# The Waxonia Desk: The Soulquarians Room

Five records from the two years around Voodoo, when a group of musicians in one New York studio argued a genre into existence — plus the sampled bar that the drumming on all of them is answering.

- **Picks:** 5
- **Genre:** Neo-Soul
- **Years:** 1970–2000
- **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/

## The picks

Selected, not ranked — the order is the curator’s, and carries no claim about which is best.

### [D'Angelo](https://waxonia.com/artist/dangelo/) — [Untitled (How Does It Feel)](https://waxonia.com/track/dangelo--untitled-how-does-it-feel/)

*2000 · Virgin*

The band play so far behind the beat that it feels like a dare. Most of that feel is four people refusing to hurry each other rather than anything that was ever written down.

Also on: [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/D'Angelo%20Untitled%20(How%20Does%20It%20Feel)) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVNOnPyvIU)

### [Slum Village](https://waxonia.com/artist/slum-village/) — [Guess Who](https://waxonia.com/track/slum-village--guess-who/)

*2000 · Barak*

Dilla's drums audibly and deliberately out of time: the single most imitated piece of programming of the last thirty years, released before anyone had a name for what it was doing.

Also on: [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Slum%20Village%20Guess%20Who) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Slum%20Village%20Guess%20Who)

### [Common](https://waxonia.com/artist/common/) — [The Light](https://waxonia.com/track/common--the-light/)

*2000 · MCA*

The same producer, the same year, aimed at a completely different target. Proof that the collective was a sound rather than just a building on Eighth Street with good equipment in it.

Also on: [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Common%20The%20Light) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=OjHX7jf-znA)

### [Lauryn Hill](https://waxonia.com/artist/lauryn-hill/) — [Ex-Factor](https://waxonia.com/track/lauryn-hill--ex-factor/)

*1998 · Ruffhouse*

Made just outside the collective and unmistakably of the same moment. The competition between these records is audible on all of them, and it made every one of them better.

Also on: [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lauryn%20Hill%20Ex-Factor) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-bnWqLqxE)

### [James Brown](https://waxonia.com/artist/james-brown/) — [Funky Drummer](https://waxonia.com/track/james-brown--funky-drummer/)

*1970 · King*

The bar underneath everything above it. A generation of drummers learned Clyde Stubblefield from a sampler rather than from the record, and played him differently as a result.

Also on: [Funk](https://waxonia.com/genre/funk/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/James%20Brown%20Funky%20Drummer) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtpj8qa1hQ)

## About the curator

The people who write the rankings on this site. We keep the lists honest, we argue about the order, and we get asked the same question more than any other: where should someone actually start. These are our answers.

Elsewhere: https://waxonia.com/

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.