The Top 10 90s Soul Music Artists

Looking for some 90s soul music inspiration? Check out our list of the top 10 90s soul music artists!

Introduction

The term “soul” music was coined in the late 1950s to describe African American popular music that combined elements of gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular in the 1960s with artists such as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and James Brown. This type of music continued to be popular in the 1970s with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin. The 1980s saw the rise of “quiet storm” soul music with artists such as Lionel Richie and Whitney Houston. In the 1990s, soul music experienced a resurgence with the advent of “neo-soul” artists such as D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill. Here are the top 10 90s soul music artists.

Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. She is best known for being a member of the hip hop group Fugees and for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which won five Grammy Awards. Hill has sold over 60 million records worldwide.

Maxwell

Maxwell is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His debut album, Urban Hang Suite, was released on April 28, 1996, by Columbia Records. The album’s commercial and critical success led to him being hailed as the “Prince of Neo Soul”. He went on to release a number of critically and commercially successful albums, including Embrya (1998) and BLACKsummers’night (2009).

Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu is a soul music artist who rose to prominence in the 1990s. She is known for her unique voice and style, and for her fusion of R&B, jazz, and hip-hop. Her debut album, “Baduizm,” was released in 1997 and was a critical and commercial success. She has released four more albums since then, all of which have been well-received by fans and critics alike. Erykah Badu is considered one of the most influential soul music artists of her generation, and her impact on the genre is still felt today.

D’Angelo

D’Angelo, born Michael Eugene Archer, is an R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his debut album Brown Sugar (1995), as well as for the hit singles “Lady” and “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”.

D’Angelo’s musical career began in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia at the Old Dominion University’s General Studies program. He joined a local band called The Soul QUAestionS which toured up and down the east coast. After the group disbanded, D’Angelo and friend/guitarist Doc Strange started the R&B group Murder Incorporated. The duo were signed to EMI records and released their only album Revelations in 1996.

In 2000, D’Angelo released his second album Voodoo which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was critically acclaimed for its fusion of R&B, soul, funk, hip hop and rock music. It features the singles “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and “Send It On”.

D’Angelo has won four Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”. He has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards in total. In 2012, he was ranked number 40 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”.

Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys rose to fame in the early 2000s with her debut album, Songs in A Minor. The album was a massive success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide and earning Keys five Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “Fallin.” Since then, Keys has released five more studio albums and has won numerous other awards, cementing her place as one of the most successful soul artists of all time.

India.Arie

India.Arie is an American singer and songwriter who has sold over 10 million records worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album for her 2001 debut album Acoustic Soul. Arie’s music is a blend of R&B, soul, hip-hop, reggae, alternative rock, pop, folk, and jazz. Her lyrics are often inspired by her personal life experiences.

Arie was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Joyce and Ralph Simpson. She is of African-American and Native American descent. She has a younger brother named J’on. Arie’s mother was a former singer in the 1960s with the band Earth, Wind & Fire; her father played bass guitar in Miles Davis’ band in the 1970s. When Arie was 13 years old, she began attending Denver School of the Arts (DSA), where she majored in singing and songwriting. After graduating from DSA in 1999, she studied yoga and meditation at an ashram in Atlanta, Georgia for three years.

Arie returned to the United States in 2002 and released her debut album Acoustic Soul that same year. The album was nominated for seven Grammy Awards and won four, including Best R&B Album. It debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually went platinum. The lead single “Video” became Arie’s first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it peaked at number twenty-seven. “Video” was followed by two more top 40 singles: “Brown Skin” and “Ready for Love”. Arie performed a duet with Stevie Wonder on “A Place in This World”, which peaked at number sixty-one on the Hot 100 chart.

In 2004, Arie released her second album Voyage to India. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over two million copies worldwide. It produced three singles: “The Truth”, “Slow Down” (featuring Musiq Soulchild), and “I Am Not My Hair” (featuring Akon). “I Am Not My Hair” peaked at number eighty-two on the Hot 100 chart and number nineteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; it also topped the Dance Club Songs chart.

In 2007, Arie released Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold over one million copies worldwide. It produced three singles: “Sanctuary”, “I See God in You”, which peaked at number eighty-six on the Hot 100 chart,”and Heavenly Place”. In 2009, Arie collaborated with rock band Beastie Boys on their eighth studio album HOT Sauce Committee Part Two; she is featured on the track “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”. In 2010, Arie released her fourth studio album Audioslave; it marked her return to R&B after Experimentation with other genres of music such as pop and rock . The lead single from Audioslave is entitled “Cocoa Butter”; it peaked at number seventy five on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart . As of August 2016 update , India has sold over 10 million records worldwide

Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild, born Taalib Johnson, is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends contemporary R&B and classic soul. His debut album, Aijuswanaseing (2000), was certified platinum by the RIAA and produced the Top 10 hit “Love.” His follow-up album, Juslisen (2002), was also certified platinum and yielded the hit single “Halfcrazy.” Musiq’s subsequent albums have all been well-received by fans and critics alike, solidifying his place as one of the top soul music artists of the 2000s.

Jill Scott

Jill Scott is an English soul singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s. Her 2000 debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1, went platinum and launched a successful career that has so far produced three more studio albums, a live album, and numerous singles and collaborations. She has won multiple Grammy Awards and has been nominated for several more. Jill Scott is widely regarded as one of the best soul singers of her generation.

John Legend

John Roger Stephens, better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He has won ten Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and one Academy Award. In 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Born in Springfield, Ohio, Legend began his musical career while a student at the University of Pennsylvania. He was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a mutual friend and later collaborated with her on “Everything Is Everything”, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). His work with Hill led him to collaborate with other artists including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and rapper Busta Rhymes.

In 2002, Legend’s debut album Get Lifted was released to critical acclaim. The album’s lead single “Ordinary People” earned Legend the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Following the success of Get Lifted, Legend released his second album Once Again in 2006. His single “Heaven” helped earn him a spot on VH1’s Soul Tour in 2007.

legend has been described as one of the most influential and innovative artists of our time. With hits like “All of Me” and “Green Light”, he has solidified himself as a soul legend for this generation.