Twenty-five years since „1st Born Second”, the album that defined neo-soul at the moment when that genre still meant something. Bilal marks it at „Bluz i Pivo” at Cetinjska 15 in Belgrade on December 17, at 21:00.

The Philadelphia singer debuted in 2001 with that album and the single „Soul Sista”. The record entered the top ten of the American R&B chart and has stayed among the model releases of the neo-soul generation. What followed was not a linear career. In 2010 he released „Airtight's Revenge” through his own Plug Research, an album that deliberately veered towards rock and guitar sound, with traces of jazz, blues and electronica, and reached 21st place on the Billboard R&B chart.

His biggest recognition came through someone else's album. Bilal sings on „Institutionalized” and „These Walls” on Kendrick Lamar's „To Pimp a Butterfly” from 2015, and for the latter he won his first Grammy, in the category for best rap/sung collaboration. That album took five Grammys out of eleven nominations and is among those that moved the line between hip-hop and jazz.

The space at Cetinjska 15 is a club, not a hall. For a voice that works in very quiet shades, that is closer to what it is meant for than any festival stage. Tickets are via tickets.rs.