Ckc4's Blog

Neo-Soul…Mainstream R&B’s underappreciated older brother | April 22, 2010

Have you ever walked into a coffee shop, like a starbucks, and heard the music playing?  Usually, it’s some kind of a cross between jazz, R&B and poetry.  Blend those three elements together and what comes out? Neo Soul.  Neo Soul is a sub-genre of R&B/Soul music and probably the most underrated and underappreciated.  Bboy Crazy Legs, a legendary pioneer of hip-hop and break dancing, once spoke of the elements of hip-hop.  He said “B-boying is the bastard child of hip hop, Graffiti is the black sheep, DJing is the obedient child that always does what it’s told, and rap is the spoiled brat that is actually the youngest of the four.”  In the exact same way, Neo-Soul is the oldest and the most underappreciated child of Soul Music.  The mainstream R&B is, in essence, the younger spoiled brat.  The music of Neo-Soul is deeply intellectual, political and just plain soothing…it’s real art.  Just listen to the message on a track from Jill Scott or Erykah Badu and you’ll understand.  If you have a chance, check out the artists of Neo-Soul.  On my next post, I will list 5 of my all-time favorite Neo-Soul artists.  In the mean-time, here is one song that is exemplary of Neo-Soul: