Listen to new must-hear songs from emerging R&B/hip-hop artists like Pooh Shiesty, J Hus, FLO, Sasha Keable, Otis Kane, Def Soulja, GENA & Samara Cyn.

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 ...

Wed, August 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM UTC Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan.

You might say it was Drake, DJ Premier, or Ice Cube. But the real idea of a beat flip starts with the DJ. In the early days of hip-hop—when DJing was the center of the action and park jams at rec ...

"Folded" breaks new ground for Kehlani's career, now a first lead No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, after featuring on Cardi B's "Ring.." ...

Despite what many may think, Black queer artistry has always been intertwined with the DNA of Hip Hop and R&B. The more modern landscape reflects that truth more openly, but it didn’t get there ...

The red carpet at the annual BET Hip-Hop Awards was a curious shade of green this year: money green. It was fitting for the occasion, because nothing comes close to distilling hip-hop's evolution over ...

How to encompass half a century of hip-hop? You start by acknowledging you can’t. Too many stars, too many songs, too many places, too many scandals: Hip-hop is an entire universe — a musical genre, ...

As it celebrates its 50th birthday, we are mapping hip-hop's story on a local level, with more than a dozen city-specific histories of the music and culture. Click here to see the entire list. If you ...

Beastie Boys and Run-DMC, Public Enemy and Salt n Pepa (Credit: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Michael Putland/Getty Images) In August 1973, the ...