Hip hop soul

Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B. The term generally describes a style of music that blends soulful R&B singing and raw hip hop production

Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B. The term generally describes a style of music that blends soulful R&B singing and raw hip hop production. The genre served as the middle point between two other hip hop/R&B blends, new jack swing and neo soul, and while it was most popular during the mid-1990s, it somewhat finds its popularity grew with the emergence of airy, pop R&B singers like [[Bobby Brown and Al B. Sure.

Many of the artists who released hip hop soul records had previously released new jack swing (or, for the female performers, new jill swing) recordings, including Jodeci, SWV, and TLC. The main difference between the two was that hip hop soul was rougher, and contained less of an R&B feel than new jack swing. For example, Hip hop soul used samples instead of synthesizer lines, and featured strong elements of 1990s East Coast hip hop and gangsta rap. While new jack swing stayed closer to the R&B side of the blend, hip hop soul embraced its rap music influences, and its primary figures, including Montell Jordan (the first R&B artist to sign with hip hop label Def Jam Records), Blackstreet (led by Teddy Riley, the inventor of new jack swing), Groove Theory, Mariah Carey , and the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" Mary J. Blige, adapted the nervy swagger of the rapping counterparts.