Image Press Agency / Depositphotos.com
R&B has always had incredible female voices, from Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston to Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys. But over the last few years, women have been having a major moment in modern R&B.
Artists like SZA, Summer Walker, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Ari Lennox and Muni Long have helped make women some of the biggest names in the genre. In 2023, the GRAMMYs highlighted just how strong the moment was. Four out of five nominees for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song were women.
SZA has been at the center of it all. Her album SOS became a massive success, spending 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Songs like “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” also showed just how much R&B could cross over into mainstream pop.
Then there is Summer Walker, whose music has become known for being incredibly personal and honest about relationships, heartbreak and growing up. Artists like Victoria Monét and Coco Jones have brought their own styles to the genre, while artists like Doja Cat continue to blur the lines between R&B, pop and hip-hop. Doja’s “Paint the Town Red,” for example, spent multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
R&B has always been about emotion, storytelling and incredible vocals. Right now, women are proving just how much the genre can continue to grow.
