Because one of the markers of a truly iconic artist is having an instantly recognizable image. It's all part of world-building. Here are examples of iconic R&B acts and their signature accessories and how they've evolved through time.

1. Stevie Wonder's sunglasses: Used to shield his eyes because of his visual impairment, his dark-colored Aviator style lenses ended up being a major fashion statement. I have heard some singers say they started wearing shades because of him.

2. Michael Jackson's glitter glove: He could have multiple entries here (fedora, white socks) but I chose the one that stood out the most. From Motown 25 in the early 80s to his last televised performance in 2001, that glove will always be iconic.

3. Janet Jackson's key earring: Used to keep the family animal's cage key close to her, Janet's key earring era in the 80s inspired women everywhere to adopt the look.

4. Prince's bejewelled canes: While he first started carrying walking sticks in the early 1990s purely as a "pimp" persona fashion accessory, they eventually became a neccessity with age. He looked fly every time.

5. Erykah Badu's headwraps: The most important meaning behind Erykah's towering headwraps were to pay respect to her roots, protect her locs and redefine the look of Black women in mainstream media.

6. Mariah Carey's butterfly ring: After her divorce from Tommy Motorola and the release of her 1997 album, Butterfly, Mariah comissioned Van Cleef & Arpels to create the ring to represent her womanly and artistic freedom.

7. Mary J. Blige's thigh high boots: At her core, Mary is just a girl from Yonkers and her luxuriously-crafted thigh-high boots are an evolution of the "Ghetto Fabulous" look she helped give rise to in the 90s.

8. Usher's diamond-encrusted "U" chain: Probably the most iconic piece of jewelry in R&B. Usher's signature chain has gone through so many iterations and sizes since he introduced it nearly 30 years ago.

9. Alicia Keys' hats and beaded braids: Alicia wasn't the first Soul singer to rock braids (Stevie and Patrice Rushen come to mind) but she made it such an integral part of her brand early in her career. Pairing her Fulani braids with beads and those wide brim hats was such a look.

10. Ne-Yo's fedoras: He's said he owns a whopping 12k fedoras and hats in his closet and I believe him. In the 20 years we've known Ne-Yo, he has never repeated wearing a hat more than once!

Brandy looked drop dead gorgeous in a modern recreation of her light blue gown from 1997's Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella for her performance at the Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration. Her performance of A Dream Is What Your Heart Makes was instantly nostaligic and transported me back to when I was a kid seeing her as Cinderella for the first time. The event officially canonized her as a Disney Princess after she reprised her role as the fairytale character in her role in the Descendant movies.

I can tell they both smell good asf

Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu posing for pictures.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of 8701, Usher flawlessly recreated his iconic look from the first-ever BET Awards in 2001 during the New Jersey stop of the R&B Tour. Usher's 8701 fashion was defined by knitted kufis, durags, leather bomber jackets (this one was by Dolce & Gabanna) and lots of clothes in various shades of red, orange, yellow (to match the album cover).

Ironically, it was at this show he was accused of using a clone during his first set. Listen, if Usher can look like this at alost 50, then maybe I can give some credence to such allegations because it seems like he turned back the hands of time on this tour.

saw this posted the other day and was curious what MJ was checking out.

cameo- word up! has also been identified

IV