I had the distinct honor to co-advise and be a committee member for Jasmine Henry’s masters thesis in the spring of 2016 at William Paterson University.  Her thesis entitled, “‘Is R&B Having an Identity Crisis?’ Examining the ‘R&B Identity Crisis’ Phenomenon in the Contemporary Music Industry,” examines the intersection of musical style, anxieties of changing representations of racial and class identity, and the changing state of genre categories within the music industry.  In addition to her important work of music industry analysis led by her advisor, Dr. Stephen Marcone, Jasmine and I spoke extensively about how the fluidities of compressed audio formats, internet streaming technologies, and on-demand music video circulation intensify the demise of older models of stable music industry genre categories, yet also intensify even more technologically immediate negotiations for the definition of R&B culture by both fans and corporations.