Rated R&B

{{short description|Online music magazine}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rated R&B}}

{{Infobox website

| name = Rated R&B

| logo = Ratedrnb-logo.png

| logo_size = 250px

| company_type =

| foundation =

| location =

| owner = Rated R&B, LLC

| author =

| editor = Keithan Samuels

| url = [https://www.ratedrnb.com/ www.ratedrnb.com]

| website_type = Online magazine

| language = English

| launch_date = {{start date and age|2011}}

| current_status = Active

}}

Rated R&B is an independent online magazine based in the United States, which is dedicated and devoted to news, topics and almost all things related to rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music.{{cite web|url=https://www.ratedrnb.com/about|title=About|website=Rated R&B|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://keithansamuels.com/portfolio/rated-rb/|title=Rated R&B - Keithan Samuels - Official Website|date=August 13, 2019|publisher=keithansamuels.com|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}

It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded and currently edited by Keithan Samuels in August 2011, the webzine has become a leading online source for R&B and soul music news according to Samuels himself and also openly promotes underrated/unnoticed artists of that genre.{{cite web|url=https://muckrack.com/keithan-samuels|title=Keithan Samuels|website=Muck Rack|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}

Reviews by Rated R&B have been mentioned in publications such as BBC,{{Cite web|title=New music coming from Sade says bandmate|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/evfwhn/live/cm9xn3|access-date=2022-01-12|website=BBC Music Events|language=en}}VIBE,{{Cite web|last=Abraham|first=Mya|date=2022-01-12|title=Clive Davis Turned Down A Potential Mary J. Blige And Whitney Houston Duet|url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/mary-j-blige-whitney-houston-duet-1234643006/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=VIBE.com|language=en-US}} Dazed,{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/40717/1/sade-working-on-new-album-following-flower-of-the-universe|title=Apparently there's a new Sade album in the works|last=Bulut|first=Selim|date=July 18, 2018|website=Dazed|accessdate=October 30, 2020}} Essence,{{Cite web|title=Sade Drops New Song 'The Big Unknown' For 'Widows' Soundtrack|url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sade-new-song-the-big-unknown-widows-soundtrack/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=Essence|language=en-US}} Forbes,{{Cite web|last=Méndez|first=Chris Malone|title=CeeLo Green Introduces 'Thomas Callaway,' The Man Behind The Music|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cmalone/2020/06/26/ceelo-green-introduces-thomas-callaway-the-man-behind-the-music/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=Forbes|language=en}} The Huffington Post, Yahoo!{{Cite web|title=H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Chris Brown among the nominees for 2021 Soul Awards|url=https://news.yahoo.com/h-e-r-jazmine-sullivan-231031217.html|access-date=2022-01-12|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US}} and Vogue.{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/muni-long-randb-pop-singer-to-watch|title=Muni Long Is an R&B-Pop Singer—and Fashion Plate—to Watch|last=Allaire|first=Christian|website=Vogue|date=October 21, 2020|accessdate=October 30, 2020}} Rated R&B also publishes music premieres, exclusive live performances and playlists.{{cite web |title=Premiere Archives |url=https://www.ratedrnb.com/premiere/ |website=Rated R&B |publisher=ratedrnb.com |accessdate=October 30, 2020}}{{cite web |title=Performance Archives |url=https://ratedrnb.com/?s=performance |website=Rated R&B |publisher=ratedrnb.com |accessdate=October 30, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Rated R&B: The Playlist - Playlist by Rated R&B|url=https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/rated-r-b-the-playlist/pl.u-NpXmzkmt47kZ6ql|work=Apple Music (US)|publisher=Apple.com|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}

During an interview with Shannon Ramsey, the host of Incisive Entertainment's Let's Talk web series, Samuels, who first began writing articles about music in 2009, revealed the backstory and inspiration behind him launching the webzine, saying: {{blockquote|Before I got to Rated R&B, I was doing some entertainment writing on [an]other blog that I had for a couple years and... it was okay but [um] I felt like at a certain point I just started losing passion for it. Just... whatever I was writing about wasn't really sticking to me so I took a break and during that break I had a time to just relax and observe a lot and one thing that I observed is there were a lot of R&B artists who were putting out music and it wasn't being heard and when they were getting the media placements it wasn't [um] always positive, it was a lot of negativity and gossip so... I think that's what kind of drove me into creating Rated R&B, having a positive platform that R&B artists can lead to on a day-to day basis.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc37zcJyaNc|title=Keithan Samuels (Rated R&B) talks R&B, 90's music and journalism|date=August 14, 2019|website=Incisive Entertainment|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://incisiveentertainment.com/f/why-rnb-music-is-still-relevant|title=Why RnB Music Is Still Relevant|website=Incisive Entertainment|date=July 24, 2020|accessdate=October 30, 2020}}}} In 2020, eZ Toolset listed Rated R&B at number two on their 15 Top R&B Music RSS Feeds To Follow list and Feedspost also listed the webzine at number four on their Top 40 R&B Music Blogs list.{{cite news |title=15 Top R&B Music RSS Feeds To Follow in 2020 |url=https://eztoolset.com/top-rss/15-top-rb-music-rss-feeds-to-follow-in-2020/ |accessdate=October 30, 2020 |work=EZ Toolset |publisher=eztooslet.com |date=March 1, 2020}}{{cite news |author=Anuj Agarwal |title=Top 40 R&B Music Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020 |url=https://blog.feedspot.com/rnb_music_blogs/ |accessdate=October 30, 2020 |work=Feedspost |publisher=blog.feedspost.com |date=October 27, 2020}}