Beyonce and Genre

1. Beyonce and Genre Source: Wikipedia

2. Rhythm and blues • Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B and RnB, is a genre of popularAfrican-American music that originated in the 1940s.[1] 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.[2] • The term has subsequently had a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s, the term rhythm and blues was frequently applied to blues records.[3] • Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used to refer to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. • By the 1970s, rhythm and blues was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B".

3. African-American music • African-American music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of musics and musical genres largely developed by and for African-Americans. • Jazz, blues, gospel, soul, rock and roll, and hip hop constitute the principal modern genres of African-American music. Their origins are in musical forms that arose out of the historical condition of slavery that characterized the lives of black Americans prior to the American Civil War. • The modern genres were developed during the late 19th century by fusing European musical styles with those of African origin. • The only exception was hip hop, which was formed in the late 20th century from earlier forms of African-American music such as jazz and blues.

4. Soul music • Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African-Americangospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States – where music such as that of the Motown, Atlantic and Stax labels was influential during the period of the civil rights movement – and across the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa.[1] • According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying."[2] Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. • Other characteristics are a call and response between the soloist and the chorus, and an especially tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds.[3]

5. Gospel music • Gospel music is a music genre. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. • Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace • Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a Christian nature. • Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. • In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, the gospel song is expected to have a refrain and often a more syncopated rhythm.

6. Funk • Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and R&B. • Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing it from R&B and soul songs, which are built on chord progressions. • Like much African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, Hammond organ, and drums playing interlocking rhythms. Funk bands sometimes have a horn section of several saxophones, trumpets, and in some cases, a trombone, which plays rhythmic "hits". • Many of the most famous bands in the genre also played disco and soul extensively. Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the main influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk.[2]

7. Pop music • Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is a genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll.[1] The terms "popular music" and "pop music" are often used interchangeably, even though the former is a description of music which is popular (and can include any style).[1] • As a genre, pop music is very eclectic, often borrowing elements from other styles including urban, dance, rock, Latin and country;[1] nonetheless, there are core elements which define pop. Such include generally short-to-medium length songs, written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and catchyhooks.[1] • So-called "pure pop" music, such as power pop, features all these elements, using electric guitars, drums and bass for instrumentation;[1] in the case of such music, the main goal is usually that of being pleasurable to listen to, rather than having much artistic depth.[1] • Pop music is generally thought of as a genre which is commercially recorded and desires to have a mass audience appeal.[1]

8. Contemporary R&B • Contemporary R&B, also known as R&B, is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, pop, soul, funk, and hip hop. • Although the abbreviation "R&B" originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often[by whom?] used to describe a style of African-American music originating after the decline of disco and funk in the 1980s. • Some sources refer to the style as urban contemporary (the name of the radio format that plays hip hop and contemporary R&B). • Contemporary R&B has a polished record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel (mostly common in contemporary R&B songs prior to the year 1995), and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. • Electronic influences are becoming an increasing trend, and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop may be reduced and smoothed out. • Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by vocalists such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder,[1]Whitney Houston,[1][2][3] and Mariah Carey.[2][4][5]

9. Beyonce – most recently • On December 13, 2013, Beyoncé unexpectedly released her fifth self-titled album on the iTunes Store without any prior promotion. • It was described as a "visual album" due to every track having a music video. • The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, giving Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album in the US.[172][173] This made her the first woman in the chart's history to have her first five studio albums debut at number one.[173] • Beyoncé received critical acclaim[174] and commercial success, selling 828,773 digital copies in three days;[172] • The New York Times noted the album's unconventional, unexpected release as significant.[174] • Musically an electro-R&B album, it concerns darker themes unexplored in her work previously such as "bulimia, postnatal depression [and] the fears and insecurities of marriage and motherhood."[175]

10. Beyonce's Drunk In Love: should we have a problem with it? • Lyrics referring to domestic violence and abusive men have passed largely unchallenged in discussions of Beyoncé's hit song. And that is disturbing • Beyonce and Jay-Z performing at the Grammys Photograph: Rex Features