Neo-Soul

It's the sweet and sultry flavor of D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar," the way the song sounds fresh and familiar, newly minted and steeped in tradition, that makes the 1995 breakout a Neo-Soul Basic. It's the way that neo-soul stars keep the past in their hearts while they push the boundaries of the present — stars like Lauryn Hill with her new-direction hip-hopper "Doo Wop (That Thing)," and Alicia Keys with her heartbeat crossover conquest "No One." From the Motown flow of Raphael Saadiq's "Love That Girl" to the two-for-one funk of Angie Stone's "Baby" with Betty Wright, this is neo-soul for the here and now.

Search more neo-soul in Next Steps.

Back when Terence Trent D'Arby was crafting new-school stunners like "Sign Your Name," the term "neo-soul" wasn't even a glimmer in the music industry's eye. Today, it applies to a loose group of R&B renegades, describing the pop-soul stroll of Macy Gray's "I Try" as much as it does the Wonder of a '70s-style pleader that is Anthony Hamilton's "Can't Let Go." When India.Arie sings that she's "not your average girl" on her smooth-talking "Video," she's matching message to music, and when Brit sensation Amy Winehouse warbles "You Know I'm No Good," she gives a whole new twist to the very idea of what neo-soul can be.

Wade deep into neo-soul in Deep Cuts.

Where else but Deep Cuts are you gonna find the laid-back groove of Rahsaan Patterson's "Sure Boy" alongside the mind-expanding funk explorations of "Brother Sister" by acid-jazz pioneers the Brand New Heavies? These are the far reaches of the neo-soul phenomenon, the place where you can immerse yourself in the tripped-out R&B soundscape of "Stoned, Pt. 1" from low-profile prodigy Lewis Taylor, and the retro-urban vibe of "Call Me" from Southern hummingbird Tweet, just by pressing play.

When you think neo-soul, what comes to mind? Is it the polished urban pulse of Maxwell and "Sumthin' Sumthin'" or the slow-jam poetic license of Floetry and their "Say Yes" plea? Is it the funk-flavored Baduizms of "Honey" from soul priestess Erykah Badu, or the piano-driven pop hook of "Fallin'" from crossover superstar Alicia Keys? If these songs don't all sound the same, they do share one thing in common, and that's a reverence for the R&B that came before, mixed with a healthy sense of artistic originality. So while a sweet-talking John Legend is on the lookout for a gettin'-down "Green Light (feat. André 3000)," a righteous Jill Scott is laying it on the line for "Hate On Me," and all of our Neo-Soul Essentials are keeping the flame in their own special way.