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Also known as urban contemporary, Urban was the term given to the R&B/soul music of the 1980s and '90s. Like quiet storm and Philly soul, both strong influences, urban was very smooth and polished, but while its romantic ballads fit well into quiet storm radio formats, urban also had room for uptempo, funky dance tracks, which usually boasted the same high-tech, radio-ready production and controlled yet soulful vocals. That's why, in spite of its name, urban didn't usually have the earthy grit associated with the term "soul music," preferring to tone down the raw emotion in favor of a slick refinement. Up until the late '80s, most urban music was highly pop-oriented, often in melody but nearly always in terms of production.
