Urban contemporary music

Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of Black genres such as R&B, pop rap, quiet storm, urban adult contemporary and hip hop; Latin music such as Latin pop, Chicano R&B and Chicano rap; and Caribbean music such as reggae and soca. Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul.

Because urban music is a largely U.S. phenomenon, virtually all urban contemporary formatted radio stations in the United States are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Atlanta; Miami; Chicago; Cleveland; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Montgomery; Memphis; St. Louis; Newark; Charleston; New Orleans; Milwaukee; Cincinnati; Dallas; Houston; Oakland; Sacramento; Los Angeles; Trenton; Columbia; Jacksonville; Flint; Baltimore; Boston; Birmingham; Indianapolis; Augusta; Richmond; Charlotte; Savannah; Hartford; and Jackson.

Urban contemporary music includes the more contemporary elements of R&B and may incorporate production elements found in urban Euro-pop, urban rock, and urban alternative.

The term urban contemporary music is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly with R&B in African-American contexts. For Latin Americans, reggaeton and Latin hip hop are considered "Latin urban" due to influence of above mentioned genres.

Urban contemporary playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul songs from the 1970s and early 1980s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.

Many urban-formatted radio stations, such as KJLH, KPRS, KMEL, KDAY, KRNB, and WVEE, 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.

In 1971, Frankie Crocker would combine all the elements of his background, with jazz and R&B. When Frankie Crocker was appointed as program director of the newly created WBLS in 1974, he created an eclectic music mix of R&B and disco redefining the R&B format as urban contemporary. 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 No. 2 12+, just behind the No. 1 rated WMMS with the original "Morning Zoo".