Urban contemporary
Encyclopedia
Urban contemporary is a music radio format
. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker
in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap
, contemporary R&B
, pop
, electronica
such as dubstep
and drum and bass
(often with hip hop vocalists or rappers) and Caribbean music
such as reggae
, reggaeton
, zouk
, and sometimes Soca
(In Toronto, London, New York City, Boston and Miami). Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and Soul
. Virtually all Urban contemporary formatted radio stations are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City
, Atlanta, Chicago
, Washington
, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles
, Baltimore
, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte
, etc.
The term "urban contemporary" is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly for Contemporary R&B
in African-American contexts. For the Latinos, the music is more Latin urban, such as Reggaeton
, Latin hip hop, or bachata.
These stations focus primarily on marketing to African-Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. Their playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul music
songs from the '70s and early '80s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.
Most Urban formatted stations such as; KJLH
, WQOK
, KWIN
, KMEL
, KDAY
, UTN, and WVEE will play gospel music
or urban contemporary gospel
music on Sundays.
Mainstream urban is a branch of Urban contemporary, and Rhythmic contemporary
is also a branch.
was appointed as Program Director
of the newly created WBLS
in 1974, he created an eclectic music mix of R&B
, disco
and gospel music
, redefining the R&B
format as Urban Contemporary. The station was an instant success, the most listened-to radio station in the country.
In 1975, WDMT in Cleveland began programming a mix of R&B, disco and rap. The station featured live "street jocks" mixing vinyl records each night. The station 's popularity grew and in 1980, it was Arbitron rated #2 12+, just behind the #1 rated WMMS with the original "Morning Zoo". Carol Ford hosted the morning drive show.
Other famous people who worked at WDMT include: Tony Harris (CNN), Len Canon (NBC, Fox-NYC), Brenda Love, Kim Skillern (Lady Skill), Matt Morgan, Dean Rufus, Freddie James, Mike Chapman, Rod See, Eric Fasion and Vanilla Fudge.
in New York City
was the first station to air a rap
radio show, Rap Attack with Mr. Magic
and Marley Marl
, in 1983.
During the early 1980s as newly-formed WRKS-FM
(98.7 Kiss FM) became the first rap station in the United States
, WBLS quickly began adding more rap records to its playlists. The urban format by this time was redefined by an eclectic mix of R&B, rap
, reggae
, gospel
, dance
, house
, and freestyle
. WBLS
continued as the flagship station of the Urban format; however, Kiss FM surpassed them in the ratings.
Many radio stations imitated the urban sound since it was proven to be more profitable than other formats. Another subformat of urban contemporary is rhythmic contemporary hits which plays a great deal of dance music
. WQHT-FM
and KPWR
were the first stations to utilize this format.
Today, urban contemporary refers to music that can be described as a crossover of rap
and contemporary R&B
which in some instances may be accompanied with dance beats. Notable examples include:
It should be noted that contemporary R&B artists usually produce alternative versions of such duets that have rapping excluded. Such versions are produced for more conservative radio stations that would consider rapping unacceptable for their listeners.
Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
is awarded since 2002.
A more elaborate form of Urban AC is the Rhythmic Oldies
format, which focuses primarily on "Old School" R&B/Soul hits from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Motown and disco hits. Often referred to in the past as "Jammin'" or "Groovin'" Oldies, the Rhythmic Oldies format was quite popular for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1997, KCMG-FM "Mega 100" in Los Angeles pioneered the concept of "Jammin' Oldies," which involved creating a mass-appeal music mix. The "Jammin'"/"Groovin'" Oldies format subsequently spread nationwide, to stations like WTJM-FM in New York City, WMOJ in Cincinnati, and WGRV-FM in Detroit (all of which have since changed format). Many of these stations played soul or disco by artists such as ABBA and The Bee Gees in addition to African-American artists. Many believe that what contributed the most to the death of the "Jammin' Oldies" stations was the fact that their playlists soon became very small and narrow, increasing listener "burnout" and dropping ratings within a few months after a promising ratings start. Rhythmic Oldies stations still exist today, but chiefly in markets with large African-American populations; the peak of the "Jammin' Oldies" approach has come and gone.
Usually embedded within the Urban Adult Contemporary is another format called Quiet Storm. This format is most played during the evening beginning at 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM hours into late night. The Quiet Storm format plays on Urban Adult Contemporary format. The music that is played are strictly ballads and slow jams. Popular artists played on the Quiet Storm format are Babyface, Teena Marie
, Angela Bofill
, Miki Howard
, Regina Belle
, Howard Hewett
, Freddie Jackson
, Johnny Gill
, Anita Baker
, Sade
, Patti LaBelle
, Whitney Houston
, Vanessa Williams
, Mariah Carey
, Dru Hill
, and En Vogue
among others.
-heavy playlist compared to the R&B-heavy playlist that is very common among urban contemporary-formatted radio stations. Also, mainstream urban stations tend to target both genders with its playlist compared to urban contemporary station that tend to target mainly females. The term 'mainstream urban' was coined in the mid-1990s when radio stations started featuring primarily different styles of current hip-hop and R&B when it became very popular. The target demographic of the format is usually the 16- to 34-years-old males and females.
The format features various styles of hip-hop and R&B from different regions of the country that are popular at the moment. However, the format does feature numerous classic hip-hop and R&B songs from the late '80s and '90s
.
Most of its core listeners makeup a multicultural mix of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, that include a core group of teens, young adults (mostly 18-34) and young females
The origins of Rhythmic Top 40 can be traced back 1978 when WKTU
on 92.3 FM New York City
(now WXRK) became a disco based station. That station was classified as urban but played a blend of disco, dance music, and pop crossovers. Back then stations playing strictly R&B materials were known as Black stations. Stations like WKTU were known as Urban. In the 1980s many Urban contemporary stations began to spring up. Most of these leaned towards R&B and away from plenty of dance music. These urban stations began sounding identical to so called "Black stations" and by 1985 stations that played strictly R&B product were all known as Urban stations. Still some urban outlets continued to add artists from outside the format onto their playlist. In most cases it was dance and rhythmic pop but occasionally they added a few rock songs. Also Urban Contemporary radio stations were the first to play New Wave
artists such as B-52's, Duran Duran
, ABC
and Culture Club
. However it wasn't until January 11, 1986 that KPWR
Los Angeles
, a former struggling adult contemporary outlet and WQHT New York
began to make its mark with this genre by adopting this approach.
It would be known as Crossover because of the musical mix. As these stations pilfered listeners away from numerous mainstream stations, many urban stations reintroduced Dance music
onto their playlists again. Billboard
magazine took notice of this new format and on February 15, 1987, it launched the first Crossover chart. But by December 1990 Billboard eliminated the chart because more Top 40 and R&B stations were becoming identical with the rhythmic-heavy playlist that were also being played at the crossover stations at the time. Billboard would later revive the chart again in October 1992 as the Top 40 Rhythm/Crossover chart. On June 25, 1997, it was renamed the Rhythmic Top 40 chart as a way to distinguish stations that continue to play a broad based rhythmic mix from those whose mix leaned heavily toward R&B and Hip-Hop.
For years since its inception, the Rhythmic name has been a source of confusion among music trades, especially in both Billboard (which used the Rhythmic Top 40 title) and Radio & Records (which use the CHR/Rhythmic title for their official charts). In August 2006 Billboard dropped both the "Top 40" and "CHR" name from the Rhythmic title after its sister publication Billboard Radio Monitor merged with Radio & Records to become the "New" R&R as part of their realignment of format categories. The move also ended confusion among the radio stations who report to their panels, which was modified by the end of 2006 with the inclusion of non-monitored reporters that were holdovers from the "(Old) R&R" days.
Still, over the years since its inception, the genre has grown and evolved but not without criticism. Traditional R&B outlets claim that the Rhythmic format does not target or serve the African-American community properly, while traditional Top 40 stations claim that the format is too urban to be Top 40. However, those claims have been all but slienced, with both R&B and mainstream Top 40 stations taking cues from the format they criticized.
Still there continues to be confusion of the distinction between Rhythmic CHR stations and Urban Top 40 stations. In New York City WQHT Hot 97 strictly plays R&B and Hip Hop. Also in that city WWPR Power 105 plays a similar format. WQHT is classified as Top 40/Rhythm while WWPR is classified as Urban. Los Angeles is similar where KPWR
and KDAY
have similar formats but KPWR is considered Top 40/Rhythm while KDAY
is considered Urban. Also very similar situations have occurred in Washington, D.C.
with WPGC-FM
and San Francisco with KMEL
. One possible reason for this is precedent. When these stations began they played a great deal of dance music and were classified as CHR outlets. However, many critics say the ability to attract more mainstream advertisers as Rhythmic, rather than Urban, is the real reason, thus fueling the criticism from the African-American community in general.
However by 2005 KPWR began to re-add more Rhythmic Pop product after a seven-year gap (it had phased most of the Rhythmic and Dance product by 1997 when it had competition from KIBB and KACD/KBCD, both defunct), mostly in response to rival KIIS leaning towards a rhythmic direction. The move has resulted in KPWR and KIIS reigniting their Los Angeles Top 40 war. KPWR has also gone on the offensive to protect their Hispanic demos in the wake of new Hurban rival KXOL making a dent in the ratings.
WQHT on the other hand, had moved more towards R&B/Hip-Hop as they step up their competition in the Big Apple with WWPR-FM
, which had gotten nasty with both stations blasting each other on the air and at high-profile concerts/events, as well as who claims ownership of who plays the most Hip-Hop in New York
.
WPGC-FM
began operating in 1987 as a Rhythmic that played R&B, hip-hop, dance, and pop music. Its playlist began to migrate to mostly Hip-Hop/R&B songs with R&B and soul slow songs on Sunday through Thursday nights since 1993, a format very similar to WKYS. This began a head-to-head battle with WKYS
, but also Urban ACs, WHUR and WMMJ
, due to WPGC playing old school R&B and soul songs during the overnight hours and on weekends. In 2008, WPGC began to air gospel music on Sunday mornings.
KMEL also began in 1984 as a Mainstream Top 40, but migrated to a Rhythmic that played began hip-hop, dance
, freestyle
, house
, and reggae
music by 1987. However, in 1992, its playlist began to lean more urban to battle with competitor KYLD, which ended in 1997 when both stations became sister stations. KMEL currently has a playlist that is Hip Hop/R&B music, and plays mostly R&B slow jams at night from Sundays through to Thursdays and gospel music on Sunday Mornings, while KYLD plays a balanced mix of Rhythmic Pop, Hip-Hop/R&B and some Dance products.
On August 11, 2006, R&R
had moved WQHT, WPGC-FM
, KMEL
, to the Urban Contemporary Airplay Panel since they seldom play any type of Rhythmic pop product and is therefore not considered part of the 'Pure' Rhythmic community. However, despite the changes, there are a few "Churbans" who remain on the Rhythmic panel that are exceptions, mostly due to the lack of minorities in several major metropolitan markets that do not have a mainstream Urban, like KTTB
/Minneapolis-St. Paul and WJMN/Boston. However, on May 25, 2007, WQHT, KXHT
/Memphis, WZMX
/Hartford and WMBX
/West Palm Beach, along with KZZA/Dallas-Ft.Worth (from the Latin Rhythm Airplay panel
), were re-added to the panel, as their playlists now favors a broader Rhythmic direction, thus making them outright Rhythmics.
St. Pauls, North Carolina
switched to a format described as "Everything that jamz" that included a variety of musical styles that can be described as urban contemporary or urban oldies. WUKS owner Beasley Broadcast Group said the new sound "targets men and women, ages 25 to 54, with a blend of rhythm-and-blues, funk and early hip-hop from the 1970s to today's hits." Beasley market manager Mac Edwards said listeners indicated they wanted more energy and more of the songs they danced to when younger.
It is interesting to note that from 1975 to 1988, Beasley Broadcast Group owned WDMT in Cleveland, one of the first Urban Contemporary stations in the country.
Another station in this format is WUHT
in Birmingham, Alabama
owned by Citadel Broadcasting
that has had a similar format to this since 2005.
's longest-established legal stations of this type is London-based Choice FM
.
Galaxy Birmingham was initially licenced as a Choice FM station but was subsequently bought by the then-owners of Galaxy. As a result it began to take some Galaxy networked programming featuring dance as well as urban music. The station is still required to broadcast more urban music than other Galaxy stations, and delivers this requirement through daily local opt-out programming.
In 2002, the BBC launched 1Xtra, an urban contemporary station operated as a digital subsidiary of BBC Radio 1
. This station was launched to provide a national, legal alternative to the growing array of small illegal pirate radio
stations operating, particularly in urban areas. (The need to replace pirate stations with a legitimate station was also a driving reason behind the launch of Radio 1 itself in 1967.)
In other major areas, urban music is covered by hybrid dance/urban stations such as Kiss
and Galaxy. These stations generally broadcast on a large regional basis (such Kiss in West England and East England, Galaxy in the North East and Yorkshire) or to a heavily-populated major city area (such as Kiss in London and Galaxy in Manchester). These are not true 'urban contemporary' stations as the music they play is drawn from across the rhythmic genres.
Many pirate radio
stations now operating in the UK use an urban contemporary format; this is in part due to the relative paucity of coverage of this music form in mainstream radio as compared to other musical formats. Some musicians, MCs and DJs have developed skills and/or a following on the pirate radio circuit and subsequently been recruited into legitimate stations.
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker
Frankie Crocker
Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker was a famous New York radio DJ...
in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
such as dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
(often with hip hop vocalists or rappers) and Caribbean music
Caribbean music
The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
such as reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
, and sometimes Soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
(In Toronto, London, New York City, Boston and Miami). Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and Soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. 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...
. Virtually all Urban contemporary formatted radio stations are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Atlanta, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, etc.
The term "urban contemporary" is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly for Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
in African-American contexts. For the Latinos, the music is more Latin urban, such as Reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, Latin hip hop, or bachata.
These stations focus primarily on marketing to African-Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. Their playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. 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...
songs from the '70s and early '80s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.
Most Urban formatted stations such as; KJLH
KJLH
KJLH is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Los Angeles area and offers More of a variety of Today's R&B & Classic Soul with a taste of Hip-Hop, Gospel and sometimes Smooth Jazz. The station, which is owned by Stevie Wonder's Taxi Productions, operates at 102.3 MHz with an...
, WQOK
WQOK
WQOK is a Mainstream Urban formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Carrboro, North Carolina, serving the Raleigh/Durham area. WQOK is owned and operated by Radio One.-History:...
, KWIN
KWIN
KWIN is an American commercial radio station located in Stockton, California, broadcasting to the Stockton, Lodi, Tracy, Modesto, and Turlock, California, area on 97.7 FM. They simulcast an urban contemporary format with sister station KWNN, which is located in Turlock, California, at 98.3 FM....
, KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
, KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
, UTN, and WVEE will play gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
or urban contemporary gospel
Urban contemporary gospel
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
music on Sundays.
Mainstream urban is a branch of Urban contemporary, and Rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
is also a branch.
The 1970s
When Frankie CrockerFrankie Crocker
Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker was a famous New York radio DJ...
was appointed as Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
of the newly created WBLS
WBLS
WBLS is an urban adult contemporary FM radio station in New York City, operating on 107.5 MHz. WBLS is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation along with sister station WLIB...
in 1974, he created an eclectic music mix of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated 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...
, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, redefining the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated 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...
format as Urban Contemporary. The station was an instant success, the most listened-to radio station in the country.
In 1975, WDMT in Cleveland began programming a mix of R&B, disco and rap. The station featured live "street jocks" mixing vinyl records each night. The station 's popularity grew and in 1980, it was Arbitron rated #2 12+, just behind the #1 rated WMMS with the original "Morning Zoo". Carol Ford hosted the morning drive show.
Other famous people who worked at WDMT include: Tony Harris (CNN), Len Canon (NBC, Fox-NYC), Brenda Love, Kim Skillern (Lady Skill), Matt Morgan, Dean Rufus, Freddie James, Mike Chapman, Rod See, Eric Fasion and Vanilla Fudge.
The 1980s
WBLSWBLS
WBLS is an urban adult contemporary FM radio station in New York City, operating on 107.5 MHz. WBLS is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation along with sister station WLIB...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was the first station to air a rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
radio show, Rap Attack with Mr. Magic
Mr. Magic
John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, was an important figure in the world of hip hop radio.-Biography:Mr. Magic debuted in 1981 on WHBI-FM in New York City with the first exclusive rap radio show to be aired on a major station...
and Marley Marl
Marley Marl
Marlon Williams , better known as Marley Marl, is an American DJ and record producer, who is considered one of the most important and influential hip-hop producers in the history of hip hop.-Biography:...
, in 1983.
During the early 1980s as newly-formed WRKS-FM
WRKS-FM
WRKS , known by its on-air branding 98.7 Kiss FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Communications...
(98.7 Kiss FM) became the first rap station in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, WBLS quickly began adding more rap records to its playlists. The urban format by this time was redefined by an eclectic mix of R&B, rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, and freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
. WBLS
WBLS
WBLS is an urban adult contemporary FM radio station in New York City, operating on 107.5 MHz. WBLS is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation along with sister station WLIB...
continued as the flagship station of the Urban format; however, Kiss FM surpassed them in the ratings.
Many radio stations imitated the urban sound since it was proven to be more profitable than other formats. Another subformat of urban contemporary is rhythmic contemporary hits which plays a great deal of dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. WQHT-FM
WQHT-FM
WQHT is a high-profile American radio station in New York City under the corporate ownership of Emmis Communications. The station broadcasts on 97.1 MHz FM...
and KPWR
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
were the first stations to utilize this format.
1990s-present
Since the 1990s, as urban contemporary hits have dominated the US pop charts, many adult contemporary stations have turned to playing some tracks popular on urban contemporary radio stations.Today, urban contemporary refers to music that can be described as a crossover of rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
which in some instances may be accompanied with dance beats. Notable examples include:
- "I'm Real" by Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
and Ja RuleJa RuleJeffrey Atkins , better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor.Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla"... - "DilemmaDilemma (song)"Dilemma" is a song by the American rapper Nelly, featuring R&B singer Kelly Rowland. The single was released in 2002 from the Nelly's album Nellyville, and Rowland's album Simply Deep...
" by NellyNellyCornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...
and Kelly RowlandKelly RowlandKelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child... - "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
and Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010... - "Baby Boy" by Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
and Sean PaulSean PaulSean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:... - "Yeah!Yeah! (Usher song)"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher, released on 3 February 2004 as the lead single from his hit fourth studio album Confessions. The song was written by Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. It was produced by Lil Jon, who combined crunk and R&B...
" by UsherUsher (entertainer)Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, Lil JonLil JonJonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
and LudacrisLudacrisChristopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings... - "GoodiesGoodies (song)"Goodies" is the debut single by American recording artist Ciara. Written by herself, Sean Garrett, LeMarquis Jefferson, and Craig Love, the song is produced by Lil Jon and features label-mate Petey Pablo. It was released worldwide from June 2004 as the lead single from her debut album of the same...
" by CiaraCiaraCiara Princess Harris , known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha...
and Petey PabloPetey PabloMoses Mortimer Barrett III , known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.-Biography:... - "Single LadiesSingle Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" by Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
It should be noted that contemporary R&B artists usually produce alternative versions of such duets that have rapping excluded. Such versions are produced for more conservative radio stations that would consider rapping unacceptable for their listeners.
Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
The Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs on which rappers and singers collaborate...
is awarded since 2002.
Urban adult contemporary
Urban AC is a subformat that is geared towards adult African-American audiences, and therefore, the artists that are played on these stations are most often African-American. The Urban AC stations are more similar to Soft AC than they are to Hot AC, and the music they play is predominantly R&B and soul music. This is reflected in many of the Urban AC radio stations' taglines, such as "Today's R&B and Classic Soul", "The Best Variety of R&B Hits and Oldies" and "(City/Region)'s R&B Leader." Some popular nicknames for Urban AC stations include "Magic" (borrowed from Soft AC), "Mix" (borrowed from Hot AC), and "Kiss" (borrowed from Top-40)A more elaborate form of Urban AC is the Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies
Rhythmic Oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, disco or dance genres of music. Playlists may span from the 1970s through the early 1990s...
format, which focuses primarily on "Old School" R&B/Soul hits from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Motown and disco hits. Often referred to in the past as "Jammin'" or "Groovin'" Oldies, the Rhythmic Oldies format was quite popular for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1997, KCMG-FM "Mega 100" in Los Angeles pioneered the concept of "Jammin' Oldies," which involved creating a mass-appeal music mix. The "Jammin'"/"Groovin'" Oldies format subsequently spread nationwide, to stations like WTJM-FM in New York City, WMOJ in Cincinnati, and WGRV-FM in Detroit (all of which have since changed format). Many of these stations played soul or disco by artists such as ABBA and The Bee Gees in addition to African-American artists. Many believe that what contributed the most to the death of the "Jammin' Oldies" stations was the fact that their playlists soon became very small and narrow, increasing listener "burnout" and dropping ratings within a few months after a promising ratings start. Rhythmic Oldies stations still exist today, but chiefly in markets with large African-American populations; the peak of the "Jammin' Oldies" approach has come and gone.
Usually embedded within the Urban Adult Contemporary is another format called Quiet Storm. This format is most played during the evening beginning at 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM hours into late night. The Quiet Storm format plays on Urban Adult Contemporary format. The music that is played are strictly ballads and slow jams. Popular artists played on the Quiet Storm format are Babyface, Teena Marie
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...
, Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill is an American R&B vocalist and songwriter.Bofill was born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother; one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B market.She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus prior to her 1978 debut album,...
, Miki Howard
Miki Howard
Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B/jazz singer and actress who had a string of Top 10 hit songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Howard's string of hits also included Baby,Be Mine", "Come Share My Love" and "Love Under New Management"...
, Regina Belle
Regina Belle
Regina Belle is a singer-songwriter who first surfaced in the late 1980s. She is notable for her Grammy award winning duet with Peabo Bryson, "A Whole New World".-Biography:Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey...
, Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett is an American R&B and gospel singer and former lead vocalist of the R&B group Shalamar.Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles. He would eventually meet Soul Train dancer and future first wife Rainey Riley-Cunningham, then a secretary of the show's creator and original...
, Freddie Jackson
Freddie Jackson
Frederick Anthony "Freddie" Jackson is an American soul singer. He was an important figure in R&B during the 1980s and early 1990s...
, Johnny Gill
Johnny Gill
Johnny Gill is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B supergroup New Edition, and was also a member of another supergroup called LSG; with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. His signature song "My, My, My" has been included on numerous romantic...
, Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Dru Hill
Dru Hill
Dru Hill is an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and gospel music. Founded in Baltimore, Maryland, and active since 1992, Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B #1 hits "In My Bed", "Never Make a Promise", ...
, and En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
among others.
Mainstream urban
Mainstream urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an urban contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic. The majority of the stations cater to younger listeners; they tend to have a more hip-hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
-heavy playlist compared to the R&B-heavy playlist that is very common among urban contemporary-formatted radio stations. Also, mainstream urban stations tend to target both genders with its playlist compared to urban contemporary station that tend to target mainly females. The term 'mainstream urban' was coined in the mid-1990s when radio stations started featuring primarily different styles of current hip-hop and R&B when it became very popular. The target demographic of the format is usually the 16- to 34-years-old males and females.
The format features various styles of hip-hop and R&B from different regions of the country that are popular at the moment. However, the format does feature numerous classic hip-hop and R&B songs from the late '80s and '90s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
.
Rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio and "Rhythmic Crossover" is a music radio format that includes of a mix of dance, and upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop, and R&B hits. While most rhythmic stations' playlists are composed of that mentioned above, some tend to lean very urban with current hip-hop, urban pop, and R&B hits that gain mainstream appeal.Most of its core listeners makeup a multicultural mix of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, that include a core group of teens, young adults (mostly 18-34) and young females
The origins of Rhythmic Top 40 can be traced back 1978 when WKTU
WKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
on 92.3 FM New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(now WXRK) became a disco based station. That station was classified as urban but played a blend of disco, dance music, and pop crossovers. Back then stations playing strictly R&B materials were known as Black stations. Stations like WKTU were known as Urban. In the 1980s many Urban contemporary stations began to spring up. Most of these leaned towards R&B and away from plenty of dance music. These urban stations began sounding identical to so called "Black stations" and by 1985 stations that played strictly R&B product were all known as Urban stations. Still some urban outlets continued to add artists from outside the format onto their playlist. In most cases it was dance and rhythmic pop but occasionally they added a few rock songs. Also Urban Contemporary radio stations were the first to play New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
artists such as B-52's, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
and Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
. However it wasn't until January 11, 1986 that KPWR
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, a former struggling adult contemporary outlet and WQHT New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
began to make its mark with this genre by adopting this approach.
It would be known as Crossover because of the musical mix. As these stations pilfered listeners away from numerous mainstream stations, many urban stations reintroduced Dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
onto their playlists again. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine took notice of this new format and on February 15, 1987, it launched the first Crossover chart. But by December 1990 Billboard eliminated the chart because more Top 40 and R&B stations were becoming identical with the rhythmic-heavy playlist that were also being played at the crossover stations at the time. Billboard would later revive the chart again in October 1992 as the Top 40 Rhythm/Crossover chart. On June 25, 1997, it was renamed the Rhythmic Top 40 chart as a way to distinguish stations that continue to play a broad based rhythmic mix from those whose mix leaned heavily toward R&B and Hip-Hop.
For years since its inception, the Rhythmic name has been a source of confusion among music trades, especially in both Billboard (which used the Rhythmic Top 40 title) and Radio & Records (which use the CHR/Rhythmic title for their official charts). In August 2006 Billboard dropped both the "Top 40" and "CHR" name from the Rhythmic title after its sister publication Billboard Radio Monitor merged with Radio & Records to become the "New" R&R as part of their realignment of format categories. The move also ended confusion among the radio stations who report to their panels, which was modified by the end of 2006 with the inclusion of non-monitored reporters that were holdovers from the "(Old) R&R" days.
Still, over the years since its inception, the genre has grown and evolved but not without criticism. Traditional R&B outlets claim that the Rhythmic format does not target or serve the African-American community properly, while traditional Top 40 stations claim that the format is too urban to be Top 40. However, those claims have been all but slienced, with both R&B and mainstream Top 40 stations taking cues from the format they criticized.
Still there continues to be confusion of the distinction between Rhythmic CHR stations and Urban Top 40 stations. In New York City WQHT Hot 97 strictly plays R&B and Hip Hop. Also in that city WWPR Power 105 plays a similar format. WQHT is classified as Top 40/Rhythm while WWPR is classified as Urban. Los Angeles is similar where KPWR
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
and KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
have similar formats but KPWR is considered Top 40/Rhythm while KDAY
KDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
is considered Urban. Also very similar situations have occurred in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM is one of the most popular among Washington, D.C.'s urban format radio station's, and has been ranked as one of its top rated radio stations for over 20 years, according to the Arbitron ratings. It has a city of license of Morningside at the 95.5 MHz frequency on the FM dial...
and San Francisco with KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
. One possible reason for this is precedent. When these stations began they played a great deal of dance music and were classified as CHR outlets. However, many critics say the ability to attract more mainstream advertisers as Rhythmic, rather than Urban, is the real reason, thus fueling the criticism from the African-American community in general.
However by 2005 KPWR began to re-add more Rhythmic Pop product after a seven-year gap (it had phased most of the Rhythmic and Dance product by 1997 when it had competition from KIBB and KACD/KBCD, both defunct), mostly in response to rival KIIS leaning towards a rhythmic direction. The move has resulted in KPWR and KIIS reigniting their Los Angeles Top 40 war. KPWR has also gone on the offensive to protect their Hispanic demos in the wake of new Hurban rival KXOL making a dent in the ratings.
WQHT on the other hand, had moved more towards R&B/Hip-Hop as they step up their competition in the Big Apple with WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM, also known as "Power 105.1", is an urban contemporary radio station that features hip hop and R&B licensed to New York City that serves the Greater New York area....
, which had gotten nasty with both stations blasting each other on the air and at high-profile concerts/events, as well as who claims ownership of who plays the most Hip-Hop in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM is one of the most popular among Washington, D.C.'s urban format radio station's, and has been ranked as one of its top rated radio stations for over 20 years, according to the Arbitron ratings. It has a city of license of Morningside at the 95.5 MHz frequency on the FM dial...
began operating in 1987 as a Rhythmic that played R&B, hip-hop, dance, and pop music. Its playlist began to migrate to mostly Hip-Hop/R&B songs with R&B and soul slow songs on Sunday through Thursday nights since 1993, a format very similar to WKYS. This began a head-to-head battle with WKYS
WKYS
WKYS, the "Station for Interactive Hip Hop and R&B", is an American radio station broadcasting an Urban Contemporary radio format, that serves the greater Washington metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located on the same tower as WRC-TV. The station broadcasts from a class B signal with an...
, but also Urban ACs, WHUR and WMMJ
WMMJ
WMMJ is a top rated station Urban Adult Contemporary radio station owned by Radio One in the Washington, D.C. market. It is licensed to Bethesda, but its transmitter is located in Tenleytown...
, due to WPGC playing old school R&B and soul songs during the overnight hours and on weekends. In 2008, WPGC began to air gospel music on Sunday mornings.
KMEL also began in 1984 as a Mainstream Top 40, but migrated to a Rhythmic that played began hip-hop, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music by 1987. However, in 1992, its playlist began to lean more urban to battle with competitor KYLD, which ended in 1997 when both stations became sister stations. KMEL currently has a playlist that is Hip Hop/R&B music, and plays mostly R&B slow jams at night from Sundays through to Thursdays and gospel music on Sunday Mornings, while KYLD plays a balanced mix of Rhythmic Pop, Hip-Hop/R&B and some Dance products.
On August 11, 2006, R&R
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
had moved WQHT, WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM is one of the most popular among Washington, D.C.'s urban format radio station's, and has been ranked as one of its top rated radio stations for over 20 years, according to the Arbitron ratings. It has a city of license of Morningside at the 95.5 MHz frequency on the FM dial...
, KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
, to the Urban Contemporary Airplay Panel since they seldom play any type of Rhythmic pop product and is therefore not considered part of the 'Pure' Rhythmic community. However, despite the changes, there are a few "Churbans" who remain on the Rhythmic panel that are exceptions, mostly due to the lack of minorities in several major metropolitan markets that do not have a mainstream Urban, like KTTB
KTTB
KHTC is an American radio station in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. KHTC's nickname is "96.3 Now". The station airs a rhythmic contemporary music format and its main competition is KDWB-FM. The station is licensed to Edina, Minnesota.-Origins:...
/Minneapolis-St. Paul and WJMN/Boston. However, on May 25, 2007, WQHT, KXHT
KXHT
KXHT is a Hip-Hop station licensed to Marion, Arkansas and serves the Memphis, Tennessee, area. The Flinn Broadcasting outlet operates at 107.1 MHz with an ERP of 2.75 kW.-History:...
/Memphis, WZMX
WZMX
WZMX, better known as "Hot 93.7" is a Rhythmic Contemporary station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The CBS Radio owned outlet broadcasts at 93.7 megahertz. The station's current slogan is Hartford's #1 Station For Hip-Hop and R&B...
/Hartford and WMBX
WMBX
WMBX is a radio station serving the West Palm Beach, Florida and Port St. Lucie, Florida areas, broadcasting hip hop R&B & Gospel Music on a rhythmic contemporary format at 102.3 MHz. Its transmitter is located on the west side of Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, Florida and is 965...
/West Palm Beach, along with KZZA/Dallas-Ft.Worth (from the Latin Rhythm Airplay panel
Latin Rhythm Airplay panel
The Latin Rhythm Airplay chart comprises singles and tracks from artists who represent the Hispanic rhythmic/Hurban genre, which includes Reggaeton, Hispanic R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic Pop/Dance and crossovers from English-language and/or bilingual acts...
), were re-added to the panel, as their playlists now favors a broader Rhythmic direction, thus making them outright Rhythmics.
Urban adult hits
In 2010, WUKSWUKS
WUKS is a radio station broadcasting an urban adult hits format. Licensed to St. Pauls, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Fayetteville area...
St. Pauls, North Carolina
St. Pauls, North Carolina
St. Pauls is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,137 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of St. Pauls was built up around St. Pauls Presbyterian Church which was built on land donated in 1799 by William Davis. St. Pauls grew slowly from a town of just the...
switched to a format described as "Everything that jamz" that included a variety of musical styles that can be described as urban contemporary or urban oldies. WUKS owner Beasley Broadcast Group said the new sound "targets men and women, ages 25 to 54, with a blend of rhythm-and-blues, funk and early hip-hop from the 1970s to today's hits." Beasley market manager Mac Edwards said listeners indicated they wanted more energy and more of the songs they danced to when younger.
It is interesting to note that from 1975 to 1988, Beasley Broadcast Group owned WDMT in Cleveland, one of the first Urban Contemporary stations in the country.
Another station in this format is WUHT
WUHT
-External links:*...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
owned by Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
that has had a similar format to this since 2005.
United Kingdom
One of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's longest-established legal stations of this type is London-based Choice FM
Choice FM
Choice FM, branded on-air as London's Choice, is a brand used by the UK's biggest radio company, Global Radio for its network of black music radio stations...
.
Galaxy Birmingham was initially licenced as a Choice FM station but was subsequently bought by the then-owners of Galaxy. As a result it began to take some Galaxy networked programming featuring dance as well as urban music. The station is still required to broadcast more urban music than other Galaxy stations, and delivers this requirement through daily local opt-out programming.
In 2002, the BBC launched 1Xtra, an urban contemporary station operated as a digital subsidiary of BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. This station was launched to provide a national, legal alternative to the growing array of small illegal pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
stations operating, particularly in urban areas. (The need to replace pirate stations with a legitimate station was also a driving reason behind the launch of Radio 1 itself in 1967.)
In other major areas, urban music is covered by hybrid dance/urban stations such as Kiss
Kiss Network
Kiss is a brand of a group of dancemusic radio stations, a TV channel and music merchandise in the United Kingdom.-Stations:Radio:Television:*Kiss TV-Former Kiss Stations:Radio:...
and Galaxy. These stations generally broadcast on a large regional basis (such Kiss in West England and East England, Galaxy in the North East and Yorkshire) or to a heavily-populated major city area (such as Kiss in London and Galaxy in Manchester). These are not true 'urban contemporary' stations as the music they play is drawn from across the rhythmic genres.
Many pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
stations now operating in the UK use an urban contemporary format; this is in part due to the relative paucity of coverage of this music form in mainstream radio as compared to other musical formats. Some musicians, MCs and DJs have developed skills and/or a following on the pirate radio circuit and subsequently been recruited into legitimate stations.
See also
- List of urban-format radio stations in the United States
- List of Urban contemporary artists
- Urban adult contemporaryUrban Adult ContemporaryUrban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
- Mainstream UrbanMainstream UrbanMainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...
- Urban Top 40
- Urban Contemporary GospelUrban contemporary gospelTraditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
- Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio
- Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung CollaborationGrammy Award for Best Rap/Sung CollaborationThe Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs on which rappers and singers collaborate...