Neo-Soul

Neo-soul (also known as nu soul) is a marketing term for a subgenre of contemporary R&B. The music is usually a hybrid of 1970s-influenced soul music with influences from jazz, funk, Latin, African, hip-hop and house music. The term “neo soul” was originated by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s.

Neo-soul's audience tends to be underground, preferring that the music favour underground credibility and soulfulness over mainstream popularity. Some musicians who create what is described as neo-soul prefer to disassociate themselves from the tag, due to the term's buzzword-like usage. Some of these artists simply refer to themselves as soul artists.

The genre is strongly considered to have originated with the work of Raphael Saadiq's band Tony! Toni! Toné! in the early 1990s, but the term began to surface after the release of singer Joi's debut album “Pendulum Vibe”, which contained elements of early 1970s style arrangements along with rock style elements.

This description is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses materials from the Wikipedia article "Neo soul".