Could Neo-Soul make a comeback?

[dora_da_destroyer]

if you mean become as popular as the wave of artists defined by that term in the late 90's and early 00's (erykah badu, musiq, india arie, dangelo, maxwell, jill scott, etc.) nah... that said, there are plenty of young artists making "alt soul" or what would still be considered "neo soul" (quite a few white ones as well - jmsn, jordan raiki, moonchild, etc), it's just not all over the radio - xavier omar, sango, bj the chicago kid, sir, lion babe, ari lennox, etc

 

[ShaDynasty]

No. White people control the media and what is “hot”. bytches listen to what’s popular and dudes follow what the bytches like. There is no such thing as s music industry anymore. They are using music to sell artists now. It ain’t about a hot album anymore. It’s about a catchy single, instagram followers, nba all star weekend and twitter beef.

If soul music comes back to the mainstream, they’ll use a white artist to bring it back. It’s still popping on the low. I can name no less than 20 artists that most of you ya e never heard of still doing real soul music

Surely if white people controlled what was hot, then a lot more white music would be hot? The music charts are disproportionately black relative to the demographics of America, UK etc. I think the days of white being a selling point over black to the general population are long gone. Amy Winehouse was huge but she didn't cause a soul revival after her records dropped, she was looked at as a one off.

I think the internet, streaming, digital music technology have changed how a lot of popular music is made and sold. Back in the day A&Rs would gamble on some unproven bands and singers. You don't even need an A&R these days, just analyze the data and pick your best bets off of soundcloud. Maybe I'm wrong but I can't see Rock or Soul making a comeback, I think Trap is just going to evolve into something else and electronic based rap-like music will stay popular.

 

[TinFoilSnapBack]

It is here and thriving. What is now called "Alternative R&B" is the baby of what we called "Neo-Soul". People just aren't paying attention to the GOAT music that this genre has been producing this decade.

The Foreign Exchange
The Internet
KING
Solange
Moonchild
Phony Ppl
Jesse Boykins III
Gwen Bunn
Alex Isley

...and so many many more

 

[I love Latina women]

It is here and thriving. What is now called "Alternative R&B" is the baby of what we called "Neo-Soul". People just aren't paying attention to the GOAT music that this genre has been producing this decade.

The Foreign Exchange
The Internet
KING
Solange
Moonchild
Phony Ppl
Jesse Boykins III
Gwen Bunn
Alex Isley

...and so many many more

Solange's music definitely has somewhat of a Neo-Soul feel to it.

 

[010101]

if a new.soul artist comes along & they ain't on that dusty musty faux neo.hippie bs then cool

it's not really the music or the genre that can't pop it's finding an artist who isn't a cornball to be the ambassador

*

 

[jerzboy]

no. dilla is dead.

Who’s the next Dilla!!! Was just thinking about this

 

[Trot LaRoc]

Like others have said....neo soul is just called alternative r&b now

There's a lot of ppl doing it pretty well...they just not mainstream

Nx Worries
H.E.R
Ari Lennox
Brent Faiyaz
Internet
Phony Ppl
Jmsn
Dvsn
Michael kiwaunuka
Daniel Ceasar
Kelela
Jorja Smith
SiR
Masego
Zacari
Fka twigs

 

[Renegade47]

Who’s the next Dilla!!! Was just thinking about this

we wont see another dilla for a while. flylo is close but he’s something different and more abstract.

we do need some to come through and crush shyt badly tho

 

[JustCKing]

It never really left. Neo Soul wasn't exactly huge in the mainstream when R&B was selling like crazy. It was seen as an alternative to what the more commercial artists were doing. I mean, peak D'angelo wasn't exactly doing Usher numbers. Erykah Badu wasn't exactly doing Brandy numbers. Mary J Blige went for a more Neo Soul sound, and her Mary album wasn't as successful as her previous ones.

Commercially, Neo Soul peaked from 1998-2002. I don't think Dilla's death factors much into the decline in its viability or visibility. It became what it was before Dilla was like a go to for that particular sound and some of the bigger Neo Soul albums featured no Dilla at all.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Who’s the next Dilla!!! Was just thinking about this

sango and kaytranda are close, well for r&b, they both produce continuous r&b heat. but there doesn't seem to be a real star producer who seamlessly goes back and forth across r&b and hip hop. a lot of r&b acts today also produce (or at least write) while most of the super producers are all making trap beats