the mainstream countesses of hip hop soul, by year
Digital Magazine
Mary J. Blige may be the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, but who followed her lead the best each year to get their own place in the court of R&B?
BY HARPSICHORD
OCTOBER 8, 2023
A.I. illustration of SZA, Lauryn Hill, and Keyshia Cole.
so why the nobility ranking of “Countess” for this list?
Following the queen, the duchesses, and the empress would be the marquise, a woman who defends against potentially hostile neighbors. Although hip hop and R&B received its fair share of criticisms, it still remained fruitful. As a result of hip hop soul, R&B dominated the 90s into the 2000s, and subsequently inspired a new league of artists receiving mainstream success. Therefore, no one had to defend its honor quite as hard as a noble figure would during times of war. That leads to a countess, someone who had administrative responsibilities that made sure order existed. Since people followed Blige’s order, they then had to become responsible for growing hip hop soul. Therefore, countess will be used to acknowledge their honorary title.
This list consists of a year by year selection starting in 1993, a year after 1992’s hip hop soul explosion. Some names will appear on this list multiple times, as there were multiple peaks in those ladies careers. As expected, there will be names that readers will agree with, and some names that others will question based on principle. It also needs to be mentioned that although a countess may have released music in a respective year, their impact may not have been felt or fully experienced until the following year.
The qualifications for this list is based on commercial success, impact, and influence each countess brought to music by incorporating hip hop soul in their catalog. Simply put: Who were the countesses that followed Mary’s hip hop soul lead the best?
The 2020’s
As a result of the changes in the music industry at the end of the 2010s, virality became the name of the game for this 2020s decade so far. Spearheading this new reality was Doja Cat, who had found success on Soundcloud and YouTube with “Moo” after years of lowkey releases. Her 2019 album, ‘Hot Pink’ jumpcut straight into a successful era in 2020 – as she showcased her skills of rapping and singing effortlessly on pop leaning tracks and genres. Jazmine Sullivan’s release of ‘Heaux Tales’ gave her redemption as thee leading lady of 2021 R&B. Her diary-like vignettes recalled how Black women were given voices through hip hop soul music (“Put It Down” and “Pick Up Your Feelings”). While R&B artists continued to be criticized for their vocals, Sullivan served as a reminder that traditional soul singing still existed beyond hip hop production. Now in her 40s, Beyoncé had to remind audiences that R&B can still be fun as she rapped over house and EDM-inspired production– creating a modern Hip Hop Soul disco album entitled ‘Renaissance.’ Cutting through the Tik Tok trends, just to deliver a raw follow up to her 2017 album, ‘CTRL,’ is SZA who is now calling out ‘SOS.’ The 2022 album is keeping the legacy of Hip Hop Soul chart dominance alive well into 2023, with no signs of slowing up.
2020: Doja Cat
This could be another controversial addition to the list, especially considering the world of social media trouble Doja Cat has been getting herself into as of lately. That being said, Doja Cat gets this spot simply based on the success of “Streets,” which actually became a sleeper hit in 2021. Her 2019 album, Hot Pink, launched the rapper into a new stratosphere, and in 2020, she joined Nicki Minaj as the first female rap duo to earn a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Say So.” 33 parts rap, 33 parts pop, and 33 parts R&B, Doja cycles us back around to the top of the 2010s era as it pertains to hip hop’s role in R&B and pop crossover acts. Digging deeper into Hot Pink, there are deep cuts such as “Better Than Me,” “Talk Dirty,” and “Cyber Sex,” that truly encapsulate how hip hop soul can be modernized.
2021: Jazmine Sullivan
When it comes to R&B, there hasn’t been a universal movement for someone to win, as much as there has been for Jazmine Sullivan. At the top of 2021, the soulful vocalist enraptured audiences with her concept EP, Heaux Tales, which documents various aspects of black women in love. The singer explained that "Heaux Tales is about my observation of today's women standing in their power and owning who they are.” She’d go off on her lover on “Pick Up Your Feelings,” a song that resonated on R&B radio– bringing a modern approach to traditional sounding R&B from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. While “Put It Down” captures the current wave of contemporary trap&B. The EP earned two Grammys, including best R&B Album, as well as Best R&B Performance.
2022: Beyoncé
“On my MPC making disco-trap” is what Beyoncé declared on “Heated,” and that’s exactly what she delivered on her album, Renaissance. Vibrant and full of energy, the superstar brought disco to the forefront– with the help of hip hop soul. Her mission was to make people want to dance again and that’s exactly what she did with songs like “Break My Soul” where she is rapping, and “Cuff It,” which received a fanmade remix that mashed up a Twista song. On “Church Girl” she encourages her fans to “drop it like a thottie.” The album earned her four Grammy Awards, and launched the highest grossing tour by a female act to date.
2023: SZA
SZA has not only dominated the R&B space in 2023, she has also taken over the pop world. After a five year wait, fans finally received her second studio album, SOS. In the opening track she is urgently belting out her feelings over an interpolation of Beyoncé’s “Listen.” That leads into her global smash “Kill Bill” which is sung over a boom bap beat. With records such as “Shirt,” “Snooze,” and “I Hate U,” SZA managed to provide hits that capture her insecurities in the midst of a turbulent partnership. There even exists elements of hip hop, as presented in the aggressive “Low” and the interpolation of ODB on “Forgiveless.” SZA’s album has been discussed all year, and she has a massive sold out tour to back it up.