Urban Music History

Last article we talked all about pop music and its history, now we’re going to take a look at the urban and Latin music genres.
First up: urban music.
Also referred to as urban contemporary music, this genre originated in the 1980s and 90s as a solution for “advertisers who felt that ‘black radio’ would not reach a wide enough audience” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Its sound is defined by rhythm-and-blues or soul artists with mass crossover appeal.
Today, urban music tends to be a phrase referring to hip-hop, rhythm-and-blues, and soul genres. When urban music first populated American radio, it was mainly black artists. Now, with artists like Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Eminem, and Mariah Carey (all who I previously mentioned as pop/R&B artists)
It wasn’t until the 90s that urban music became a mainstay for mainstream American radio.
Now you should understand why urban music is so important to American music history. Not only does it feature the blending of two genres that people once thought should remain pure, urban brands a lifestyle: music, clothes, and a way of life.
Last but certainly not least we have the history of Latin music. Before I was exposed to Latin music or music inspired by Latin roots, I thought Latin music was kind of like the Latin language: dead. Not just kind of dead, but deader than dead. As in, everyone knows Latin is a dead language, that’s how dead it is. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised, just like I was, by how alive and well Latin music is in today’s culture.
It Takes Two to…
That’s right: tango. We’ve all heard the saying, and we’re all at least a tiny bit familiar with the tango whether we’ve danced it before or
At first, it was just the name given to the drums played by African slaves. The intimate choreography was originally designed to mimic the relationship between the prostitute, her pimp and a male rival. Tango didn’t make its way to the US until the 1910s, but it instantly made an impact. The most popular dances before then were the Viennese waltz and the Polka, neither of those coming close to the intimacy the tango created between two partners.
Samba
Another genre of Latin American music that you may also recognize as a style of dance is the samba.
The word was first used in 1838 to describe a dance style created by the working-class African-Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro. The rhythm of samba was meant for three things: singing, dancing, and marching in a parade.
The first record to be dubbed “samba” was sung by a black musician by the name of Ernesto “Donga” dos Santos. It wasn’t until 1933, nearly 100 years after the phrase was coined, that samba emerged in the US. This was due to a film by Vincent Youman: Flying Down to Rio. It popularized the samba dance and music styles in America.