Groove R&B
tagStarted 2010Peak 2014-2020Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Modern groove-led R&B that revives live funk feel: a fat pocket of drums and bass, vintage keys, clipped rhythm guitar and horn stabs under warm, conversational soul vocals. Mid-tempo and rhythm-first, it foregrounds the in-the-pocket groove and analog warmth over electronic gloss, bridging classic funk and contemporary R&B.
History
Surfaced in the 2010s funk-soul revival as producers like Mark Ronson and a wave of West Coast artists rebuilt records around live grooves. Anderson .Paak's drumming-led soul, Bruno Mars's retro-funk hits and Thundercat's bass-forward songs returned slap, horns and the pocket to the R&B mainstream and the streaming charts.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/funk-ma0000002590
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_.Paak
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Mars