Its just NOT the SAME...

When I listen to a good R&B song, majority of the time I can relate to whatever the artist is saying and it makes me like the song. Like Beyonce's B'day album.....I'm sure there are many women out there that love that album because they can relate to what ol' girl was talkin about and it was catchy as hell at the same time. But let me tell you something.....ain't NOTHING like that good Neo-Soul! When you hear a good neo soul song you don't just relate, you feel like that person went through the saaaaame damn thing you went through. It's like they're living the same life....go through the same heartbreak, feel the same love, said the same thing to the last person that did you wrong or the one that came along and showed you the right way to feel! Damn that neo soul is some goooooood shit! Usher is good, but that brotha will NEVER be Bilal and Beyonce' is the cats meow, but she'll never be Jill Scott. It's just no comparison because no matter how good an R&B artist is they will never be on the same level of a good Neo Soul artist, its just two different levels of good. "Speechless" is one of Beyonce's most popular ballads but its nothing (in my opinion) compared to Jilly from Philly's "He Loves Me (Lyzel in E flat)." Another thing that probably has a great deal to do with the difference is that most neo soul artists are poets and they write their own music whereas most R&B artists have someone else write their material, someone like Ne-Yo or the American Dream. So it's no wonder why my favorite song off of Usher's latest album "Here I Stand" is "Love You Gently," which was co-written by Raheem Devaughn....hmmmm....makes since, don't it? I think you get what I'm trying to say....R&B just ain't Neo-Soul.....and that is just fine by ME.