What counts as urban music?

Can someone please give me a definition of urban music? I have a vague idea of where to find it—maybe in subway pop (that new "urban" segment on PBS) or when watching Lukas—he claims his venue is EXCLUSIVELY for urban artists; for instance, Emir & Frozen Camels 🙄 😂
was performing there last night.
Does one need to sing something like "motherfucker" while wearing a dirty undershirt to be considered urban? Is swearing a requirement? Can a song actually be good if it isn't "urban"? In today’s edition of The New York Times (the Studio feature), they used the word "urban" about six or seven times—always as a way to praise someone. Does that mean if a song isn't urban, it can't be any good?

Please tell me, because I’d really love to be urban myself. 😁😁😁

Sophia Gonzalez6 said:Do I really need to be singing stuff like "motherfucker" while wearing a greasy undershirt just to be considered urban? Is swearing actually required?

I mean, Damir Urban doesn't even swear that much... 😬

Honestly, don't even stress about it... I once heard someone try to define "urban turbo-pop"... 🙄 If they say it's good, then I guess it's good. 😁

Bryan Barrett said:urban turbo-pop

Didn't some pop princess say she sings in Latin script?

Look, "urban" music is actually pretty easy to define—it's just the trendy stuff listened to by young intellectuals and enlightened city dwellers. For heaven's sake, Sophia Gonzalez6, "urban" isn't a musical genre; it's primarily an audience. I don't get why you're struggling with this.

Only Damir Urban possesses the actual authority to claim his music is truly "urban"!!!

hollowseal33 said:"Urban" isn't a musical genre—it describes the audience first and foremost. I don't get why you're struggling to grasp that.

Quoting A. Dragaš from today's The New York Times:
"Even though 2004 wasn't exactly overflowing with domestic releases in the urban music scene..."
So, apparently, this "eminent" critic thinks "urban" refers to the music itself, not the people listening to it.

Sophia Gonzalez6 said:Do you really have to scream some "motherfucker" bullshit while wearing a filthy undershirt just to be considered urban?

🙄 It’s definitely not a requirement, honestly, because you can pull the same vibe in a clean undershirt if you want.

like John Lydon - Psychopath

Last night on Lukas's version of "local access TV," they were totally making fun of that whole brilliant thing😁

And then in that pseudo-show called "Sanja," ssilva tried to describe her sound as urban-ethno-turbo-folk🙏

Ronald Harris4 said:Last night over at Lukas's place, they were watching that "local cable" show and making fun of the whole thing, parodying those fancy diamond commercials.😁

🙏 Legends. Way better than that local news station.😁 😁 🙏

Sophia Gonzalez6 said:Could someone please give me a definition for urban music? I have a vague idea of where to find it—maybe in Subway pop (that new "urban" segment on PBS or over at Lukas's place—he claims he exclusively books urban artists, like when Emir & Frozen Camels performed last night🙄 😂)

Does one need to sing something like "motherfucker" while wearing a dirty undershirt to be considered urban? Is swearing a requirement? Can a song actually be good if it isn't "urban"? In today's edition of The New York Times (the Studio segment), the word "urban" was used about six or seven times, always as a way to praise someone. Does that mean if a song isn't urban, it can't be good?

Please tell me, because I'd love to be urban too!😁😁😁

I often find myself wondering the exact same thing.👍

I was hoping to get an answer here from

young intellectuals and other enlightened city dwellers.

and who would be more convincing than

urban music is most easily defined as trendy music listened to by young intellectuals and other enlightened city dwellers. Good grief, Sophia Gonzalez6, "urban" isn't a musical genre; "urban" refers primarily to the audience.

😂 😂 😂

I feel like that term really took off once song lyrics started focusing on city life—you know, capturing that gritty, metropolitan, urban vibe. But then, basically everyone moved to the suburbs or the cities, and the distinction just lost its edge. Nowadays, people just use it as a shorthand to tell the difference between old-school country music and stuff that feels more like it belongs in the city.
Right?

I guess if you're looking for everything there is to know about urban music, you can probably find it all right here

In my view, it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick, much like most musical genres. Record labels can't sell you thin air—well, maybe they can—so they invent a label, cram as many artists, scenes, and fashion trends under it as possible, and rake in the cash. Unfortunately, as many have noted, there are far too many naive journalists and performers out there who fall for it, talking nonsense and providing free publicity. Personally, I listen to what they call "alternative rock" (it's all the same crap 😉), and you see it clearly with the "grunge" label—so many bands were slapped with that tag just to move units (not saying the bands themselves aren't good, mind you), while the people who actually built the scene were left with nothing. I might be blunt, but my answer is this: WHO CARES WHAT COUNTS AS ALTERNATIVE MUSIC? JUST LISTEN TO WHAT YOU LIKE. 😁

The whole "urban music" thing isn't even new—it's just being exploited like crazy everywhere now. Like most labels, the meaning has totally shifted over time. Back in the 80s, urban music was more like Dorian Gray, but nowadays people use it for rap or dance tracks, and God knows what Alka Vuica thinks of it (I actually read the article > posted, by the way). For the longest time, I honestly thought urban music meant something like house? Now I have no clue. It actually caught me off guard when I realized that when Americans say "younger urban male," they’re usually referring to Black men?!?!?! Ugh. Then there's my colleague who moved from some tiny rural town to Chicago; he thinks living in a high-rise makes him "urban"—as if living in a house would be somehow peasant-like, even if it were a massive mansion. If I asked him what he listens to, I bet he'd call it "urban" too...
What really fascinates me on this forum is how often people use the phrase "quality music"—as if music is some three-ply perfumed toilet paper where quality is guaranteed, and if you aren't satisfied, you can just return the used product for a full refund...

Urban music? That’s 100% Zak Houdek...😁

Yeah, he was always that guy 🙄 ,,,always churning out tracks like "Zache maniac" 😂 and stuff like that...!

👋 👋

Rebecca Morris10 said:"Zache maniac"

😁 😁 Pijesemti! Whoever came up with that is a genius..

The issue isn't really with "urban music"—that's just a clunky label. It actually emerged back in the early nineties as a reaction to how everything in this country was becoming so aggressively provincial. People used it as a defense mechanism against those forced patriotic anthems and old-school folk vibes pushed by the establishment. Eventually, the political machine driving that culture faded away, but the damage to the general public's taste was already done. So, it’s not about the term itself; it’s about the people who cringe like Alka Vuica every time they hear it. Like that old saying goes, "You can take the guy out of the village, but you can't take the village out of the guy." I'm not trying to be insulting, but like Štulić said, there's a massive difference between being an American and just being a caricature of one.
To sum it up, I've never claimed to listen to "urban music," but whenever I see someone getting all worked up over that specific phrase, I get this image of some corporate brat in a fancy car he didn't pay for, blasting Jelena Karleuša through a massive subwoofer system...

Maybe I'm exaggerating. Totally... but I have my reasons.👋

Dana Anderson4 said:But honestly, this whole concept only emerged because of the massive wave of peasantization that swept through this entire country starting back in the early nineties. It was essentially a defensive reaction from people pushed against by institutions that tried to force a certain "country music" aesthetic and forced patriotism down our throats. Eventually, the term lost its bite once that specific political cultural grind finally died down, but the damage to the American collective taste is already done. So, the issue isn't really the word itself, but rather those who squeal like Alka Vuica every time they hear it. It’s just like that old saying goes: "A person can leave the village, but the village can never leave the person." Of course, I'm not trying to insult peasants, but as Štulić once noted, "The difference between an American and a true American is like the difference between a peasant and a total peasant."

True enough... it’s as if everything used to be perfect back then, when our esteemed intellectuals supposedly made up 99% of the population, and all you ever saw on TV was Lepa Brena or some urban, high-quality music... 🙂
And by the way, what does country music have to do with folk accordion players? As far as I know, the accordion is the main driver there. 🙂

Low-quality country singers and garbage pop have always existed, both then and now... it's just that back in the eighties, we actually had one incredible new wave of talent to balance it out, whereas now we don't, leaving the entire scene to be hijacked by various marginal figures... (besides, just look at MTV and you'll see this isn't some unique phenomenon happening only in America) 🙂

stormypilot27 said:Yeah... back then everything was perfect because our brilliant intellectuals made up 99% of the population, and you'd only hear Lepa Brena or some urban, high-quality music on TV... 🙂
And by the way, what does a mandolin have to do with country music?? As far as I know, the accordion is the main thing there. 🙂

Low-quality country music and trashy stuff like Tatins Sons existed back then just as much as they do now... it's just that in the 80s we had one massive new wave to balance it out, and now that it's gone, all sorts of nobodies have taken over the whole scene... (anyway, look at MTV and you'll see it's not just an American thing) 🙂

The mandolin isn't the point; I just used it as an example of something being forced on people. I don't have anything against the mandolin—I get it's part of the heritage—but it's just boring to me, which is a different story. And sure, Lepa Brena played before, but she wasn't blasting in every dive bar in NYC; you didn't have people blasting her from cars idling at red lights. Back in the mid-80s, if someone my age listened to that, we'd make fun of them in class. But today? It's not about being "intellectual." I know that term is kind of useless, but I was trying to explain where the idea came from. For a few years, columnists in Kaminski were screaming that Western music was corrupting the youth, worse than anything in the Soviet Union back in the 50s. As for the accordion... it's never about the instrument itself, it's about how you play it. I know plenty of great classical pieces, and even examples of accordions in rock...

ari peka nikkola said:The issue isn't really with the term "urban music," since that’s always been a bit of a clumsy label. It actually emerged as a reaction to the massive wave of ruralization that swept through this country back in the early nineties. It became a defensive term used by people who were tired of having certain "traditional" tastes and forced patriotism shoved down their throats by the establishment. Eventually, the term lost its punch once that specific era of conservative, small-town cultural dominance finally quieted down, but the damage to the collective American taste was already done. So, the problem isn't the word itself—it's the people who cringe like Madonna every time they hear it. As the old saying goes, "You can take the man out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the man." And of course, I'm not trying to be insulting to anyone from rural areas, but like Bruce Springsteen once said, "There's a difference between an American and a total bumpkin."
To sum it up, I've never claimed to listen to "urban music," but whenever I see someone getting all worked up over that label, I get the feeling it's just those corporate sons driving around in fancy company cars, blasting Lady Gaga through high-end subwoofers and premium players...

I'm generalizing here. Absolutely... but for good reason.👋

Spoken like a true cliché.