Lion Babe Research Paper

Breaking into the mass media music scene is difficult; either an artist is lucky enough to release a single that completely takes over every radio station and tops all the charts, or it flops and remains in musical obscurity until either the artist manages to become popular or they completely fade out and lose their shot at fame. The music industry is ruthless, and to be an artist that manages to break through and become well known and popular could take years. Lion Babe, a band made up of only two people (one of which is Jillian Hervey, Vanessa William’s daughter), could become a single-releasing wonder, or they could remain where they are now, playing venues but gaining no traction. The duo has potential, much like many up-and-coming bands

Mark Edward Nero, “a professional Los Angeles-area journalist and music critic” (as seen in About Entertainment’s article “Journalist and Music Critic Mark Edward Nero.”), defined neo-soul to be “a musical genre that fuses contemporary R&B and 1970s-style soul with elements of hip-hop” in his article titled “What is Neo-Soul?” Even though the definition of neo-soul states that it is involved with 1970’s music, it is widely accepted in the R&B community that neo-soul “actually originated in the late 1990s,” which is still relatively new in terms of music (Nero). Lion Babe, made up by members Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman, was created in 2012 and was quickly signed to Interscope Records right after their release of the song “Treat Me Life Fire” before disappearing for 18 months in order to write and produce more music (Buerger). Both the band and the neo-soul genre are still relatively new and have the time to gain exposure and build a name for themselves. Neo-Soul, even though it’s a new hidden gem in the music industry, has already been influenced by a myriad of popular artists today, such as John Legend and his single “Used to Love U,” Aloe Blacc and his song “I Need a Dollar,” and Corinne Bailey Rae with her single “Put Your Records On” (Lambe); for Lion Babe to be associated with a music genre that is still so fresh – but has already been influenced by so many amazing artists – is fortunate because this edge gives them the opportunity to collaborate with so many musicians than can help them advance their career outside of the tiny neo-soul