By Tess Weigel Note: This blog post contains words that some readers may find offensive. In 2009, popular rhythm and blues (R&B) artists Chris Brown and Rihanna were involved in a physical altercation which resulted in five years of probation for Brown. As the story developed, news reports shifted the blame onto Rihanna for Brown’s actions against her. One report falsely claimed that Rihanna tweeted, “I admit it. I provoked Chris to hit me…#I'mSORRY” (Edgar, 2014). This shift toward blaming the victim, especially in high- profile couples such as Rihanna and Chris Brown, may be due in part to the rhetoric deeply ingrained in classic R&B hits. R&B music implies “black men as uncontrolled, violent, and threatening and women’s sexuality as dominating, dangerous, and unsupportive towards black men” (Edgar, 2014). I am not asserting that R&B music causes abuse and victim blaming. Rather, I argue that there is a correlation between the racially stereotypical rhet...