Omar
Soul II Soul
Loose Ends

They planted the early seeds of what is commonly called neo-soul. A lot of Omar's early stuff didn't hit here in the US in the early 90s, but if you were an underground soul head and in tune with the UK music scene in the 90s, you probably knew about him.

A lot of that changed with his 2001 Best By Far album. He had features with both Erykah Badu and Angie Stone (depending on which version you got). He also had a successful tour in the US on that album as well. The Soulquarians tapped him for two songs on Common's Electric Circus album. So Omar definitely had a presence in the US and is DEFINITELY worth checking out.