The category previously known as “urban contemporary” at the Grammy awards has been changed to “progressive R&B,” the Recording Academy announced on Wednesday, June 10. This decision comes in response to mounting criticism of the term “urban,” which was seen as oversimplifying genres like hip-hop and R&B and undermining the creativity of black music. The Recording Academy stated that the changes were made to ensure that the awards were more inclusive and reflective of the current state of the music industry.
According to the organization, the renamed category aims to highlight albums that incorporate progressive elements of R&B, which may include samples and elements of hip-hop, rap, dance, and electronic music, as well as production elements found in other genres such as pop, euro-pop, country, rock, folk, and alternative.
In addition to the renaming of the “urban contemporary” category, the Grammy awards also modified the best rap/sung performance category to best melodic rap performance, to better represent the evolving hybrid performance trends within the rap genre, as artists like Drake and Post Malone blur the lines between spoken and sung delivery.
While the term “urban” was not completely removed from all categories, it was retained in the newly titled field “Best Latin Pop or Urban Album.” The category for best Latin rock, urban, or alternative album has also been updated to best Latin rock or alternative album, with organizers stating that these changes were made to accurately represent the current state and prominent representation in the Latin urban genres.