Soul'd Out

Soul'd Out formed around lead MC Diggy Mo, beatboxer and supporting MC Bro Hi, and producer/DJ Shinnosuke. The trio issued its initial recording, a self-produced limited pressing, toward the end of 2002. Their sound favors accessible hip-hop while occasionally folding in each member's background to offset otherwise standard party tracks. Diggy Mo contributes fragments drawn from his classical studies before commercial breakthrough, Bro Hi sprinkles in beatbox accents acquired after a transformative Roots show at the height of Rahzel's influence, and Shinnosuke supplies an R&B sensibility shaped chiefly by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. After touring alongside the Heartsdales, the group cultivated a wider audience that secured a major-label single in 2003; the track moved respectably and reached the Oricon Top 20. A follow-up single entered the Top Ten, prompting the swift release of their self-titled debut album. Extensive road work in 2004 included opening slots for Mary J. Blige across Japan and generated anticipation for the 2005 sophomore effort To All tha Dreamers, which peaked at number two on the Oricon charts. A third album appeared in 2006 and was succeeded by assorted compilations and remixes. In 2008 the band returned with the full-length Attitude, which ascended the Oricon rankings and maintained a presence for most of the year while further related compilations also surfaced.