Neo soul

Neo soul (also known as nu soul) is a musical genre that fuses contemporary R&B, 1970s style soul, and hip hop. It is the third major sub-genre of contemporary R&B, after the new jack swing of the late 1980s/ early 1990s and the hip-hop soul of the early to mid 1990s. The "neo soul" term, originated by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late-1990s, is sometimes looked upon with disdain as nothing more than a marketing specialization of contemporary R&B instead of an honest revival of soul music, because most of the people who record in the genre and listeners tend to be anti-mainstream favoring to retain soul underground credibility and soulfulness over mainstream popularity.

Popularization of neo-soul

After Hill's phenominal success, a number of other neo-soul artists began scoring R&B hits, most notably Macy Gray, Musiq Soulchild, and India.Arie. Alicia Keys' 2001 LP Songs in A Minor was another Miseducation-like smash, winning several Grammies and selling six-million copies and further popularizing the sound, to some critical disdain. Other major neo soul artists have included Angie Stone, Lucy Pearl, Floetry, Glenn Lewis, Res, Truth Hurts, and Bilal, all of whom became staples of R&B radio. Perhaps less widely played, but still well-selling and highly critically acclaimed, is Maxwell. The latest major neo-soul artist to emerge is John Legend, who style bears strong similarities to that of Stevie Wonder.

Related Topics:
Macy Gray - Musiq Soulchild - India.Arie - Alicia Keys - 2001 - Angie Stone - Lucy Pearl - Floetry - Glenn Lewis - Res - Truth Hurts - Bilal - Maxwell - John Legend

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