Genre Research

Firstly, R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues. It is a music genre originated from African-Americans in the 1940's.
    "R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy. Lyrics focus heavily on the themes of triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, freedom, economics, aspirations, and sex. The term rhythm and blues has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s it was frequently applied to blues records. Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used to refer to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. In the 1960s, several British rock bands such as the Rolling stones, The Who and The Animals were referred to and promoted as being RnB bands; posters for The Who's residency at the Marquee club in 1964 contained the slogan. This tangent of RnB is now known as "British rhythm and blues". By the 1970s, the term rhythm and blues changed again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B". It combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. Popular R&B vocalists at the end of the 20th century included Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues

The background explains why the term Rhythm and Blues can relate to some forms of rap music, because nowadays the term R&B doesn't relate back to blues, soul and funk. 'Contemporary R&B' is the explanation for the evolution of the genre. Men in R&B are very often portrayed to be violent, using gang hand signs or showing their tattoos etc, this links to the men and violence theory brought about by Earp and Katz. Women in the genre are generally dressed in a very provocative way, assuming that men are the majority of the consumers. They are dressed this way usually because of the male gaze theory(Laura Mulvey). Alternatively Janice Winship's  theory, that the women enjoy being look at in this way could be an argument to the reasoning behind the costumes.