1960’s

Back in early 60’s, soul music emerged in the 1960s as a distinct style within R&B, characterized by its strong gospel influence, often with secular lyrical themes. By the 1960s, African-American music, rooted in the blues and r&b, grew more popular with a white audience and expanded into three different genres: Soul music “was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the ’60s. By the late 1960s, soul music began to diversify, with the emergence of funk and other subgenres. Soul music had a profound impact on popular music, influencing genres like rock, funk, and beyond. R&B and soul music evolved from blues, jazz, and gospel, with R&B initially emerging in the 1940s and 1950s, later evolving into soul in the 1960s, characterized by gospel-inspired vocals and socially conscious lyrics. 

This combination of music is my favorite music genre, it makes me feel relieved, these music genres are like a healing power for me, it makes me want to explore the roots of these music genres. Therefore, I am gonna share with you the pop musicians in the modern era that inspired me and brought me into the world of soul, R&B, and neo-soul music genres, regardless of Asian or Western countries. In this article, I am gonna feature each representative musicians from soul & R&B, and Neo-soul music genres in different eras with their iconic hit songs.

Let’s dive into it.

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Stevie Wonder

A pioneer and icon of soulful funky pop music

1960’s

1962 is the year of debut of Stevie Wonder, he is a pioneer and icon of soulful funky pop music. Stevie Wonder’s music is a blend of genres, primarily known for his soul, funk, and pop music, but also incorporating elements of R&B, jazz, and gospel. A pioneer and influence to musicians across genres such as rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, his use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer, known for his versatility and ability to blend different genres and styles. Stevie Wonder significantly influenced the neo-soul genre, with his soulful crooning and songwriting heavily inspiring artists like Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo, and Maxwell, considered pioneers of the movement. He is also the inspirer and idol of many pop artists nowadays in Asian countries, such as Wang Leehom 王力宏 and Khalil Fong 方大同.

Neo-soul’s Roots: Neo-soul emerged in the late 1990s as a subgenre of contemporary R&B, drawing heavily from the classic soul sounds of Stax and Motown Records, while also incorporating elements of hip-hop, rock, funk, and electronic music. 

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Khalil Fong 方大同

Soul, Funk, Jazz & R&B wizard.

2000’s

Stevie Wonder is the idol of Khalil Fong, Khalil Fong Tai Tung was a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and producer. Fong was notable for introducing a more sophisticated R&B and soul sound to the Chinese music market, drawing inspiration from artists like Stevie Wonder, Musiq Soulchild, and Earth, Wind & Fire.

His debut album “Soulboy” was released in November 2005, Soulboy is an album of R&B and soul combined with traditional Chinese music. This album dropped a bombshell (positive) in an entire Chinese market, his artwork’s surreal style makes artists and fans feel like they are entering a new world. It’s so cool and unique. There’s only one and only Khalil Fong. In my opinion, this song “Love Song” was the most viral song from the album and this was my favorite song from Khalil.

He is the inspiration of many Chinese musicians nowadays. Many musicians wanted to collaborate with Khalil. In 2016, he founded the independent label Fu Music 赋音乐, saying he wanted it to pay tribute to both Chinese and Western influences, and Diana Wang was his first signed artist.

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Diana Wang 王诗安

THE COMBINING CHINESE OPERA WITH R&B

2010’s

Diana Wang, a Taiwanese singer and actress, studied vocals at Berklee College of Music in Boston after training in classical piano and studying music and composition in the Netherlands. Diana Wang 「诗」album was released in 2018. This album was co-produced by Khalil Fong and under his independent label Fu Music 赋音乐. One of the songs on this album, “明天“, is one of my all-time favorites presented by the trio Khalil, Diana, and her mother, Wang Lei.

The LIVE Edition

left (Khalil Fong), center (Diana Wang), right (Wang Lei)

There is another must-share song from Diana X Khalil is Leica (徠卡味) 

Director: Khalil Fong 方大同 Editor/colorist: Diana Wang 王詩安

作曲Composed by: Diana Wang 王詩安, Derrick Sepnio, Fergus Chow, Khalil Fong 方大同 Lyrics by：C君

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Next, 9m88 aka. Joanna Baba

The Neo-soul’s rising star.

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2020’s

9m88 is an explorer and adventurer. Taiwanese Neo-Soul singer 9m88 aka. Baba is a Taiwan-raised, New York-based and currently Taiwan-based. She has launched a total of 3 music albums and a bunch of Singles and EPs up to the present. Although she was perceived as Jazz & Soul as her main music genres, but you are able to see the various of music genres from her recent music, she keep exploring different kind of music genres, and my most favorite song from 9m88 was “Tell Me” co-produced by Japanese Beatmaker DJ Mitsu The Beats. launched in 2022. Let’s enjoy this masterpiece of the soul music from the link down below.

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This song is a melancholic song that 9m88 felt bad for a young woman who committed suicide due to a cyberbully, she wants to pay a eulogy to the victim. This song defined and left a strong impression of soul music on me, thanks to Baba.

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平庸之上 Beyond Mediocrity from her EP《This Temporary Ensemble 暫時集合》in 2021 was another artwork that consolidated the status of 9m88 in the Jazz and Soul music industry.

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Soft Lipa 蛋堡 杜振熙

Smooth, jazzy hip-hop rapper,poet from Taiwan.

2010’s

He is one of the pioneers and inspirers of 9m88. One of the most famous rapper in Chinese market. His album 家常音乐 in 2020 won the 32nd Taiwan Golden Melody Award best album award.

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This YouTube show will let you step closer to 9m88 and Soft Lipa, throughout the show, you will know how Soft Lipa inspired 88 in her early music journey, and watch them in a very down-to-earth and natural style chill vibes hangout time with a bunch of hip-hop musician friends.

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Alicia Keys

Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress, known for her blend of R&B, soul, and jazz music in more than 2 decades.

2000’s

Alicia Keys is known for her blend of R&B, soul, neo-soul, and jazz, often incorporating elements of hip-hop and classical music. She debuted and active in the early 2000s, when Hip-hop and R&B became increasingly intertwined. Let’s get into one of her song in her early music career “If I ain’t got you”.

Keys said that the idea of the song was inspired by Aaliyah’s death: “The song idea came together right after Aaliyah passed away. It was such a sad time and no one wanted to believe it. It just made everything crystal clear to me—what matters, and what doesn’t.” “If I Ain’t Got You” is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the September 11 attacks, and other events in the world and in Keys’ life, the song is about “how material things don’t feed the soul”. It was released as the second single from The Diary of Alicia Keys on February 17, 2004, by J Records. 

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“Underdog” is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It was written by Keys, Johnny McDaid, Ed Sheeran, Amy Wadge, Jonny Coffer and Foy Vance, and produced by Keys and McDaid for her seventh studio album Alicia (2020). Released on January 9, 2020, as the album’s third single.