What does R&B stand for? It stands for rhythm and blues, a family of popular music that grew out of Black American communities in the 1940s. The name joins two ideas: a strong, danceable beat (the rhythm) and the feeling and chord patterns of the blues.
Over the decades the label has covered very different sounds, from jumping horn bands to smooth ballads and modern tracks built on drum machines. What ties them together is a focus on the voice, a groove you can move to and roots in gospel, blues and jazz.
Quick facts
Stands for
Rhythm and bluesType
Abbreviation with an ampersandHow to say it
"R and B"Other spellings
RnB, R'n'B, R and BStarted
The 1940s in the United StatesRelated styles
Soul, funk, gospel, blues, hip hopNot to be confused with
R&D, R&R, B&B
What does R&B stand for, and why the ampersand?
The R is rhythm and the B is blues. The & sign replaces the little word "and," so the short form reads aloud just like the full name: "R and B." You never say "R ampersand B."
Because people say a word in the middle, R&B is neither a pure acronym nor a plain initialism. Most style guides simply call it an abbreviation. To see how these labels differ, read acronym vs abbreviation.
Where the name came from
Before the late 1940s, record companies and the music trade press sorted music by Black artists under a label that is now seen as outdated and offensive. In 1949 a leading music industry magazine renamed its chart for this music "Rhythm & Blues," and the new term spread through radio, record shops and the business at large.
The name was practical rather than poetic. It described what listeners heard: bands with a heavy backbeat, shouting saxophones and singers drawing on the blues. Much early rock and roll grew directly from this music.
How the sound changed over time
| Period | Common features |
|---|---|
| 1940s and 1950s | Jump bands, boogie piano, saxophone solos, vocal groups |
| 1960s | Soul music, gospel style singing, horn sections |
| 1970s | Funk grooves, lush strings, dance floor hits |
| 1980s onward | Contemporary R&B with drum machines, synthesizers and pop polish |
| 1990s onward | Blends with hip hop, plus a warmer neo soul style |
Today, when radio stations, streaming playlists or award shows say R&B, they usually mean contemporary R&B: smooth vocals, lots of vocal runs and harmony, and beats that borrow from hip hop.
How people use R&B in everyday talk
- "She sings in an R&B group on weekends."
- "Put on some slow R&B for the drive home."
- "His new album mixes R&B with country."
- "The radio station plays hip hop and R&B after nine."
- "That ballad has a real old school R&B feel."
Event flyer: "Friday night: live R&B and soul, doors at 8." The flyer is telling you to expect a band or singers with a smooth, groove based sound, often with covers of older hits.
Writing R&B correctly
The standard form is capital R, an ampersand and capital B, with no spaces: R&B. On social media and some playlist names you will see RnB or R'n'B, which mean the same thing. In formal writing, spell out "rhythm and blues" on first mention when the audience might be unfamiliar with the genre. Hashtags often drop the ampersand because many apps break tags at symbols.
Short forms that look like R&B
- R&D: research and development, a business term.
- R&R: rest and relaxation, or sometimes rock and roll.
- B&B: bed and breakfast, a small inn.
- EDM: electronic dance music, another genre label.
- BPM: beats per minute, a measure of tempo that matters a lot to dancers and DJs.
More everyday letter sets are collected on the famous acronyms page, including DJ.
Questions people ask
What is R&B short for?
R&B is short for rhythm and blues. The ampersand in the middle stands for the word "and."
What is the difference between R&B and soul?
Soul grew out of rhythm and blues in the late 1950s and 1960s, adding more gospel style singing. Many people treat soul as a branch of R&B, and the two labels often overlap.
Is R&B the same as hip hop?
No, but they are close relatives. R&B centers on singing and melody, while hip hop centers on rapping and beats, and many songs mix both.
How do you say R&B out loud?
Say "R and B." Read the symbol in the middle as the plain word and.
What does RnB mean?
RnB is an informal spelling of R&B. It means rhythm and blues and is common in playlists and posts.