Recordings such as “Higher” (D’Angelo), “Booty” (Erykah Badu), and “It’s Love” (Jill Scott) retain the organic flavor of soul through the use of live musicians (rather than, or in conjunction with, synthesizers, computers, and samplers) playing instruments of the soul era: drums, percussion, acoustic piano and guitar, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond B-3 organ, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. It gives preference to a narrow pitch range that uses one note per syllable (syllabic text setting), unlike soul which favors melismatic melodies with several notes per syllable. This speech-derived aesthetic juxtaposes percussive and melodic qualities. Its subdued delivery favors slow and moderate tempos, and the rhythmic flow “lags behind the beat,” an approach unique to Billie Holiday and emulated by Dinah Washington and many jazz singers. The signature singing style is characterized by a cross between speech and song. The core features of neo soul combine the spoken word with aspects of jazz and soul. Her hybrid of spoken word and jazz includes improvisatory devices unique to jazz, including scat singing. Erykah Badu’s Baduizm (1997) and Mama’s Gun (1997) crystallized a distinctive neo soul style that exploits a range of Black aesthetic qualities. Other artists sampled significant excerpts of 1970s soul recordings such as Angie Stone’s “No More Rain ” and “Neither One of Us,” recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips. Some neo soul artists, like D’Angelo, tapped directly into the gospel tradition (“Higher”) or covered original soul recordings (“Cruisin’,” originally recorded by Smokey Robinson). Eric Benét (A Day in the Life, 1999) on the other hand, presents an eclectic mix of songs that combines the soul-oriented vocals of Maxwell and the jazz–spoken word approach of Erykah Badu ( Baduizm, 1997). Groove Theory, on their self-titled CD (1995), similarly preserves the sensibility of 1970s soul reminiscent of the Emotions. In contrast to D’Angelo’s speech-song delivery style, Maxwell’s vocal approach is similar to that of Smokey Robinson, illustrated by Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996) which layers melodies on top of a funk-oriented groove. The vocal aesthetic of soul singers such as Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and Al Green infuses the smooth, mellow, and sultry vocals of D’Angelo, whose Brown Sugar (1995) juxtaposes the spoken word over a soul-jazz instrumental track. In “Sumthin’ Sumthin” for example, Maxwell described his love interest as a “honeydosugachocolate dumpling,” or his preference for a lady with brown legs in “Suitelady (The Proposal Jam).” Jill Scott describes her man as being of a deep brown complexion in “Love Rain” and makes reference to soul food (Black-eyed peas, collard greens, and sweet potatoes) in “It’s Love.” Ethnic and cultural references abound in the song lyrics. CD and song titles such as Black Diamond (Angie Stone), “Ghetto Girl” (Eric Benét), and “Dred Loc” (Me’Shell NdegéOcello) reflect the ideology of ’60s and ’70s Black social and cultural consciousness. Exposure to these Black Nationalist leanings and a broad range of musical styles inspired the worldviews and creativity of these young artists. Many of neo soul’s innovators were born in the 1970s to parents who grew up in the era of Black Power and soul music. Neo soul artists entered the 1990s music scene when hardcore hip-hop and R&B were the two most popular and crossover forms of contemporary Black expression. In addition to the mostly spoken and rapped lyrics declaring the death of neo soul, she buries the genre in the juxtaposing of hip-hop and P-funk tracks. Marsha Ambrosus took the opposition a step further in her mixtape Neo Soul is Dead (2007) featuring DJ Drama. By the 2000s artists began recording their opposition, as did Jaguar Wright, on an LP titled Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul (2005). Although continuing and expanding on rather than reviving a past tradition, several artists viewed the neo soul label as restrictive, especially given the stylistic range of their creative endeavors. In the 1990s, a new generation of singer-songwriters emerged on the scene creatively combining the ’70s soul aesthetic with elements from other traditions to create a contemporary soul sound. Although soul music had begun fading in popularity with the rise of funk, disco and hip-hop in the 1970s, the soul aesthetic remained a viable resource for these and other artists in subsequent decades.