Editing Rhythm and blues (section)

===Since the 1980s===
{{Main|Contemporary R&B}}
[[File:Mary_J._Blige_jul2007.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Mary J. Blige]] blended R&B with hip-hop influences, helping to shape the sound of the '90s.]]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, [[hip-hop]] started to capture the imagination of America's youth. R&B started to become homogenized, with a group of high-profile producers responsible for most R&B hits. It was hard for R&B artists of the era to sell their music or even have their music heard because of the rise of hip-hop, but some adopted a "hip-hop" image, were marketed as such, and often featured rappers on their songs. [[Teddy Riley]], Guy, [[Keith Sweat]] and Today gained [[new jack swing]] hits.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jason|last=Heller|title= New jack swing|website=The A.V. Club| access-date=26 March 2025 |url=https://www.avclub.com/new-jack-swing-1798222079}}</ref> In 1990, ''Billboard'' reintroduced R&B to categorize all of Black popular music other than hip-hop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of R&B Music |url=https://timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/rb |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Timeline of African American Music |language=en}}</ref> Newer artists such as [[Usher (singer)|Usher]], [[R. Kelly]], [[Janet Jackson]], [[TLC (group)|TLC]], [[Aaliyah]], [[Brandy Norwood|Brandy]], [[Destiny's Child]], [[Tevin Campbell]] and [[Mary J. Blige]] enjoyed success. [[L.A. Reid]], the CEO of [[LaFace Records]], was responsible for some of R&B's greatest successes in the 1990s in the form of [[Usher (musician)|Usher]], TLC and [[Toni Braxton]]. Later, Reid successfully marketed [[Boyz II Men]].<ref name="THE CHANGING FACE OF R&B">{{cite web|title = The changing face of R&B|url = http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/206/the_changing_face_of_randb/|website = Blues & Soul|access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-date = December 23, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151223081549/http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/206/the_changing_face_of_randb/|url-status = dead}}</ref> In 2004, 80% of the songs that topped the R&B charts were also at the top of the Hot 100. That period was the all-time peak for R&B and hip hop on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and on Top 40 Radio.<ref>{{cite web|title = 100 & Single: The R&B/Hip-Hop Factor In The Music Business's Endless Slump|url = http://www.villagevoice.com/music/100-and-single-the-randb-hip-hop-factor-in-the-music-businesss-endless-slump-6646587#page-2|website = Village Voice|date = July 16, 2012|access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-date = October 30, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151030135211/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/100-and-single-the-randb-hip-hop-factor-in-the-music-businesss-endless-slump-6646587#page-2|url-status = live}}</ref>  From about 2005 to 2013, R&B sales declined.<ref>{{cite web|title = The Sacrifice of R&B|url = http://soultrain.com/2013/05/02/the-sacrifice-of-rb/|website = Soul Train|access-date = November 3, 2015|first = ChgoSista|last = says|archive-date = October 19, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151019121121/http://soultrain.com/2013/05/02/the-sacrifice-of-rb/|url-status = dead}}</ref> However, since 2010, hip-hop has started to take cues from the R&B sound, choosing to adopt a softer, smoother sound that incorporates traditional R&B with rappers such as [[Drake (musician)|Drake]], who has opened an entire new door for the genre. This sound has gained in popularity and created great controversy for both hip-hop and R&B as to how to identify it.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = A preliminary review of competitive reactions in the hip-hop music industry: Black American entrepreneurs in a new industry|journal = Management Research News|date = July 18, 2008|issn = 0140-9174|pages = 637–649|volume = 31|issue = 9|doi = 10.1108/01409170810898536|last = Vickie Cox Edmondson}}</ref> In 2010, the [[National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame]] was founded by [[LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rbhalloffamemarksms.com/about-us/|title=About Us &#124; R&B HOF|website=Rbhalloffamemarksms.com|date=July 24, 2022|access-date=August 30, 2023}}</ref>