 | | In a very short span of time, R&B singer/songwriter Chrisette Michele shot from small-time performer up to one of Def Jam's most promising talents, purely based on her unique instrument -- a gorgeous and effortlessly versatile singing voice colored with Billie Holiday-esque inflections of vocal pop and jazz. |
 | | Philadelphia-born Taalib Johnson, aka R&B artist Musiq (Soulchild), grew up the oldest of nine children. |
 | | A mature R&B vocalist who excelled most with slower, sensual material ("Slowly, Surely," "I'm Not Afraid," "My Love") and was versatile enough to pack plenty of punch with anthems of pride and self-empowerment ("Golden," "Family Reunion," "Hate on Me"), Jill Scott grew up in north Philadelphia and began her performing career reading her own poetry. |
 | | Ledisi Young (her given name meaning "to bring forth" in Nigerian) was born in the Big Easy, where she sang with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra when she was eight years old and spent many adolescent hours watching her mother perform with a local R&B band, often in a nearby park. |
 | | A soul singer who drew comparisons to such classic vocalists as Bill Withers and Bobby Womack, Anthony Hamilton struggled for the better part of the 1990s as two of his albums went unreleased. |
 | | Singer/songwriter Robin Thicke was one of the few to define the new millennium's blue-eyed soul movement. |
 | | The son of jazz cellist Abdul Wadud, Maryland-based R&B vocalist Raheem DeVaughn kicked his career into gear after initiating a series of independent releases, aided in part by the cash reward earned from winning a talent contest. |
 | | Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart are the funky divas behind the neo-soul duo Floetry. Ambrosius and Stewart emerged in the mid-'90s as songwriters in demand. |
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 | | Offering a throwback sound to complement her rich, womanly voice, Melanie Fiona is a bright R&B artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
 | | One of a handful of neo-classic soul artists to emerge following the late-'90s success of artists like D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill, Atlanta's India. |
 | | Shortly after the end of her gold-selling R&B act Floetry, singer, songwriter, and producer Marsha Ambrosius -- whose biggest claim to fame as a writer is Michael Jackson's Top 20 hit "Butterflies" -- signed with Dr. |
 | | Along with fellow founders D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell was enormously important in defining and shaping the neo-soul movement that rose to prominence over the latter half of the '90s. |
 | | Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. |
 | | One of the leading lights in the brief but high-profile Brit-funk movement of the early 80s (with Light Of The World, its spin-offs Beggar And Co, Imagination and Freeez), Linx were based around the duo of David Grant (b. |
 | | Born Goapele Mohlabane in Oakland, CA, this singer grew up in a socially conscious and politically active family. |
 | | Contemporary R&B star Jazmine Sullivan spent several years learning the ropes of the recording industry before signing to J Records and making her solo recording debut in 2008 with the number one R&B single "Need U Bad. |
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 | | D'Angelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic R&B back to the hip-hop age. |
 | | If there was one R&B artist for whom the neo-soul categorization seemed limiting, it was Philadelphia native Bilal. |
 | | Laid-back Washington, D.C.-based R&B vocalist J. Holiday (born Nahum Grymes) signed to Capitol and released the Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins-produced single "Be with Me" in 2006. |
 | | Equally rooted in gospel, soul, and hip-hop, 112 were the first and most successful urban vocal group to emerge from Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Records roster. |
 | | A native of Canada, contemporary R&B singer and songwriter Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on the Rod Temperton-penned "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager. |
 | | Adult contemporary R&B vocalist Vivian Green grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she started singing at an early age. |
 | | Although Trey Songz loved hip-hop while growing up, the only R&B he could get into was R. Kelly. When his friends heard his perfect tenor voice, however, they pushed him to drop rap and start crooning. |
 | | Neo-soul songstress Corinne Bailey Rae was born in Leeds, England, in 1979 to a British mother and West Indian father. |
 | | A singer, MC, self-taught keyboardist, and prolific songwriter, Angie Stone's first claim to fame was her membership in the Sequence, an all-female trio that recorded for pioneering hip-hop label Sugar Hill, beginning with the 1979 single "Funk You Up. |
 | | Before she could utilize her talents for her own solo endeavors, R&B singer, vocal arranger, and songwriter Keri Hilson wrote a slew of songs, many of them chart-toppers, for several popular artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production/songwriting team known as the Clutch. |
 | | R&B producer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter R. Kelly and his supporting band Public Announcement began recording in 1992 at the tail-end of the new jack swing era, yet he was able to keep much of its sound alive while remaining commercially successful. |
 | | Adult contemporary R&B singer/songwriter/producer Dwele grew up on Detroit's west side, listening to soul music from Motown visionaries Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as well as jazz on the radio. |
 | | Ginuwine was one of R&B's preeminent love men during the '90s heyday of hip-hop soul. Initially teamed with Timbaland, the most innovative producer of the late '90s, Ginuwine's sultry, seductive crooning earned him a substantial female following and made him a regular presence on the R&B charts, even after the futuristic production he favored was eclipsed by the more organic, retro-leaning neo-soul movement. |
 | | Not that he'd wish it on anyone, but it was during his ten-year sentence in prison that Lyfe Jennings developed his honest sound, thanks to isolation and Erykah Badu. |
 | | Best known for her role as Effie White in the 2006 film version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, vocalist/actress Jennifer Hudson was first brought to the public's attention while a contestant on the third season of the reality show vocal competition American Idol. |
 | | Throwback R&B singer Raphael Saadiq was born in Oakland, CA, in 1966, and started playing music six years later. |
 | | Rough-but-smooth male vocal quartet Jagged Edge formed in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of identical twin brothers Brandon "Case Dinero" Casey and Brian "Brasco" Casey, who had moved from their native Hartford, Connecticut; Kyle Norman (aka "Quick"), whom they'd met through church activities; and Richard Wingo (aka "Wingo Dollar"), a late addition to the group suggested by Xscape's Kandi Burruss, who took their demo to superproducer Jermaine Dupri. |
 | | When the U.K. press began dubbing Adele "the next Amy Winehouse" in late 2007, the hype didn't touch upon the heavy singer/songwriter influence found in the Londoner's music. |
 | | This '90s R&B vocal group should not be confused with the late-'70s Philadelphia band, which was a funk-oriented unit, or the vocal trio Silk from Los Angeles. |
 | | Singer, songwriter, and producer Miguel (born Miguel Jontel Pimentel) spent a handful of years behind the scenes and flirted with the mainstream before he released his first hit single and became one of pop-R&B's most significant artists. |
 | | The female R&B quartet Xscape debuted singing at producer Jermaine Dupri's birthday party in 1991, and were the recipients of a platinum album just two years later. |
 | | Whether she was singing pop-friendly urban soul or acting in her own family-oriented sitcom, Brandy's winningly wholesome persona helped catapult her to stardom during her teenage years. |
 | | One of the most recognizable characters in modern-day R&B, Beyoncé first rose to fame as the siren-voiced centerpiece of Destiny's Child before embarking on a multi-platinum solo career in 2001. |
 | | Ne-Yo was one of the most successful songwriters and artists of the 2000s. His breakthrough didn't come until late 2004, as the co-songwriter of Mario's "Let Me Love You," a number one Hot 100 hit that Billboard later determined to be the eighth most successful single of the decade. |
 | | R&B vocalist Lloyd topped BET's play list singing a steamy duet with Ashanti, but he got his first spins on the anything-but-steamy Radio Disney. |
 | | One of the most promising R&B artists to emerge during the early 2010s, singer and songwriter Elle Varner grew up in a musical family -- one that spent much of its time together in recording studios. |
 | | Although Me'Shell Ndegéocello scored a few hits early in her career, the singer/bassist opted to concentrate subsequently on more challenging material by exploring the politics of race and sex, among other topics. |
 | | Call Lauryn Hill the mother of hip-hop invention; with her 1998 solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the Fugees' most vocal member not only established herself as creative force on her own, but also broke new ground by successfully integrating rap, soul, reggae, and R&B into her own sound. |
 | | Toni Braxton was one of the most popular and commercially successful female R&B singers of the '90s, thanks to her ability to straddle seemingly opposite worlds. |
 | | By mixing R&B with a sultry dose of neo-soul, Alicia Keys became an international star in 2001 with the release of her debut album. |
 | | Fantasia Barrino may have won the third season of American Idol with "I Believe," but it was her passionate take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" that had everyone talking for weeks. |
 | | The best-selling female performer of the 1990s, Mariah Carey rose to superstardom on the strength of her stunning five-octave voice. |
