Rhythm and blues, abbreviated as R&B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.
Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter. A classically-trained pianist, Keys began composing songs by age 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records. After disputes with the label, she signed with Arista Records, and later released her debut album, Songs in A Minor, with J Records in 2001. The album was critically and commercially successful, producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Fallin'" and selling over 16 million copies worldwide. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002. Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), was also a critical and commercial success, spawning successful singles "You Don't Know My Name", "If I Ain't Got You", and "Diary", and selling eight million copies worldwide. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards. Her duet "My Boo" with Usher became her second number-one single in 2004. Keys released her first live album, Unplugged (2005), and became the first woman to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one.
Usher Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, actor, businessman, and dancer. He was born in Dallas, Texas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee until moving to Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of 12, his mother put him in local singing competitions before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records. He released his self-titled debut album Usher (1994), and rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way (1997). It spawned his first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Nice & Slow", and the top-two singles "You Make Me Wanna..." and "My Way". His third album, 8701 (2001), produced the number-one singles "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad", as well as the top-three single "U Don't Have to Call". It sold eight million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003.
Mýa Marie Harrison is an American singer, dancer, songwriter, producer, and actress. Born into a musical family, before entering the music industry she appeared on BET's Teen Summit. Signed in 1996 with Interscope Records, she released her eponymous debut album in April 1998. A critical and commercial success, the album produced her first top ten single "It's All About Me." Subsequent singles, "Ghetto Supastar " and "Take Me There" continued to raise her profile and attained chart success worldwide, with the former garnering her first Grammy nomination. Fear of Flying, her sophomore album, was released in April 2000 and became a worldwide success, boosted by the success of its singles "Case of the Ex" and "Free." Harrison continued her rise to prominence in 2002, when she won her first Grammy Award in the category for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for her rendition of Labelle's 1975 hit "Lady Marmalade" along with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lil' Kim.
Faheem Rasheed Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second album Epiphany, which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. His third album, Thr33 Ringz, was released in 2008. The albums included a string of hit singles, including "I'm Sprung", "I'm 'n Luv ", "Buy U a Drank ", "Bartender", "Can't Believe It", and "5 O'Clock", among others. T-Pain has earned two Grammy Awards, alongside artists Kanye West and Jamie Foxx respectively.
American singer Alicia Keys has released six studio albums, two live albums, one remix album, four reissue albums, one extended play, seven box sets, 40 singles as lead artist, and nine promotional singles. Throughout her career, Keys has sold over 22 million albums in the US, and over 42 million albums worldwide, making Keys one of the most successful female R&B acts.
American singer and songwriter Beyoncé has released six studio albums, five live albums, three compilation albums, five EPs, one soundtrack album, two karaoke albums, and 80 singles. She has sold over 118 million albums and over 118 million records as a solo artist, and a further 60 million with Destiny's Child, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recognized her as the Top Certified Artist of the 2000s decade. As of June 2016, in the United States, Beyoncé has sold 17.2 million albums as a solo artist, and a further 17 million albums as part of Destiny's Child.
"Call on Me" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson with guest vocals from American rapper Nelly from Jackson's ninth studio album, 20 Y.O. (2006). It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, James Phillips, Cornell Haynes Jr., James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and produced by Dupri, Phillips, Jam and Lewis, in addition to Jackson. "Call on Me" was released as the album's lead single on June 19, 2006, by Virgin Records. The song is a mid-tempo ballad which talks about calling on a person when a friend or somebody to listen is needed.
The Makings of Me is the fifth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released by J Records on October 3, 2006 in the United States. Built upon the hip hop, gospel and modern quiet storm styles of its predecessor, After the Storm (2003), Monica envisioned her follow-up project to sound as close knit and intimate as her previous project. Consequently, she enlisted frequent collaborators Missy Elliott, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri to work with her on the album, with the latter serving as its executive producer, as well as new partners such as The Underdogs, Tank, LRoc, Swizz Beatz, and Sean Garrett.
"Lost Without U" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke. It was released on December 4, 2006 as the second single from his second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006). People magazine voted the ballad as 2007 sexiest song of the year. It was also named the 10th best song of 2007 by Vibe magazine.
"Umbrella" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It features American rapper Jay-Z, who co-wrote the song with its producers Tricky Stewart and Kuk Harrell, with additional writing from The-Dream. The song was originally written with Britney Spears in mind, but her label rejected it. "Umbrella" is a pop, hip hop and R&B song with rock elements, referring to a romantic and platonic relationship and the strength of that relationship.
American recording artist Chris Brown has released nine studio albums, ten mixtapes, fifty six singles and nineteen promotional singles. According to Billboard, Brown has the eighth most Hot 100 entries on the chart with 101. As of June 2020, he has achieved 50 top 40 entries on the Hot 100 and 15 top 10 entries. Brown is the singer with the fifth-most consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 chart. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he is the seventh-best-selling digital single artist in the United States with sales of 69.5 million.
"No One" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am (2007). It was written and produced by Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., and George M. Harry, and released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2007. The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks and the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 10 consecutive weeks, while charting inside the top 10 in most major markets.
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by Billboard. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012.
"Flashing Lights" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West. It features Detroit R&B singer Dwele and contains background vocals from Australian singer Connie Mitchell. West co-wrote and co-produced the song with Eric Hudson and released it on November 12, 2007 as the fourth single for his third studio album, Graduation. The single's cover art was designed by Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami. The single received acclaim from music critics and is cited as one of the best songs on Graduation.
Tramar Lacel Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Carol City, Florida. His 2007 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release.
"No Air" is a song by American singers Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. The song was written by Erik Griggs, James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas, and Steve Russell. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2008 and serves as the second single from Sparks' self-titled debut album.
Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk Harrell and partner Tricky Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed on television by the contestants and released via iTunes. 2011 marked the highly anticipated return of Jennifer Lopez and her album LOVE? in which Kuk served as Album Vocal Producer. Earning his fourth Grammy for the vocal production of Rihanna's No. 1 Billboard Single "Only Girl ", Harrell is also the vocal producer and co-writer of Rihanna's Grammy-winning single "Umbrella". A composer and engineer on Beyoncé's chart topping "Single Ladies " from the album I Am... Sasha Fierce, he is also vocal producer and engineer of the Diane Warren-penned "I Was Here" from Beyoncé's 2011 album 4. He also produced the majority of the vocals on Mary J. Blige's Platinum album Growing Pains, which recently won a Grammy for "Best Contemporary R&B Album", 2008. The first single from Growing Pains, "Just Fine", earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance in 2007.
Human is the fifth studio album by American singer Brandy, first released in France in December 2008 and by March 2009 in most international music markets. Distributed by Koch Records and Sony Music, the album marked Norwood's debut on the Epic Records label, following her split with Atlantic Records in 2005, and her reunion with long-time contributor and mentor Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who wrote and executive produced most of the album with his songwriting collective.
Off the Wall is the fifth solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979 by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and the first produced by Quincy Jones, whom he met while working on the 1978 film The Wiz. Several critics observed that Off the Wall was crafted from disco, pop, funk, R&B, soft rock and Broadway ballads. Its lyrical themes include escapism, liberation, loneliness, hedonism and romance.
