The RH Factor’s Hard Groove might sound uncontroversial to modern ears, but in the early 2000s it was revolutionary. With this record, Roy Hargrove broke away from the straight-ahead jazz revival of the Young Lions era and created something entirely new. Hard Groove blended Roy’s trumpet with the voices of R&B and soul heavyweights like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Common, artists whose platinum-selling albums (Voodoo, Mama’s Gun, Like Water for Chocolate) already featured Roy’s melodic horn playing and orchestral arrangements.

With Hard Groove, Roy flipped the script: instead of lending his sound to the hip hop and neo-soul world, he invited those artists into a jazz record. The result was a landmark project that blurred genres and redefined what jazz could be in the 21st century.

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Want more neo-soul? Check out our Voodoo episode: https://youtu.be/AYqmFNF2s0U

Watch the documentary "Hargrove": https://youtu.be/liK1u6DQQ4M?si=SZ83SNHazZX2JMIm

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