How R&B genre is presented

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B and RnB, is a genre of popular AfricanAmerican music that originated in the 1940s. Examples of R&B artists include Rihanna, Beyonce, Jessie-J, Neyo, etc. However, my magazine will be based on 2 white females who are new to music and they are rivals. One of the artists will be more vicious and have the unique, powerful look to her however the other artist will be more innocent looking and angelic. By both of my artists being white it may seem a bit of a shock to some people as most of the R&B artists seem to be black males and females.

R&B music is mostly associated with Urban and Hip Hop music which also includes African-American artists. As mentioned earlier there is a lot of successful R&B artist such as Flo rida and Usher, who are very successful in what they do and I am looking to make my artists on my magazine look as big as they are.

R&B music includes a lot of awards such as: Grammy Awards Best male/female R&B Artist BET Awards Brit Awards MTV music awards There is a lot of awards which are given to R&B artists. For example Grammy Award for best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for music released in the previous year. Five songwriters have won this award three times, Beyonce, Babyface, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Alicia Keys.

R&B artists perform at various different concerts such as Jingle Bell Ball, and Capital FMs Summertime Ball. Venues which most R&B artists perform at includes: 02 Arena, and Wembley Arena. These are very big venues however one thing that R&B artists do not tend to do is perform in concerts such as Reading Festival, which has different genres such as rock and metal rather than R&B, Urban or Pop.

R&B, or rhythm and blues, music originated during a time of great change in the black community. As blacks migrated to urban areas and their social and economic status began to change, so did their musical tastes. Many different, yet connected styles of R&B became popular and the genre continues to have a profound impact on the music industry and society. Some people have negative attitudes towards R&B music as some songs may involve Taboo Language, however to most people aged 12-25 R&B music appeals very much and it never fails to entertain them. Some people think that R&B music and Urban music are very similar and it is very hard to separate R&B artists with Urban artists as their music sounds almost the same. Another genre of music which links to this is Hip-hop music which means that listeners of this music would copy the R&B and Urban music.

Body language/facial expressions: The body language of any R&B artist is very vicious, laid back, effortless and they seem like they do not care much which links in with the whole idea of being cool. This suggests that the target audience for R&B artists is young adults and maybe even teenagers. They usually have faces which show blank expressions, neither happy or sad. This highlights that the artists are very passionate about their music. However by them not showing any emotion can also be seen as them believing they are following the theme of being cool as all R&B artists try to do.

In R&B Men are usually topless and an example of this can be Trey Songz. In his videos Trey is usually pictured with very minimal clothes on; this is because a lot of males R&B singers target market is young teenage girls. They also tend to wear jeans. If the artist is pictured topless they are usually wearing jeans, slightly hanging low so it allows the audience to see their boxers. They also have a designer belt on which a few close up shots will be done on as a form of advertising for that particular item. Additionally R&B males also have a lot of tattoos and the majority of the time they are on their chest and arms and this may be due to being able to show them easily. Another feature which most males involved in the R&B genre do not include as often is jewellery. Unlike males in hip-hop, R&B stars wear subtle jewellery like a watch, chain and earring, where as in hip-hop they would wear bundles of jewellery.

Females in R&B usually have very little clothing on and their stomach is on show at the majority of the time. This is because of the male fans as females in R&B are meant to be seen as objects of desire. Hair & Make-up: Their hair is always styled in a very dramatic and eye catching way. Their make up is also very bold and defined, especially their eyes as they always have dark coloured eye shadow with gold which makes their eyes very alluring. To show power some females wear red lipstick in their videos. R&B females wearvery high heels to elongate their legs because if they are wearing hardly any clothes the higher the heels the longer their legs will look. However some R&B artists wear trainers in their videos for choreographed scenes. The Jewellery is a very big part when it comes to R&B females and this includes big earrings, necklaces and braceletes. This may be done due to wanting to make themselves seem like they have high authority and power. Furthermore it also adds to their swag and the idea of being cool.