Bilal

Progressive R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Bilal is the artist for whom the neo-soul categorization is most misleading. None of the Philadelphia native's recordings is beholden to any particular soul legend who thrived in the 1960 or '70s, and it isn't just because his voice -- classically trained and uncommonly versatile, capable of singing opera in seven languages -- is so unique. Although his Top Ten R&B/hip-hop debut, 1st Born Second (2001), is among the exemplary albums of the neo-soul era, he defied classification from the beginning, using his voice as a true instrument on his breakthrough love ballad "Soul Sista" and its cautionary G-funk follow-up "Fast Lane." On one hand, Bilal is under-recorded. Nine years passed before he released Airtight's Revenge (2010), a nervy follow-up containing the Grammy-nominated "Little One." He was behind only two more LPs, the sensual A Love Surreal (2013) and the headier In Another Life (2015), during his second full decade of activity. However, he's been a prolific collaborator throughout his career, picking up another Grammy nomination for his performance on Robert Glasper's "All Matter," winning a Grammy for Kendrick Lamar's "These Walls," and counting Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Common, and the Roots among the dozens of artists who have sought his voice (and often his pen). Glasper, Common, and the Roots' Questlove responded in kind by backing Bilal on the celebratory Live at Glasshaus (2024). The singer's first solo live recording was followed months later by the lysergic and intimate Adjust Brightness.

From 🇺🇸 United States