New Jack Swing Era - Bobby Brown, Guy

Started taking advantage of the newer sounds where the instruments got replaced but still firmly recognizable.

Hip-Hop & R&B Hybrid- Jodeci, Mary J Blige, R. Kelly

Hip-hop came and as opposed to using electronic sounds that behaved similar to organic instruments we went straight into beat world with music that couldn't.

We hovered here for a couple of decades where it felt hip-hop and R&b were interchangeable during much of the pollination period. The current era though?

Dream for much of the melodic ideas
Weeknd for the atmosphere
Drake for the vocal syncopation