Neo Soul — All Formats  

Rhonda Thomas sounds better than ever – soaring out in that wonderful mix of jazz and soul that's always made her music so great! We've been following Rhonda for years, and the journey's been a delight at every step – but this time around, the rewards are even greater – as Thomas steps off with a deeply soulful quality that almost reminds us of Maysa at her best, but delivered with some of the leaner flair of the Atlanta scene, of which Rhonda is a very big part! Instrumentation is warm, but never mellow – and there's a nice crisp edge to the rhythms, yet all without resorting to any broken beat styles, or overdone cosmic modes. The album's filled with Thomas' personality and sense of goodwill – overflowing with positive energy from the very first note! Titles include "Listen", "Just Us", "When Music Was Good", "Do Your Thing", "Darfur Woman", "Peppermint Leaves", "Something For You", and "Unmerited Favor". This version includes 3 bonus tracks "The Light (Al Ross rmx)", "Best Intentions (DJ Kemit & Alex Lattimore rmx)", and "Darfur Woman (inst)".

Damn great work from Raheem DeVaughn – the full promise of his soulful sojourn in the underground mixtape scene! Raheem first got his start laying down vocals over beats and other folks' tracks on self-crafted CDs that changed hands covertly in the east coast scene – and that experience gave him plenty of time to grow and mature, quietly developing his sound to a point where he can really burst forth with power on a record like this! There's still a bit of the old mixtape feel going on here – a range of older musical influences that inform Raheem's tunes – and a personal, almost casual approach that has DeVaughn speaking intros to some tracks, almost as if he's spinning them out with a personal, conversational style. Yet the production is also much better than before too – quite warm, with some great beats and keys in the mix – proof that stepping out of the underground can often be a good thing for a soul artist. Titles include "Customer", "Hello Love", "Woman", "Love Drug", "Friday", "Can We Try Again", "Empty", "Four Letter Word", and "Woman I Desire". Includes guest appearances from Floetry, Big Boi, and Malik Yusef.

There's been a big break since Meshell Ndegeocello's last album – but from the sound of the album, it's been worth it! One of the baddest soul singers of the past decade is back in business, and sounding better than ever – serving up a fierce blend of beats and vocals, done in a more laidback format than her previous albums, one that makes for an album that's even more compelling and personal. Titles include "Earth", "Criterion", "Barry Farms", "Legged Griot Trio", "God, Fear, Money", "Hot Night", "Priorities", "Trust", and "Akel Dama".

A nice one from Badu – one with a depth of feeling and genuine soulful vibes that live up to its title, despite the fact that she records for one of the world's biggest media conglomerates! It's all about the vibe here. Erykah rolls her syllables, scats and emotes feelings more than an actual narrative in the strongest of these cuts. It's not that she's forgone lyrics; but it's all about the ambience, not radio sing-a-longs. She also dives head first into her organic soul and hip hop hybrid sound a little more sparingly, but still better than any of the ladies that followed her lead after Baduizm. She channels Donald Byrd on the great "Think Twice", which is pretty indicative of the vibe as a whole. The groove is sorta mellow, but in a very tripped-out way, with deep organ washes and synth tones, scratchy soul guitar, and crisp organic beats. There's an appearance by Dead Prez on "Steady On The Grind", and a really sweet old school flavored remake of the great "Love Of My Life" track from the Brown Sugar soundtrack with Queen Latifah and Bahamadia, but for the most part Erykah is sweating soul on her own spiritual plane here. It's gonna take a little while to sink in, but this may be her best album (despite whatever naysaying BS you may read in mainstream reviews.) Tracks include "Bump It", the great single "Danger", "Woo", "Back In The Day" and "I Want You".

The most deeply soulful set so far from Ivana Santilli! The beats and bottom of the record are a lot heavier than before – and set perfectly to Ivana's well-voiced lyrics, which go far beyond simple soul cliches, and really show a nice push forward in her songwriting abilities over the years. It's hard to believe it's nearly a decade since Santilli's first record – but hearing the mature, focused sound of this set, that passage of time is no surprise! This could well be the record that breaks Santilli biggest with American listeners, and titles include "Been Thru This", "Leave It Alone", "Still Anymore", "All Afternoon", "Always Better", "Hollywood", "Keep It 2 Yourself", and "Depend On U".

Yep, her milkshake really is better than yours! Hip hop future funk chanteuse Kelis Rogers takes a big step out on her own for her first full length effort for Star Trak – and the result is one damn fine, wholly unpretentious funky party album, a tasty and unique confection! The production by longtime collaborators/mentors the Neptunes is all about swirling, chest shaking synths and treble-heavy clapping beats – and Kelis spreads her wings this time with additional booth work by Dallas Austin, Andre 3000, Rockwilder, and Raphael Saadiq. If you only caught up with Kelis with the aggressively catchy, pounding "Milkshake" single, you'll dig the rest of the album, too – even the more earnest, Raphael Saadiq-produced soul tunes are designed to get you’re a** moving a little. Tracks include "Milkshake", "Trick Me", "Keep It Down", "Protect My Heart", "In Public" with Nas, "Millionaire" featuring vocals and production by A3K (this one would sound perfectly in place on The Love Below), "Glow" and "Attention" with Raphael Saadiq, "Marathon", "Rolling Through The Hood" and more.