I'm having trouble with the differentiation between 'neo-soul' and 'hip hop soul' though I think it's interesting/useful to think about. And back when it was happening....I gotta say that I KNEW the difference without being able to explain it.

There's a part of me that thinks there's a huge elephant in the room....the 'neo-soul' contingent didn't have real skills. Mary Blige and Blackstreet could really sing and were still rooted in traditional gospel roots. N'dea Davenport and Badu? Not so much. Though D'angelo seems to have stridled that line a bit more which makes the distinction more complicated.