Urban is widely used as a euphemism for Black people, a way to connote but not directly point to African American neighborhoods or culture. Urban music, urban fiction, urban comedy and urban neighborhoods are often used as codewords for culture and districts associated with Black people and the phrases sometimes imply stereotypes of poverty and crime. In 2020, the Recording Academy, the organization that presents the Grammys, and some major record companies and radio stations, announced they would cease using the term urban music. Use urban with caution, but it is acceptable to use the word in a neutral context, such as “housing values in the urban neighborhood are rising.”
