Artists like D'Angelo and The Vanguard

Michael Eugene Archer, better known by his stage name D'Angelo, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Widely regarded as a pioneer of the neo-soul movement, Billboard named him one of the greatest R&B artists, while Rolling Stone ranked him as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2025, he was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Roy Anthony Hargrove was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles of jazz in 1998 and 2002. Hargrove primarily played in the hard bop style for the majority of his albums but also had a penchant for genre-crossing exploration and collaboration with a variety of hip-hop, neo soul, R&B, and alternative rock artists. As Hargrove told one reporter, "I've been around all kinds of musicians, and if a cat can play, a cat can play. If it's gospel, funk, R&B, jazz or hip-hop, if it's something that gets in your ear and it's good, that's what matters."

Hiatus Kaiyote is an Australian jazz/funk/R&B/soul band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss. Their albums include Tawk Tomahawk (2012), Choose Your Weapon (2015), Mood Valiant (2021), and Love Heart Cheat Code (2024).

The Revolution is an American funk/pop rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, funk, R&B, new wave, synthpop and psychedelia elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.

NxWorries is an American music superduo consisting of recording artist Anderson .Paak and record producer Knxwledge. They are signed to Stones Throw Records and released their debut studio album, Yes Lawd!, in 2016 and their second studio album Why Lawd? in 2024.

Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know", "Jealous Guy" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.

Roy Edward Ayers Jr. was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped to pioneer jazz-funk. He was a key figure in the acid jazz movement, and has been described as "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He was best known for his compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Running Away", and "Freaky Deaky" and others that charted in the 1970s. At one time, Ayers was listed among the performers whose music was most often sampled by rappers.

The Foreign Exchange is music duo consisting of the American rapper Phonte and the Dutch record producer Nicolay, their music is a blend of hip hop, soul, R&B and electronica.

Moses Sumney is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, Mid-City Island, was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled Lamentations. His first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released in September 2017. His second studio album, Græ, was released in 2020. Sumney has performed as an opening act for James Blake, Solange Knowles, and Sufjan Stevens. In 2023, he was featured on The Weeknd's HBO TV series The Idol.

Taalib Hassan Johnson, better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild is an American singer-songwriter. His music blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused with hip hop.

Zhané was an American R&B duo of Renée Neufville and Jean Norris-Baylor, best known for their 1993 hit "Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other popular hits include "Groove Thang" and minor hit "Sending My Love", both released in 1994. The group was part of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit collective.