Most commercially successful R&B acts of the decade (2000)
According to Billboard magazine, the most commercially successful R&B acts of the decade were Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo.
2000
By the 2000s, the cross-pollination between R&B and hip hop had increased. Mainstream modern R&B has a sound more based on rhythm than hip hop soul had.
When contemporary R&B first broke into the awards
Mariah Carey was well known to incorporate her R&B, pop tunes with hip hop. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles. Beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient.
Famous contemporary R&B artists
During the mid 1990s, Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Aaliyah, TLC, Brandy and Boyz II Men brought contemporary R&B to the mainstream.
How did the sound of the music change?
The synthesizer-heavy rhythm tracks of new jack swing were replaced by grittier East Coast hip hop-inspired backing tracks, resulting in a genre labeled hip hop soul by producer Sean Combs.
1990’s was when contemporary R&B first started
In contrast to the works of Boyz II Men, Babyface and similar artists, other R&B artists and groups from this same period began adding even more of a hip-hop sound to their work.
1990’s