{{Dablink|This article is about the astrological sign. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. For other uses, see Aquarius.}}
The
Soulquarians is a
neo soulNeo soul is a sub-genre of contemporary R&B. The main difference between neo soul and the more popular sub-genres of R&B is that it is the most ethnocentric type of R&B. Neo soul artists tend to be very well-informed on world culture and politics, as well as spiritual discussions...
and
hip hopHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
-informed
musical collectiveMusical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared. Such entities have transitioned from the traditional hierarchical configuration that features either a frontman , or a plurality of band members in tension for...
with members from
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
,
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Brooklyn, Chicago,
DallasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
, and
OaklandOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
. The collective formed roughly around the late 1990s, continuing into the early 2000s, and produced a number of critically acclaimed albums. Previously during the 1990s, Soulquarians
CommonLonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
,
Talib KweliTalib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the most critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in Hip hop music. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker"; his middle name in Swahili means "true"...
,
Mos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the album...
and
Q-TipKamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.-Personal life:...
were members of
Native Tongues PosseThe Native Tongues is a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and later jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members are the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe...
. Producer and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of hip hop band
The RootsThe Roots is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals. Their debut album was released in 1993 and they have collaborated with a wide range of artists from...
acted as the "musical powerhouse" behind several of the collective's projects during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including The Roots'
Things Fall ApartThings Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released February 23, 1999 on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady Studios during 1997 to 1999, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective,...
(1999),
D'AngeloMichael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer....
's
Voodoo (2000),
Erykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner, African-American soul singer and songwriter, whose work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral...
's
Mama's GunMama's Gun is the second studio album by R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, released November 21, 2000 on Motown Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1999 to 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City...
(2000), and Common's
Like Water for ChocolateLike Water for Chocolate is the fourth studio album by American hip hop rapper Common, released March 28, 2000 on MCA Records. It was a considerable critical and commercial breakthrough for Common, receiving generally favorable reviews from major magazine publications and selling 70,000 copies in...
(2000). In an interview for
SpinSpin is a music magazine. Founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr., it competes with industry stalwart Rolling Stone. Madonna was the artist on the cover of the first issue.-History:...
magazine, Common discussed the production of those albums, stating "It was one of those time period that you don't even realize when you're going through it that it's powerful".
Background
{{quote|Many of these artists have performed on one another's records, creating a community of likeminded musicians forging a style that doesn't have a name yet. Organic
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, natural
R&BContemporary R&B is a music genre of western popular music. Although the acronym “R&B” originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s...
, boho-
rapRapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment...
--it's music that owes a debt to the old-school sounds of
Marvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist with a three-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960...
,
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
,
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
and
George ClintonGeorge Clinton is an American singer, songwriter and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and began his work as a solo artist in 1981. He has been called one of the most prominent...
without expressly mimicking any of them. It refreshes these traditions with cinematic production techniques gleaned from
hip-hopHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
and with attitude that is street- smart but above all highly individual, celebrating quirks instead of sanding them down for mass consumption. Instead of crooning about booty and blunts (sex, drugs, etc.), the subject matter on these albums is idiosyncratic and personal, ranging from the spiritual crises of
[Lauryn] HillLauryn Noel Hill is an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation in the hip-hop world as the lone female member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically...
,
D'AngeloMichael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer....
and
MaxwellMaxwell is an American R&B artist. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul..-Biography:...
to the socio-political concerns of
the RootsThe Roots is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals. Their debut album was released in 1993 and they have collaborated with a wide range of artists from...
and
Mos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the album...
.|
Greg KotGreg Kot has been the rock critic of the Chicago Tribune since 1990. His biography of Wilco and the state of the music industry, Wilco: Learning How to Die, was published in 2004 by Doubleday/Broadway Books. He is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone and other national periodicals, and is the...
}}
The name of the collective is derived from an astrology sign — most members of the collective share sign of
Aquarius{{Dablink|This article is about the astrological sign. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. For other uses, see Aquarius.}}{{Dablink|This article is about the astrological sign. For the song, see Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In...
. Founding members Ahmir Thompson a.k.a. Questlove from The Roots, D'Angelo,
James PoyserJames Poyser is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop, gospel and pop productions...
, and
J DillaJames Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
came together after discovering they had a common interest for the unconventional — offbeat
rhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
s, irregular
chordIn music and music theory a chord is a set of three or more different notes from a specific key that sound simultaneously. Chords constructed of three notes are described as triads and consist of two intervals. The technical name for triad chords is tertian sonorities and is understood to be chords...
s, and other traits often exhibited by the
undergroundIn sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong...
urban musicMainstream urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an urban contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...
scene. Also around this time, a connection was established between D'Angelo and Welsh bassist
Pino PalladinoPino Palladino, is a Welsh bass guitarist of Italian ancestry. Palladino rose to public notice playing primarily rock, blues rock, and R&B music, becoming one of the most sought-after session players on the bass in the music industry, playing on a large number of recordings by some of the world's...
over their mutual love of Motown and other classic soul music, and Palladino became active in the project (although Palladino was never an official member of the
Soulquarians, he plays on the majority of their discography and was also a member of
the SoultronicsThe Soultronics was an American R&B and neo soul supergroup that served as the backing band for musician D'Angelo in 2000 during The Voodoo Tour, the supporting tour for his second studio album Voodoo...
touring band that supported D'Angelo's
Voodoo tour).
Being a collective, they included a rotating list of members, including
CommonLonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
, Mos Def,
Talib KweliTalib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the most critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in Hip hop music. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker"; his middle name in Swahili means "true"...
,
Q-TipKamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.-Personal life:...
,
Erykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner, African-American soul singer and songwriter, whose work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral...
, Bilal, and
Raphael SaadiqRaphael Saadiq , is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
. In a 2003
interview, Questlove unequivocally stated that there were no plans for a Soulquarians album release for the foreseeable future. This was interpreted as a silent breakup of the outfit. However, according to an
interview with Common (circa 2005), the collective continues to exist.
Members
- Questlove (Philadelphia)
- Bilal
Bilal Sayeed Oliver , also known by the stage name of just Bilal, is an American "neo soul" and jazz singer, who is also a member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians.- Biography :...
(Philadelphia)
- Common
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
(ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
)
- D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer....
(RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
)
- Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner, African-American soul singer and songwriter, whose work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral...
(Dallas)
- J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
(DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
)(deceased)
- James Poyser
James Poyser is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop, gospel and pop productions...
(Philadelphia)
- Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the album...
(New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
)
- Q-Tip
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.-Personal life:...
(New York City)
- Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the most critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in Hip hop music. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker"; his middle name in Swahili means "true"...
(New York City)
- Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino, is a Welsh bass guitarist of Italian ancestry. Palladino rose to public notice playing primarily rock, blues rock, and R&B music, becoming one of the most sought-after session players on the bass in the music industry, playing on a large number of recordings by some of the world's...
(CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
)
Discography
Albums produced wholly or partly by the Soulquarians:
| Year |
Artist |
Album |
RIAA Certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
|
| 1999 |
The RootsThe Roots is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals. Their debut album was released in 1993 and they have collaborated with a wide range of artists from...
|
Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released February 23, 1999 on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady Studios during 1997 to 1999, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective,...
|
Platinum |
| 2000 |
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer....
|
Voodoo |
Platinum |
| 2000 |
CommonLonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
|
Like Water for Chocolate Like Water for Chocolate is the fourth studio album by American hip hop rapper Common, released March 28, 2000 on MCA Records. It was a considerable critical and commercial breakthrough for Common, receiving generally favorable reviews from major magazine publications and selling 70,000 copies in...
|
Gold |
| 2000 |
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner, African-American soul singer and songwriter, whose work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral...
|
Mama's Gun Mama's Gun is the second studio album by R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, released November 21, 2000 on Motown Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1999 to 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City...
|
Platinum |
| 2001 |
Bilal Bilal Sayeed Oliver , also known by the stage name of just Bilal, is an American "neo soul" and jazz singer, who is also a member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians.- Biography :...
|
1st Born Second 1st Born Second is the debut album of American R&B and neo soul musician Bilal, released July 17, 2001 on Interscope Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by Bilal and Aaron Comess. Bilal's mononymous stage name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and...
|
Gold |
| 2002 |
The Roots |
Phrenology Phrenology is the fifth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released November 26, 2002 on Geffen Records. Following the breakthrough success of Things Fall Apart, its release was highly anticipated and highly delayed, as recording took two years...
|
Platinum |
| 2002 |
Common |
Electric Circus Electric Circus is the fifth studio album by rapper Common, released December 10, 2002 on the now-defunct MCA Records. The album was highly anticipated and praised by many critics for its ambitious vision. However, it was not as commercially successful as his previous album, Like Water for...
|
293,000 copies |
External links
- Soulquarians at Discogs
Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about music recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Soulquarians — By Vibe
- Soulquarians in the news from MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
{{Soulquarians}}
{{J Dilla}}