Welcome to Blerd Radio’s first podcast of 2015. In our new year debut (never mind it being mid-February) the team of Big Money, The Packet Man, Dr. Z and Michael Parr discuss the music and influence of what is commonly known as the “neo-soul” era.
Particularly in light of D’Angelo’s Black Messiah album’s suprise release and rapturous reception, we though it would be a good idea to talk about the era he birthed, in a way. Here are some related topics we felt it necessary to discuss over the course of an hour (and some change).
-The birth of “neo-soul”
A marketing concept developed as a reaction to the twin powers of “quiet storm” (Luther Vandross, Anita Baker) and “new jack swing” (Bell Biv DeVoe, Bobby Brown) designed to create music of a more organic nature than those two sub-genres were known for.
First artists that could fall under the neo-soul umbrella; the British acid-jazz movement (Brand New Heavies, Soul II Soul, Jamiroquai), Me’shell Ndegeocello, Tony Toni Tone.
-The King & Queen of “neo-soul”; D’Angelo & Erykah Badu and the impact that they made on the scene.
-Often compared but wildly different in actuality; D’Angelo & Maxwell
-Other artists that fall under that umbrella; Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Musiq (Soulchild), Alicia Keys? (side convo: when did Alicia Keys start screaming so god damn much?)
Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill: neo-soul? hip-hop? or just “Lauryn Hill Music”?
Has the music made during this era held up well over the years?
-Neo soul influences; Prince & Chaka Khan (side convo: Chaka’s chocolate line; creatively entitled Chakalates).
-What’s up with the lengthy delays between releases for many of these artists?
D’Angelo: nearly 15 years between Voodoo & Black Messiah
Maxwell: 8 years between Now & BLACKsummersnight. 6 years since BLACKsummersnight with no follow-up in sight.
Lauryn Hill: Miseducation is 17 years old. No proper follow-up in sight.
-Neo-soul newbies; including Jesse Boykins III & Taylor McFerrin, to name a few.
-Going independent; only a few artists from the era still have major-label contracts (which they don’t need to further their brand). The Roots recently announced that they are free agents.
-The wonder of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
-Props to Rachid and Remy Shand, two artists that dropped interesting debuts but never followed them up.
Listen to the podcast in the player below, or download it here, or check us out on iTunes!
1 comment
John says:
Feb 23, 2015
The whole Neo Soul movement is interesting in the way it still lingers, even if its torchbearers have decided less is more. From the sound of it, we may see new Jill and Maxwell this year, but I don’t have the money to throw away betting on that.