Neo-Soul

Neo-soul emerged in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid to late 1990s as a fusion of Soul and modern styles such as Contemporary R&B, the rhythmic percussion and groove indebted to Hip Hop, as well with occasional incorporation of Jazz and Funk instrumentation. British soul and Acid Jazz artists like The Young Disciples, Soul II Soul, Sade and Omar are cited to be influences on neo-soul with their progressive lyrics and eclectic instrumentation. However, the genre is believed to have emerged with Meshell Ndegeocello fusing the slick and commercial production of contemporary R&B with hip hop and acid jazz. UK Street Soul is also said to pave the way for modern mainstream neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott with its minimalist nature, mid-tempo grooves and breakbeat rhythms. Other artists like D'Angelo, Raphael Saadiq of Tony Toni Toné and Maxwell were also key in bringing neo-soul into the mainstream during the late 1990s. What separated all of these artists from their peers and predecessors was their focus on songwriting and use of live instrumentation, which can also be attributed to a soul revival. However, neo-soul as a term was frowned upon in the community as merely a marketing tactic, and most simply described their music as 'soul' or 'R&B'. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, neo-soul gained a close connection with hip hop, with releases such as Voodoo, Like Water for Chocolate, Things Fall Apart & Black on Both Sides all being produced by notable collective The Soulquarians. Later in the 2010s, neo-soul had a new resurgence with artists like Anderson .Paak, Frank Ocean, SZA, Solange and Hiatus Kaiyote incorporating a recently developed Alternative R&B sound into their music. AKA: Nu Soul