(September 29, 2025) Tweet appeared during the middle of the neo-soul era, and her music has always had the qualities that made that sub-genre so appealing. Tweet understood and respected the artists who inspired the neo-soul performers, but she was not content to simply replicate their sound. She took the lyrical richness and the instrumental arrangements and merged it with production techniques and street-wise attitude fans heard in the hip-hop infused R&B of the late 90s and early 2000s to create something unique.
Tweet is equally comfortable bringing a bit of Memphis soul on “Best Friend,” her duet with Bilal or working it out on a banger like “Oops,” where she collaborates with legend and good friend Missy Elliott, both of which appear on her debut album Southern Hummingbird.
Tweet had the one quality consistently heard in the music of vocalists from the neo-soul era: strong and distinctive vocals. Her soprano is sweet and rangy, seductive yet conversational. Tweet’s vocals are intimate. They draw the listener in like they are a party to a discussion that the listener is not a party to. However, Tweet doesn’t mind of do the E F Hutton and lean in.
That’s what the Southern Hummingbird brings to her latest single, “Toot Toot,” that is the subject of this First Listen. The song sports a laid back, bluesy soul groove that features organs and blues guitar riffs. “Toot Toot” finds Tweet working through distancing herself from a man who she realizes isn’t ready or worthy of the attention she wants to give to him. The song is the lead single from her upcoming album Memoirs of A Southern Hummingbird. Check “Toot Toot” by Tweet here.
By Howard Dukes
