Republic Records has announced they will be taking the lead in the music industry on banning the term “Urban” within their label. The label that’s home to artist like The Weeknd, Drake, Nicki Minaj and more said in a statement

“We encourage the rest of the music industry to follow suit as it is important to shape the future of what we want it to look like, and not adhere to the outdated structures of the past,“

The term “urban contemporary” originally coined in the 70’s by DJ Frankie Crocker didn’t carry the negative connotation at the time which Republic feels it has now taken on, leading to the label’s removal of the word from department names, employee titles and music genres, however clarifying in a press release that this change will not lead to any structural changes at the company.