![]() ![]() Dre, Raphael Saadiq and the SoulQuarians. He gets help from rappers Common and Mos Def and from producers such as Dr. Bilal belongs in that heady company, because he has the skills to create melodies and harmonies as well as grooves, because he possesses a terrific tenor voice that can nail every note he writes and because his lyrics can articulate the meaning implied by the music. Though he performs under the single name of Bilal, he was born Bilal Sayeed Oliver and trained in jazz and classical music before joining the SoulQuarians, the progressive-soul collective of Badu, D'Angelo, Q-Tip, Guru, Talib Kweli and the Roots' Ahmir Thompson. Now the city has added a fourth jewel to its crown: the 22-year-old Bilal, whose album "1st Born Second," combines high-tenor crooning, funky beats and street-savvy lyrics. In recent years, Philadelphia has taken the progressive-soul tradition of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Prince and given it a hip-hop twist on the records of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and the Roots. ![]() If anyone is going to save R&B from locker-room bragging and opera-audition trilling, it's going to be the new school of Philly Soul. ![]()
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