Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu brought jazz phrasing, hip hop beats and a wry, spiritual streak to soul music. Her debut Baduizm, with 'On & On', helped define neo-soul alongside D'Angelo, and her Billie Holiday-tinged voice made everything she sang sound unhurried and knowing.

Mama's Gun, made with the Soulquarians, added live funk and the epic 'Green Eyes', while New Amerykah Part One and Part Two drifted into stranger, looser territory, full of murky samples and loping grooves. Live, released the same year as Baduizm, showed how freely she could stretch a song on stage.