What is Neo Soul?

Neo Soul is merely a renaissance of the R&B movement. For those of you that are confused there is a reason - you're the reason that a renaissance was needed.

In the 80s and 90s record companies sought to dilute Black music to control the increase of white kids that were listening to it, rather than sticking to rock, pop etc. They first began to move R&B and Hip-Hop records to awkward places in the store. When that didn't work they put those records behind the counter, and required you to ask for them. When that didn't work, they took R&B records and charted them on Pop charts and then MOVED those records to the pop section. Artists seeing the trend, ammended their content accordingly so they too could get some of that "mainstream money" (read: white kids money). Along the way, white record executives encouraged artists (they don't really make art by the way) to focus on "sure fire topics" - and thus lyrical content and variety and creativity died quickly.

In the mid and late 90s artists convinced that lyrical integrity and musical skill were prerequisites to real music launched Neo Soul as a reply to the industry's desire to dilute R&B to meet the needs of white kids that wanted "a little soul, but not too much" (you see by now all the white kids were listening to it, but most were fronting because they didn't really like it in its full form).

Ironically enough the same "dilute it for the white kids" mentality threatens the Neo Soul movement as well, prompting some artists (who really make art) to say "yo b, don't call me neo soul - soul never left" - to avoid pressure to become ambiguously soulful or as we say around my way "chart topping garbage".

The same policy in politics applies in music - the vast masses have no idea what constitutes "good" and they can lead anywhere by anything that the Pied Piper puts in front of them. Which makes them occasionally reflect "hey does anyone know what this is?" - hence the question "what is Neo Soul?"

A question that a real lover of soul, someone raised on it, livin' it and breathin' would never ask. Because once you hear it - you know exactly what it is and isn't. Its traditional Black music with contemporary adjustments.