R&B，译为“节奏布鲁斯”，又可写做RNB，是融合了爵士乐、福音音乐和蓝调音乐的音乐形式。这个音乐术语是由美国告示牌杂志（Billboard）于20世纪40年代末所提出。它衍生了多种不同音乐类型，如我们熟悉的Rock‘n’Roll，Disco和Rap，都可算是由R&B发展而成。
The Meaning of the Name含义
R&B这个术语最早是1947年美国的BILLBOARD杂志的Jerry Wexler为音乐的市场营销创作的术语，后来渐渐转变成一个专门形容音乐的词，有作家曾写道：节奏布鲁斯是一个umbrella term industry convenience，除了古典音乐和宗教音乐，它包括了几乎所有的黑人音乐。
Rhythm & Blues is a term used to describe the blues-influenced form of music predominantly performed by African-Americans since the late 1930s. The term ‘Rhythm and Blues’ was first introduced in the late 1940s: it was created for use in musical marketing by Billboard magazine. In 1949, Billboard reporter Jerry Wexler (who later went on to become a music producer), created the phrase to designate the upbeat popular music performed by African-American artists that combined jazz and blues.
The Reason for the Name渊源
20世纪40年代的美国黑人区，负担得起多姿多彩娱乐的人不多，热爱音乐的黑人就喜欢茶余饭后聚在街头，以吉他和口琴等简单的乐器玩奏音乐，一抒生活、工作、背井离乡等感受，这就发展出了BLUES（蓝调）——R&B的前身。
The “Rhythm & Blues” term was created to replace the designation “race music”, which until then was the standard catch—all phrase used in reference to most music made by blacks at the time. After the “race music” term was deemed offensive, Billboard began using the Rhythm & Blues moniker Wexler created. The meaning behind the name? The “rhythm” part comes from the music’s typical dependance upon four-beat measures or bars and employ a backbeat (beats two and four accented in each measure). The “blues” portion of the name came from the lyrics and melodies of the songs, which were often sad,or ‘blue’ during the music’s emergence in the World War II era. Over time the name was shortened to R&B as a matter of convenience.
Evolution of the Phrase进化
20世纪60年代，R&B被用于包括soul music（灵魂音乐）和Funk（黑人爵士乐）的术语。现在则被广泛应用，乐手们在作品中也加入了钢琴、鼓、萨克斯和电子吉他等流行元素，让R&B的风格更加多样，广为传唱。
As the genre progressed throughout the decades, R&B music started becoming known as soul music; it was also no longer exclusively made by black artists. White musicians started composing R&B songs, though the genre was still dominated by black artists like Chubby Checker, Sam Cooke, and bands like The Miracles.
Electric guitars began to play a part in the instrumentation as a result of Waters’ proficiency, and the genre began to evolve once again. As the genre progressed and caught on in society, it helped dispel the commonly held belief that so-called “black” music was for black people only. The genre transcended race relations and survived through extremely tenuous race relations in the United States, and as a result, R&B music carved its own niche in the U.S. music scene.
THREE WORDS OF LOVE FROM R&B SINGERS R&B歌手的3句情话
我们喜欢R&B那多变的音质，歌声和乐器相互呼应、互相衬托，而有关爱情话题的此类歌曲更是让人们百听不厌。下面是某网站排出来的R&B歌曲中的经典情话，热情而奔放，情意绵绵且大胆直白。
1. “Now your body’s got me feelin’ like spending / With a backroom I could come to live in / And your hair weave looking kind of pretty / The way you back it up on me baby / Lord have mercy.”—R. Kelly, “Feelin’ On Yo Booty”,
R. Kelly的性感大家众所周知，尤其是在舞池中更是无人能敌。如果你是歌词中的女孩，那要小心了，别被他“电”到（^_^）。
2. “Skip dinner and we gon rent a movie / You order chinese food right before u do me / You coming on strong baby let me wash me hands / She said hurry up then get your ass to bed.”—Usher, “Trading Places”
这首歌讲述了Usher和他的爱人的关系，早上他将她唤起来，送上一杯浓香的福尔杰咖啡，让她在床上享用早餐……整首歌描述了Usher的一天，有趣而爱意浓浓。
3. “Got a girl at the crib, we can take it to the mo-mo / You can bring a friend, or you can ride solo / Let me get my camera, so we can take a photo.”—Ray J, “Sexy Can I”
这里的mo-mo表示的是MOMA艺术博物馆，还是清晨的河岸，我们不得而知。但这首歌确实很自传，因为我们知道Ray J的生活确实如歌中所说的那样爱用照相机。