Preview

Neo Soul

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
398 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Neo Soul
Neo-Soul music isn’t just a genre, it’s a lifestyle, one that allows you to evolve and experience your own life in a different way. It takes the listener on a journey of detoxification and restoration.
Neo-Soul is a term captured by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990’s. The music has a very distinguished and less conventional sound then R&B. Its music is made up of soul, jazz, jazz fusion, funk, pop, r&b and quiet storm. Developed in the late 1980’s-90’s as a “Revival” movement neo- soul still today have the same mind provoking lyrics that tells a story or gives an opinion shared by many. No matter of your race, sex or religion when you listen to neo-soul it will give you an immediate understanding of what it is that artist is trying to convey to his audience. The neo-soul music is just as diverse as the people that listen to it. Its followers are made up of a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds and influences.
Now we all know that it just wouldn’t be the entertainment industry if there wasn’t any controversy and neo-soul do come with its share. There are some people that believe that labeling any style of music may imply or send a message that one genre of music is ending. This has been the main problem for neo-soul music, some artist as well as fans thinks that neo-soul has replaced or is trying to replace soul music and the two couldn’t be any more different. Once you know the artist then it will be easier for you to recognize the genre. When you think of soul music you imagine artist like Aretha Franklin, Patty Labelle and Barry White oppose to neo-soul artist such as Arykah Badu, Maxwell and Prince. Some people would never know that Prince is categorized as neo-soul. Soul music and R&B are very different but you could not have one without the other. People have pretty much accepted neo-soul and it is definitely here to stay.
All of the elements that I spoke of make up the Neo-Soul community which is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It was one of two pieces of land set aside by the Canadian government for the immigrant Mennonites coming from Russia…

    • 2027 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kenna was playing live and after the show was half way the people began to like it. It took them a while to get accustomed to it. Kenna’s music was not labeled as a specific genre which made it harder to identify as a specific type of music. At first no one liked the music because it was a new type of music. This is a good example of the systematic error with thin slicing because we judge something new to our experience as bad. Because of this error we have a hard time distinguishing new from bad. When it comes to judging something as being new to us, we immediately judge the new experience as bad. No matter what the situation is, people as society do this type of error often because we have a hard time trying new things. Whenever we need to make a good solid judgment we need to become familiar with the new thing and then we can decide whether it is good or…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Soul Food Summary

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages

    He tells the reader that soul food is the mix of the West African cultures of the slaves and the southern US food that they had access to while working as slaves. The slaves mixed what they had with what they knew to create a new food style unifying all slaves, and then black Americans in the present. This food style and the culture associated with it was passed down, learned, and shared over the years and has been deemed an important part of southern black society. Slave owners loved the soul food cooking of their slaves and insisted that their slaves cook for them in their kitchens. Slave owners tried to take the traditional soul food and take it as their own under the name southern cooking, separating blacks from soul food and attempting to disempower an already marginalized group. But through this marginalization and division comes unification of a group able to bond over food, even if that's the only thing they have in common. The video Soul Food Junkies also touches on the importance of soul food to the southern black community and how the food is key to their identity. The video discusses how the making of a soul food meal is a time for the family to join and work together to create a meal with historical and cultural…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Soul music, is music that was originated in black America gospel singing, is closely related to rhythm and blues, and is characterized by intensity of feeling and earthiness. Soul music is more of a calming type of music, it's has songs from regret and hate, to love and happiness. The song I've chose was "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge. This song is somewhat slow and also talks about love. And the instruments in this song just make it more enjoyable.…

    • 84 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Elements of the blues are rooted in African culture. The blues is one of the most influential styles of music, especially music of the early twentieth century. During its peak, the blues seemed to take on the role as the voice of the black population. Artist like Ma Rainey, Robert Johnson, and others alike were some of the great blues musicians. Although each artist sings about something different, they implant an emotion as well as spread the tribulations expressed in the song.…

    • 2671 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huck Finn Synthesis

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Like it or not “hip-hop music uses the same word” (Moore). It is a contemporary word that is used frequently in the music industry. There is a vast difference between…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Race and music have always been up for great debate. Actually, just music in general have always been up for debate. It does not have to be because of just the race, but because of what people infer from the lyrics. Two articles that I have read, definitely helped impact my opinion of what should be done with music and race.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rock N Roll Research Paper

    • 4868 Words
    • 20 Pages

    The premise of this work is that rock 'n' roll matters, and that it means what it says. It seems that rock 'n' roll music has seldom been given its due as an art form, that it is somehow relegated to a category of less "mature" or "serious" artistic pursuits by the media and the intellectual community. Some critics use the generic term "Pop" to refer to any popular music, including all contemporary rock musicians, as if the fact of rock 'n' roll's immense commercial success implies that it cannot really be taken seriously alongside, say, classical music, or even Jazz. Beyond artistic circles, rock 'n' roll is usually given even less credibility; the ideas and feelings and beliefs expressed and reflected in rock songs tend to be dismissed by…

    • 4868 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Music is used to help people of every ethnicity, religion, and lifestyle, cope with different struggles, times of enjoyment, and life itself. But, what is it about music that makes it so therapeutic? It’s the fact that no matter what the genre of music is, it’s what message that artist is putting out into the world. It’s the beat, the tone, and the emotion behind the lyrics is what makes listeners feel the way they do because it speaks on a specific aspect of life and what someone can be going through.…

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Let’s start with funk, with its distinctive characteristics rooted in West African musical traditions and influences from early expressions such as praise shouts, spirituals, and gospel and blues. Funk, some might say, was also a mixture of soul music, R & B, and soul jazz. However, there were distinct differences that separated funk from the music that had preceded and succeeded it. This was exemplified by the fact that this style completely abandoned chord changes, creating static and single chord vamps with little harmonic movement, but with a driving and complex rhythmic feel. The term funk, surprisingly, “comes from the Ki-Kongo word ‘lu-fuki,’ which means foul body odor. But insofar as this odor is produced from perspiration that is induced by vigorous exertion.” (Bolden 15) They used the word to praise other people’s music, acknowledging the time and effort each had put into such musical pieces.…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What is labeled Black Music today I think has very significant and important meaning to the African American culture because just like the article “Hell Yeah, There’s Still Slam-banging Black Music,” African Americans don’t even have a country to call their own. I think having something simply as a type of music the Black’s created to call their own I don’t think should be a big deal at all and should not be changed. The article also mentioned that everything Black’s did back then became a beauty, especially their music which I think would be easy for anyone to see just knowing the history of African Americans and what they had to do just to be where they are today, slave and discrimination free. There is also plenty of successful African Americans we know about living today and from back then that went through a lot just have some recognition for the African American culture. Some of these successful African Americans not only include Musicians, but also actress and or performers, novel writers, business owners, and today a African American President.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay About Rap Music

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    They use to label it as conscious rap.However that was tossed to the side while these homophobic and sexist lyrics were now put into place. It is what our kids hear and see on a daily basis. As a result along with, these new found gangster rappers. It has brought about a more violent lifestyle. They are now teaching about guns, sex, money, murder and a drug dealer’s life. Meanwhile, it is now introduced in today’s social and networking database. Yet, many people generally have a major dislike for rap due to the fact that its newfound ways are allowing a lot of individuals to choose a more or less horrendous way of living. Its homophobic and sexist ways are just some of many reasons why people therefore tend to forget about what rap was once based on or what it stands for in all aspects. In the old days, Rap meant unity and the fight against injustice. It was a way to educate the public. Two major rappers that come to mind are Slick Rick and Queen Latifah. They are great examples of the good old days. Where the was a voice that lured other to be compassionate, caring and loyal with a loving mind…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The selection of words used in hip hop had gain and lost many fans. According to the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, individuals are free to express themselves. When individuals are expressing words that are hurtful and potentially dangerous to use in communities censorship should be in effect. The statements that are made in hip hop promote drug dealing, gender abuse and killing to make a point. Individuals should not be able to say these things and be rewarded with revenue.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is Country Good Or Bad

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Everyone has their own opinion on “good” and “bad” music. But the fault lies within the decision on whether something is good or bad, because that is an opinion. Many artists have worked hard to evolve music into what it is today and all music deserves respect. One genre of music that has survived through the times and tribulations of our society is Country. It has shifted gears many times in history but has always kept a large following and catered to people who feed on reality. Country is said to be a dead genre, full of fake rhinestone cowboys that would not know the difference between a Chevy and a Ford, a Justin or a Laredo, or Budweiser and Natural Light. But today’s…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I was blessed with a parent who gave me the freedom of listening to any kind of music I liked. The genre of music I listened to the most was rock music. There was always a diverse sound to the music. When I reached my teen years, I found a music that had a strong sound to it; I connected with it. That sound came from heavy metal music. Heavy metal has changed and opened up many new styles or sub-genres since it came out in the late 60’s and into the 70’s. It started out in the 80’s with glam or thrash metal, then into the 90’s with alternative or nu metal, and now in the 2000’s, death or black metal was brought in.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays