Soul Music's Influence

Soul music of the 60s and 70s led to many other genres, including funk and hip hop. Funk music began when singers like James Brown began using soul's rhythmic grooves to make dance music, and hip hop began when DJs started rapping over these rhythmic grooves. But soul music itself didn't die out. British singers like George Michael and Sade had some of the biggest soul hits of all time in the 80s, as did Michael Jackson and Prince with their exciting new styles of pop soul and funk. But by this time both soul and funk were being marketed under the new term "R&B".

In the late 80s singers like Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige were producing a style of smooth, commercial soul called contemporary R&B. But many younger artists preferred the raw sounds of 60s and 70s soul and funk. They also loved the urban beats of hip hop, and by mixing these elements they created a new style in the 90s called neo soul. Best-selling neo-soul albums include Me'Shell NdegéOcello's Plantation Lullabies, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, and Lauryn Hill's 1998 masterpiece The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

New Styles of the 21st Century

Neo soul and the smoother sounds of contemporary R&B continued into the 21st century, but they were soon joined by two new styles; "retro soul" and "alternative R&B". Retro soul became popular after British jazz singer Amy Winehouse recreated the sounds of 60s soul on her Grammy-winning 2006 album Back to Black. Her success led to the rise of other retro-soul singers like Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, Leon Bridges and Michael Kiwanuka.

Alternative R&B, on the other hand, began around 2010 when young artists like Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. The Weeknd) and Frank Ocean started using both electronic and acoustic instruments to create moody beats over which they sang haunting songs about depression, addiction, heartbreak and other difficult topics. Since then the label has been applied to many non-mainstream styles from the futuristic R&B of Kelela and Janelle Monáe to Sampha and Blood Orange's lyricism and Childish Gambino's retro-funk. At the same time more mainstream contemporary R&B artists such as Maxwell, SZA, Solange, Beyoncé and Miguel have also been keeping soul music's legacy alive and well.

prince [´prins]   n.王子；亲王；君主   (初中英语单词)

commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl]   a.商业的 n.广告节目   (初中英语单词)

singer [´siŋə]   n.歌手，演唱者   (初中英语单词)

depression [di´preʃən]   n.沮丧，抑郁；萧条   (初中英语单词)

childish [´tʃaildiʃ]   a.孩子的；幼稚的   (初中英语单词)

houston [´hju:stən]   n.休斯顿   (高中英语单词)

contemporary [kən´tempərəri]   a.&n.同时代的(人)   (高中英语单词)

applied [ə´plaid]   a.实用的，应用的   (英语六级单词)

legacy [´legəsi]   n.遗产；传代物   (英语六级单词)