Battle Of The Neo Soul Queens
by Janel Sanders
Can you say soul renewed?! Jill Scott and Erykah Badu’s live Instagram vibe session (because that’s what it was) was the best thing by far to happen to 2020. They brought their souls to the table and talked us through their musical and life process. It was simply beautiful; everything we imagined it to be and more.
Just to give a bit of background information on these two magical women, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott embody everything that is neo-soul. Neo-soul came about during the late 1990s, the name was given to describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B.
This sound even evolved the style of hip-hop. Scott and Badu often toured together along with other artists in this genre including, but not limited to, D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, Common, and The Roots. The air was filled with the smell of nag champa and frankincense as we listened to “A Long Walk” by Jill Scott and “On & On” by Erykah Badu. Which brings us to what we are really talking about.
After 20 plus years in the game, Scott and Badu finally graced us with what we’ve all been waiting for. To relive the moments in such an intimate setting was almost if not better than being front row at a live show. We made sure we stocked up on incense, broke out the candles and set the mood just right to accept their presence into our homes.
We witnessed two souls hold a conversation while complimenting, encouraging and loving one other as they both reminisced over their lives and musical careers. Each of them went back and forth playing classics such as “You Got Me”, “He Loves Me”, “Appletree”, “The Way”, “Tyrone”, and some other personal favorites.
This was supposed to be a battle, but to be honest, it felt more like one large vibe session filled with love, healing, and peace. They both took us back down memory lane where discovering self-love, finding encouragement, and getting to the roots of our soul was necessary.
It was refreshing to hear their journeys and to venture through the music that made us feel awake inside. We loved every minute of it! The energy was luminating through the screen even in the quiet moments; that was a powerful space.
The level of love was so heavy in the comment section. Seeing everyone comment with great enthusiasm and sing the songs along with them was amazing to watch. Just knowing that we were all sitting in front of our screens yelling “griiiiiittts” was so heartwarming.
According to Swizz Beatz, the stream reached 6 million people on a global level. We all vibed together on a Saturday night and it was a beautiful display of art and love. I know that we are all wondering the same thing, who won?! Honestly, we did.
They graced us with a presence we haven’t felt in a long time and during the times of Covid-19, it was one of the best things to happen to our weekends. Hopefully, we get a tour or something out of this because I’m sure we’ll all be front and center with our head wraps and kango hats.
Be sure to tune in next week for all those who enjoy a little 2000s rap, Nelly and Ludacris will be on the next session of Verzuz.
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