Drums - ?uestlove
Keys/Vox - John Legend
Moog Synth/Vox - D'Angelo
Guitar/Vox - Van Hunt
Guitar/Vox - India.Arie
Bass/Vox - Raphael Saadiq
Vox - Ledisi
Vox - Rahsaan Patterson
Vox - Leela James
Vox - Badu

female freestyle session:

jill scott
india arie
erykah badu
lauryn hill
angie stone
kelly price

now for the male freestyle session:

d'angelo
common
mos def
dre 3000
eric benet
anthony hamilton

put 'em in a recording booth with a tight beat they can all freestyle to and see what you get.

Voila:

Mercedes73 said:

Good lawd! That's not a group, that's a 3-day music fest! LOL!

ChristopherTracyParade said:

I like this line-up

Stax said:

gargamelgibson said:

In the wife-beater, is that D'?

ChristopherTracyParade said:

From left to right:
Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, James Poyser, Erykah Badu, ?uestlove, D'Angelo, Q-Tip, Jay Dee aka JDilla, Bilal.

gargamelgibson said:

Cool, thanx.

Just Bilal, Mos and Amel on vocals, Ben Kenney, ?uest and James Poyser.

TheSmyrk said:

Great thread!

Vocals: Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Sade
Drums: ?uestlove
Bass: Saadiq
Keys: John Legend
Guitar: Saadiq

male lead vox: Maxwell
female lead vox: Amel Laurriex
rapper: Q-tip
background: Zhane, Erykah Badu *lead* & Floetry

Bass: Rapheal Saadiq
Drums: ?uestlove
Guitar: D'angelo
Keyboard: from Mint Condition, Toni Braxton's husband, 4got the name

badujunkie said:

Now how you gonna have Saadiq on BOTH axe and bass? ...You better put Van Hunt on the axe!

CherrieMoonKisses said:

Nice lineup. I forgot all about Maxy. His name is Keri Lewis and they are n longer married.

CherrieMoonKisses said:

I almost picked Zhane for background vocals too.

These are always fun...

?uestlove on Drums
Meshell on Bass
Stuart Matthewman on guitar
Kirk Douglas on guitar
Miri Ben Ari on violin
D’Angelo on keyboards
Lead Vocals: Erykah, Sade, Maxwell
Background vocals: Jazzyfatnastees, Heather Headley, Dwele



I forget who I use to use for acoustic guitar.

stokley-drums/vox
nikka costa-guitar/vox
sean e. mac-trumpet/vox
remy shand-keys/sax/vox
tony rich-bass/vox

JackieBlue said:

You HAVE to go with India for acoustic guitar! Come on!
Also, GREAT pick for bass guitar. I forgot all about ole Meshell.

I know I was close to picking India but wanted someone else. I picked Ani DiFranco once but it was for an all girl band.

I'll throw India up there. She can add some vocals too while she's at it.

I hate the name, "Neo-Soul", but anyway, I'd love to see this:


D'Angelo -Keyboards, Vocals
Lewis Taylor - Guitar, Vocals
Bilal- Keyboards, vocals
Meshell Ndegeocello - Bass, backgrnd vocals
Frank McComb - Vocals -additional keyboards
Van Hunt - Guitar, vocals
Gene Lake - Drums
Anthony Hamilton - vocals
Dionne Farris - Vocals
Rashaan Patterson - Vocals



...

JackieBlue said:

paligap said:

Ok, I've always wanted to hear why some people (Including the artists themselves) hate the term "Neo Soul"...so here's your chance to explain...the floor is yours.

gargamelgibson said:

now thats what i'm talkin' bout

ChristopherTracyParade said:

Damn, I have to make this quick, cause I have to Jet, but, basically....

because it's just an industry buzzword, made up to fit the artist into a narrowly defined market. It's something the record companies came up with so they can figure out what peg to stick their artist into, and it gives them liscence to create a certain type of image for that artist: give'em that whole bohemian vibe, so it's easier to sell...for the artists it's a tangled web, because once they get stamped with that label, and get pigeon-holed, it's as if they can't do anything else..."oh, he's one of those "neo-soul" artists, we'll only play him on these stations..." and it really does conjure up that pre-hyped, marketing image....and if an artist doesn't fit into that narrowly defined image , they won't promote them at all...

I remember Meshell Ndegeocello once said, "I thought I was just a person making music...but one day I turned around and they were saying, no, you're "Neo-Soul"...


IMO, it also cuts these artists off from the lineage, as if they're not part of the real Soul tradition of Marvin Stevie, Aretha, etc... If you absolutely must stick a label on it, why can't it be called Soul, Funk, Rock, Jazz...but "Neo-soul" ...that's weak...it already implies that its watered down (some critics will say that it is, but I'm sure the artists themselves wouldn't appreciate it...)....

And it might be different if the artists themselves came up with it...Put it this way, the term "Hip-Hop" was not created by some suits at a record company....

That's my take anyway....on the run....




...
[Edited 2/9/06 14:12pm]

Drumz - ?uestlove
Bass - Meshell (duh!)
Guitar - Prince (is that allowed?)
Keys - Stevie Wonder (this cannot be allowed!?)


Singers - D'Angelo, Angie Stone, Dionne Farris, John Legend

Drums: Stokely
Bass: Meshell Ndegeocello
Guitar: Van Hunt
Keys: D'angelo
Background Vocals: Amel Larreuix, Raphael Saadiq, Jill Scott
Lead Vocal: Erykah Badu
Whateva: Prince

paligap said:

Ok, cool. And thanx for ya response since you had to jet out. Now, my reply:

I see no problem with the term. Hell, EVERY artist is labeled. The ONLY reason some artists don't like the term Neo Soul is because it's not a genre that lights up the record sales. Trust me, if Neo Soul began to tear it up like Pop or Hop Hip/Rap sales, ALL those artists that didn't like the term Neo Soul would THEN rush to call themselves NEO SOUL.

Also, good music is good music. It will rise above whatever label its given if it's good enough.

Now, as far as it sounding like it's a watered-down label for soul. On the contrary, it's giving total props to the past. The term Neo Soul means it's the NEW generation of artists that are paying HOMAGE, RESPECT, and KEEPING ALIVE that classic soul sound. Remember, it used to be called Neo-Classic Soul, they just dropped the "Classic" and now just say Neo Soul.

There, that's my take on the whole issue. It's funny because Jaguar Wright hates that title too, so much so, that she called her latest CD "Divorcing Neo to Marry Soul"...I caught her at a function in L.A. and asked her "Hey Jag, since you divorced Neo to marry Soul...did your sales increase?"...With a fucked up look at me...She never answered. .

So it doesn't matter what you call it, it's not the name that isn't selling the records, it's the lack of promotion and the hodge-podge of weak ass R&B music that the artists that don't wanna be called Neo Soul have to contend with...and that there is their biggest mistake because they will only get lost in the shuffle of the Beyonces, Jagged Edges, 112s and R. Kellys...no room for them because they are a more sophisticated brand of R&B wishing to be marketed as trite R&B.

Milty said:

Of course P is allowed, he's the prototype to where Neo Soul comes from.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

While it is true that ultimately, it is all semantics, that doesn't mean the artist will like it. Artists generally hate being pigeon-holed, and in the case of Meshell and D'angelo, they hated the term from the beginning, and they were both selling records...if it doesn't bother you, that's Kool, i'm just saying this is why artists don't like it...I never liked cause(just IMO) it's a marketing term to further sub-divide the culture...

all your Linkin Parks, White Stripes, John Mayers, etc. are not callled Neo-Rock, or Neo-Pop....




...
[Edited 2/9/06 20:43pm]

paligap said:

Exactly... That's the real reason I hate it right there.

gargamelgibson said:

I picked them all out but 2. Thanks for that. What was the occasion?