What BPM is R&B?

R&B has a median tempo of 108 BPM. Half of all r&b sits between 96 and 120 BPM, measured across 709 analysed tracks. The genre's editorial range is 70–100 BPM; our catalog sits a little above it.

Hip-hop / Soul · 1980s — present

Measured 13 August 2026 from 709 r&b tracks in our catalog. 10 tempo outliers removed by a Tukey IQR fence. No track needed a half-time correction. 313 tracks (44.1%) carry a tempo our detectors flagged for review; they are included in these figures.

Method: how we correct half-time BPM detection — why fast genres get stored at half speed, and the rule we apply before publishing a median.

Median BPM

108

Middle half

96–120

9 in 10

86–130

Mean

108

Tracks measured

709

BPM distribution

709 tracks · median 108 BPM · most of the catalog sits between 96 and 120 BPM · 10 outliers removed by IQR filter.

Median Middle half (Q1–Q3) Edge of range

How tightly does r&b hold its tempo?

Half of all r&b sits inside a 24 BPM window, 96 to 120. Widen to nine tracks in ten and the band runs 86–130 BPM. Among the hip-hop / soul genres charted below it sits mid-pack: Trap (hip-hop) holds to 10 BPM, Hip-hop spreads over 38.

10th percentile 86 · lower quartile 96 · median 108 · upper quartile 120 · 90th percentile 130 BPM

How r&b tempo has shifted

Across 224 r&b tracks spanning 2001–2026, the median has crept up by 2.0 BPM (from 102 to 104) with the highest median in 2023 (113 BPM) and the lowest in 2003 (100 BPM).

Median per year Inter-quartile band

Why this tempo?

R&B's 70–100 BPM range emerged from soul and funk's groove-first philosophy, where pocket and swing matter more than velocity. The 808 drum machine, foundational to 1980s production, naturally settled into this tempo zone for both studio work and club playback. Unlike house or techno, R&B prioritizes vocal phrasing and lyrical clarity over hypnotic repetition, so slower tempos allow singers breathing room and producers space for intricate layering. The genre's soul roots demanded human feel—swing, ghost notes, syncopated hi-hats—which reads more expressively at mid-tempo. Modern R&B producers maintain this range even with trap-influenced hi-hat patterns or minimal production, because the slower BPM keeps the vocal front and center rather than buried in percussion.

Where your track fits

Three reference points along the BPM axis for r&b, with what the position implies about the track.

96BPM

Groovy side

Lower quartile — patient builds, deeper grooves, long blends.

108BPM

Genre centre

Median — what most tracks in the catalog actually sound like.

120BPM

Peak-time edge

Upper quartile — pushes the floor, bridges into faster neighbours.

Where r&b sits on the tempo axis

Median BPM of r&b compared to neighbouring genres in the same family. Closer medians mean easier cross-genre transitions.

104108112116120124128132136140144

Popular r&b tracks at the median BPM

Catalog tracks within ±2 BPM of 108, sorted by popularity.

Top r&b artists in the catalog

Names you’ll meet often when building r&b sets.

Dominant Camelot keys

Where r&b producers cluster harmonically. 61% minor · 39% major

10A6.8%7A6.3%9A6.3%5A6.2%8A5.6%4A5.4%10B5.2%12A5.2%

10A is the most crowded key in r&b: 6.8% of the 709 tracks we have a key for, 3.7× the rarest key in the genre (2B, 1.8%).

Producing r&b — tempo notes

›Set your 808 kick decay between 400–600ms at 85 BPM to let sub-bass bloom without muddying vocal phrases; tighter decay at 95 BPM.
›Layer swing onto your hi-hat pattern at 12–16% humanization at 80 BPM to avoid the robotic feel that kills R&B groove.
›Build breakdowns by stripping to vocal and reverb-drenched snare for 8–16 bars around 90 BPM; the slower tempo makes silence feel intentional, not empty.

Mixing r&b sets — tempo notes

›Blend R&B tracks over 16–32 bars using EQ to isolate vocal fundamentals (200–400 Hz) before bringing in the full mix; slower tempos reward longer transitions.
›Use sidechain compression on pad synths keyed to the kick at 75 BPM to create space without killing sustain—critical when mixing across vocal-heavy records.
›Ride the crossfader in quarter-bar increments at 88 BPM during verses to let vocal ad-libs breathe; full-bar cuts sound abrupt in this tempo range.

All 108 BPM tracks EDM genre BPM chart BPM for every genre

FAQ

What BPM is R&B?⌄

R&B has a median tempo of 108 BPM. Half of all r&b sits between 96 and 120 BPM, measured across 709 analysed tracks. The genre's editorial range is 70–100 BPM; our catalog sits a little above it.

Has r&b's BPM changed over time?⌄

Yes — across the 709 tracks we measured, the median has varied year to year. The chart on this page shows the full year-by-year picture.

At what BPM should I produce a r&b track?⌄

Anchor your kick at 108 BPM for the genre centre. 120 BPM is the upper-quartile edge if you're producing for peak-time. Below 96 BPM you're outside the middle half of what we measured.

What Camelot keys are most common in r&b?⌄

The dominant Camelot keys in our r&b catalog are 10A, 7A, 9A. 61% of tracks are in minor keys (A); 39% major (B). 10A is the most crowded key in r&b: 6.8% of the 709 tracks we have a key for, 3.7× the rarest key in the genre (2B, 1.8%).

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