Well, you are in the UK and I am in the US, so our "charts" will vary....but, from what I can see and hear: Only in recent years is "retro R&B" influencing modern artists. Amy Winehouse, among others, was certainly bringing back the Motown vibe but - these days - its a retro flavor.
The biggest difference between Motown (mid 20th Century R&B in general) and modern Nu-R&B is the function of the bottom end: earlier R&B, the bottom is supplied by the bass guitar while Nu-R&B, thick bottom is supplied by analog bass/kick drums such as 808, 909, or SP-1200. This makes a gigantic difference between the mechanics of composing the music. Real musicians actually playing the music gives Motown an organic quality not found in the loop/sample approach of Nu-R&B such as Usher's or Ke$ha's music
As a matter of fact, Im not sure why its called Nu-R&B: it should be called just "R" because there isn't any "B" in it to be found anywhere
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