- How is urban pop different from contemporary R&B?
- Look at how the chorus is written. Urban pop's chorus is a pop chorus — a defined melody, repeated enough, built to be sung back. Contemporary R&B leans on vocal technique and harmonic color, and its hook need not be immediately singable. One asks you to join in; the other asks you to listen.
- How should the 808 be used?
- Ask for "melodic 808 with pitch movement, separated in the mix from the kick, no excessive clipping." In urban pop the 808 functions as a bassline rather than a thud, and specifying its motion produces far closer results.
- How do I place the rap section?
- Specify position and length: "sixteen-bar rap after the second chorus, mid-paced, contrasting with the sung sections." Left unstated, systems tend to keep one delivery throughout, which erases the layering the style depends on.
