Into The Music
Something interesting has been happening in British soul and R&B for the better part of a decade, and it has been happening mostly without a convenient name to put on it. Some people say neo-soul. Some say nu-soul. Some call it jazz-adjacent, which is accurate but incomplete. Whatever you call it, the scene centered on labels like Brownswood, artists like Ego Ella May and Nubiyan Twist, and a loose community of musicians in London is one of the most exciting things in contemporary music, and it just keeps producing records.
This month, both Ego Ella May and Nubiyan Twist released new albums on the same day. That is a coincidence, but it is also a kind of statement about momentum, about a scene that has reached a critical mass where multiple artists can move simultaneously without stepping on each other.
Ego Ella May’s Good Intentions is exactly what her name suggests: warm, precise, emotionally literate. She writes about relationships the way a very good novelist writes about relationships, with attention to the small details that carry the most weight, the particular quality of a silence, the specific geography of an argument. Her voice is instrument-grade, capable of remarkable control without ever sounding controlled, which is the trick that separates technique from expression.
Nubiyan Twist come at it from a different angle. Where Ego Ella May works in intimate spaces, Nubiyan Twist build enormous ones. Chasing Shadows takes the Afrobeat and jazz foundations that have defined their sound and pushes them into something more ambient, more nocturnal, more interested in texture than groove. It is a patient album that rewards patience in return.
The broader scene they belong to traces its lineage through several generations of Black British music. The second wave of British soul in the late 1980s and early 1990s, acts like Soul II Soul and Omar. The jazz revival of the late 1990s and 2000s. The grime-adjacent R&B of the early 2010s. And further back, the immigrants who arrived from the Caribbean and West Africa in the postwar decades and built the musical infrastructure that everything since has grown from.
What distinguishes the current moment is the convergence of jazz training, electronic production, and an explicitly political consciousness. These are not artists who compartmentalize music from the rest of their lives. The scene has always had a strong relationship with sound systems culture, with community spaces, with the idea that music is something that happens in specific places between specific people, not just content that exists on a server somewhere.
The institutional support is also maturing. Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label has been a crucial incubator for years. Venues and festivals that prioritize this music have built loyal audiences. The critical infrastructure, the journalists and curators who understand what they are hearing, exists now in a way it did not ten years ago.
None of this means the genre is about to take over. It probably will not, at least not in the way that streaming metrics define “taking over.” But it does not need to. It has its own economy, its own audience, its own internal standards. It is making great records. That is enough.
There’s something in this music that bypasses the thinking mind entirely , when I put on Little Simz or Jorja Smith, I can actually feel my nervous system settle. British soul has always had this quality of emotional honesty that lands in the body, not just the ears. So glad the genre is finally getting the space to breathe that it deserves.
catchy beats. good vocals. whats not to like
This music has such a gorgeous, soulful quality to it. The vocals really draw me in and make me want to just close my eyes and get lost in the vibe. British artists like Little Simz and Jorja Smith are bringing so much raw emotional honesty to the genre – it bypasses the intellect and goes straight to the heart. When I listen, I can actually feel my body relaxing. There’s something so special about this sound.
Ooohh, this is good stuff! The groove on these tracks is just undeniable. Really gets the body moving, you know? Love how the soulful vocals soar over those chunky basslines and syncopated rhythms. British artists like Little Simz and Jorja Smith are keeping that classic R&B/soul spirit alive while adding a fresh modern touch. Can’t get enough!
Ah, this takes me right back to the sounds of Soweto and the energy of the Johannesburg clubs! The DNA of kwaito and gqom is all over these British nu-soul tracks. You can hear the influence of the global African diaspora shining through. Little Simz and Jorja Smith are keeping that flame alive on the other side of the world. Loving the vibe!
beats are catchy, vocals are good. what more could you want? this is solid stuff.
The rise of British nu-soul over the past decade is really fascinating when you consider the rich history of soul, R&B, and UK dance music that paved the way. You can hear echoes of 2-step, UK garage, broken beat, and even grime in the rhythms and production styles of artists like Little Simz and Jorja Smith. And the way they blend those club-oriented influences with deeply soulful vocals and lyrics is just masterful. It’s a sound that feels simultaneously modern and timeless – a testament to the enduring power of Black music.
British nu-soul found me at exactly the right time in my life. I remember putting on Little Simz for the first time after a really rough breakup and just sitting there completely still because I couldn’t believe someone was saying exactly what I felt. That’s what 90s soul did for me as a kid , D’Angelo, Erykah , and somehow this is doing the same thing a generation later. Different accent, same ache.