Urban music
Related: urban - black music - music
Definition
In terms of music, urban music and urban radio are synonymous with the terms rap or hip hop, because that type of music typically originates in urban areas. (In these contexts the term "black music" has sometimes been used, and urban serves as a race-neutral replacement.) Current examples of popular urban musicians are Missy Elliott, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Nelly, and Ludacris. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban [Jul 2004]
Urban contemporary
The term urban contemporary was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the early 1980s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap music, contemporary R&B, and, on occasion, Caribbean music such as reggae and reggaeton. The term "urban contemporary" has become heavily associated with contemporary R&B, and is often used as a synonym to describe the genre.These stations focus primarily on African-American females between the ages of 18 and 34 but some are up to 49, and their playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. Upon occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul music songs from the 1970s and early 1980s to satisfy the older end of the format, but their playlists are otherwise focused on music released within the last five years.
Urban contemporary stations are the main focus of the airplay statistics for the Billboard magazine Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, which calculates the most popular R&B and hip-hop singles in the United States. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_contemporary [Jan 2006]
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