Is R&B “Soft” Again?

Destin Conrad ‘Essence Magazine’

Over time R&B has went through many transformations, but last year in 2025 we saw a surge of new R&B artists introducing themselves while reintroducing R&B to it’s original roots.

For the first time in many years, you can hear a bridge on a song which was once pivotal to R&B. You can feel the tension build from the moment you press play, all the way to the very end of the song. Now, R&B is much slower, careful, and centering love versus toxicity.

Pictured: Sasha Keable for ‘Vogue’

“R&B right now… it’s not just a restoration of sound; it’s a restoration of feeling.”

- Softest Grit

"R&B right now… it’s not just a restoration of sound; it’s a restoration of feeling. The softness that was once required in this genre has returned, but with a new kind of strength. The strength that lies in the power of being soft, and the deliberate choice to do so.