Hip-hop soul is a subgenre of both contemporary R&B and soul music, and the term generally describes a style of music that blends R&B/soul singing and hip hop production. The genre served as the middle point between two other hip-hop/R&B blends, new jack swing and neo soul, and was most popular during the mid-1990s.

Many of the artists who released hip-hop soul records had previously released new jack swing (or, for the female performers, new jill swing) recordings, including Jodeci, SWV, and TLC. The major difference between the two was that hip-hop soul contained less of an R&B feel than new jack swing, samples instead of synthesizer lines, and featured strong elements of 1990s East Coast hip hop and gangsta rap. Other artists who recorded hip-hop soul tracks include Montell Jordan (the first R&B artist to sign with hip-hop label Def Jam Records), Blackstreet (led by Teddy Riley, the inventor of new jack swing), Groove Theory, and the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul", Mary J. Blige.