through costume

19. Target Audience
• A majority of R&B fans are teenagers/young adults roughly between the ages of 13-25.
• This could be because of the explicit lyrics in some of the songs, a majority of this age group are also
females. It is usually females that are attracted to R&B music because female R&B artists stereotypically
make songs about being in love or heartbroken – this is something that will appeal greatly to teenage girls
and young adults.
• The fast paced R&B songs will also involve a lot of fashion and the synergy of music and fashion is
something that will also attract females
• The target audience of R&B males is also majorly made up of females because they are portrayed in a very
sexual way, through their nudity and lyrics. Females will find this appealing because usually they will also
be physically attracted to the male artists. However some males will be attracted to the jewellery, naked
women and depiction of wealth in these videos.
• These teenagers are also usually from a black background because R&B comes from soul which would be
something a majority of the young adults parents would have listened to. Information/ social interaction
Target Audience
Female
Male
The approximate demographics of R&B’s target audience

20. Beyonce: Partrition – Very different
compared to ‘Like a boy’
Beyoncé's music video
displays a different
iconography compared to
Ciara’s as the dancing is
very sexual as is the
clothing and the lyrics.
Clothing is very limited and
the make up is dramatic. A
variety of shots occur, as
you can see close ups of a
male hand touching her
skin. She aims to display
empowerment through her
body, messages such as
‘through sex, women are
powerful’, this is a typical
R&B convention. The
setting of the scene is dark
and eerie, as it could be
showing a ‘late-night’ time.

21. +
Type of music
R&B songs with a deep meaning (similar to Trey Songz-Cant be
friends) will generally have a music video showing narrative or a
more simple music video (shown through the cuts, transitions and
other editing techniques).
Slow type of R&B music videos will usually have more input of the
grey scale or sepia tone, this is because it will aim to show emotion
and deep meanings, dark tones evoke this emotion however
balanced with the white balance, the music video becomes softer
as the darker tones do.
Conventions of a slow music video still display sexual images, as
this will look more romantic, sensual and meaningful. Male songs
will normally have lyrics describing/talking about sex and
relationships, where as slow female songs will have talk more
about a relationship. Slow songs are more likely to follow a
narrative, however this varies. The conventions of a slow R&B
song remain very similar for both males and females.

22. +
Continued...
Faster paced songs will differ massively when it comes to the conventions of
the music videos.
As the videos can sometimes consist of bright colours, flashing lights, fast cuts
and
lyrics tend to be more laid back. Mainly about partying, lyrics to a fast song can
also be very sexual, as both the male and females express sexual desires.
The mise en scene will consist of more of flashy cars, jewelry and alcohol
bottles. For males, these types of songs are commonly set in a club which
would be full of people, and surrounded by scantily clad women, dancing
provocatively. You will often see females set their music videos it in a studio as
it allows for special effects in the background (bright colours). Males will tend to
wear laid back clothing, such as jeans, t-shirts and leather jackets. A common
accessory (other than jewelry) is to wear sunglasses, as this makes them
appear ‘cool’. Females will look energetic as they also perform sexual dances,
as they are dressed in very minimal clothing. Its unlikely for a fast temp song to
follow a narrative. These type of conventions for slow and fast music will also
convey in hip hop music videos.

23. There are 3 general types of
music videos:
• Narrative: These are music videos which tell a story with lyrics, this
is almost like a short film but with music. This type of music video
can be made up of a beginning, middle and end.
• Conceptual: These are music videos based around a single
concept or idea. They can be filmed or edited in an unusual way.
This type of music video is not very common as it is fairly hard to
come up with a concept idea.
• Performance: These are music videos which consist of the artist
performing live throughout most of the video or with parts of the
music video showing live performances. This type of music video
can be of the artist singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument.
This is a good way for the artist to promote their music to their target
audience as it shows and highlights there ability to perform and
entertain the audience. = Star theory (Richard Dyer)

25. Is R&B Having an Identity Crisis?
• http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/20
12/04/is-r-b-having-an-identity-crisis/255310/
• Trey Songz, one of the few successful artists where the
R&B tag is actually applicable, echoed Badu's thoughts
in an interview with the Power 105.1 radio show, "The
Breakfast Club." "The success of crossover is
something we all want to attain, but the route to get
there is what's important to me," Trey said. As for
why so many of his peers have changed their sound,
he acknowledges that it was "the easy thing to do
right now to get a hit." Indeed, Trey noted that, "It's
not cool to be an R&B singer no more."

26. Andrew Goodwin - Conventions
• REMEBER

27. Beyonce influence/ genre

29. '4' is the 4th studio album by Beyonce Knowles
and was released on June 24th 2011. It was the
fourth most successful R&B/HipHop album of 2011
in the UK.
• a consistent house style – branding
• one single image of the artist, which will stand out to
consumers.- star image
• The image used of Beyoncé is a low angle shot, with
direct mode of address and high key lighting being
used to attract consumer’s attention.
• The low angle shot also implies an element of power
Beyoncé has, which is further emphasised by the
mise en scene of the back image as she is looking
over onto a city.
• The front image also overlaps the artist name,
therefore showing how much of an established artist
she is.
• A slightly unconventional feature of this Digipak is
that an image of Beyoncé has been used on the disk
itself
• . The imagery is also quite provocative, as Beyoncé is
being portrayed in a fairly sexual way due to the
clothing she is wearing and high heels and also her
poses in all three images.
The colour scheme used for this digipak remains
consistent throughout. It is clear the images have been
edited in a way to give them a muted, yellow tone,
In a very unique strategy, Beyoncé revealed
the track list for her 4th studio album 4 by
updating her Facebook after every 1 hour. She
posted the song titles starting from back to
front

30. • page number as it is entitled '4' – Story of life/
just number 4 of many more to come from
Beyonce/ highlighting her success – “look at
me I’ve got 4 albums under my belt!”
• fur gilet and jewellery – ‘Bling’ Conventions/
connotations of class
• he artist's pose embodies femininity and
female empowerment as she seems
comfortable with her body and herself.

31. • http://www.scribd.com/doc/248726319/Musi
c-Video-Beyonce-Audience-Representation