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 hi...