‘Urban’ sounds: it’s time to stop using this hackneyed term for black music

Industry executives are increasingly railing against the word, which is born out of racial stereotyping of black communities‘Urban” is a word used across the music industry to include R&B, hip-hop, soul and now grime. It is no coincidence that these forms of black music are lumped together into one category. Sam Taylor, an executive from the music publishing firm Kobalt, reignited the debate about the term by saying: “I hate and despise the word ‘urban’.&rd