Neo-soul is a music genre blending R&B, soul, hip-hop, and jazz, with artists like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and SZA. Not concerning, just music vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.
neo-soul
A late-90s/early-2000s R&B-derived genre blending soul, hip-hop production, and jazz.
ˈniː.oʊ soʊlDocumented since 1990s1990sMillennialhistorical136 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~1990 · no dated citations yetMillennial / early-internet eraSee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
Wikipedia: Neo soul
According to Mark Anthony Neal, "neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries and contours of black pop.
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Wikipedia: D'Angelo
His debut album, Brown Sugar (1995), was certified platinum and received acclaim; critics have credited it with ushering in the neo-soul movement.
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Wikipedia: D'Angelo
Widely regarded as a pioneer of the neo-soul movement, Billboard named him one of the greatest R&B artists, while Rolling Stone ranked him as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
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Definitions
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#1·Apr 24, 2026Global
A late-90s/early-2000s R&B-derived genre blending soul, hip-hop production, and jazz. D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Solange. Term coined by Motown executive Kedar Massenburg in the mid-1990s. Came back into rotation post-2018 via H.E.R., Daniel Caesar, and SZA.
"Neo-soul on a rainy Sunday, candles lit."
Origin: Term coined by Motown executive Kedar Massenburg in the mid-1990s.
For parents
Neo-soul is a music genre blending R&B, soul, hip-hop, and jazz, with artists like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and SZA. Not concerning, just music vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.
For ESL learners
Neo-soul is a music genre name describing the 1990s-2000s revival of soul music with hip-hop and jazz influences. Use in music writing. Formal equivalent: "neo-soul" (the genre's standard label). Common non-native mistake: hyphenating inconsistently; both "neo-soul" and "neosoul" appear, but the hyphenated form is standard in music journalism. Pair freely with "artist," "album," "sound." Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.
Cluster: terrible
Heard in the wild
“According to Mark Anthony Neal, "neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries and contours of black pop.”
“His debut album, Brown Sugar (1995), was certified platinum and received acclaim; critics have credited it with ushering in the neo-soul movement.”
“Widely regarded as a pioneer of the neo-soul movement, Billboard named him one of the greatest R&B artists, while Rolling Stone ranked him as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.”
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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