There is a serious problem plaguing many of today's successful

R&B and urban music artists.

Insufferably lame lyrics full of never-ending sexual innuendo, beats and rhythms that have been nicked from other hit singles, and videos containing nothing more than bootie, bootie and more bootie have cheapened the once-glorious sheen of soul.

This phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by one Haydain Neale.

The singer, songwriter and main force behind Toronto's smouldering Jacksoul admits that while there is plenty of great new music out there ("The new D'Angelo is incredible," he gushes), it can often get monotonous.

"We try to be different," says Neale, who performs at the Palace tomorrow as part of the Jazz Festival.

"We do it because we have something we really need to say. If you're going to rehash something you've already heard, you're just setting yourself up for something rather short-lived, so what's the point?"

Jacksoul's latest album, Sleepless, produced by The Philosopher Kings' Jon (Rabbi) Levine, is a classic blend of jazzy grooves, funky beats and soulfully elegant lyrics.

It's a more earthy, song-based record than the redundant shtick of many other recent R&B offerings.

"I don't think it's what (the listeners) want," says Neale of mainstream urban music.

"It's what's available to them. If I take a little kid out to McDonald's for the treat of the week for 10 years, and then all of a sudden take him to some five-star restaurant, it's going to be weird. But if they're given enough exposure to it, they'll get a taste for it.... That doesn't mean they'll ever stop having a Big Mac, because a Big Mac is the bomb if that's what you want and that's what's going to make you happy. But it doesn't mean you don't have just enough of a sweet tooth for something else."

While there is a burgeoning R&B scene in Canada, Neale says it will never reach the heights of the American industry unless Canadian record companies realize the value of top-notch production.

"We have incredible singers, but they're not produced properly," says Neale, 29.

"You really have to take production seriously as part of the songwriting."

Neale stresses it's extremely important for artists to choose producers who are experienced in their particular style of music.

"Some artists will find a producer who's done a good job on some rock albums and now he's found himself a drum machine to do the funky thing.

"But it's like, 'No, you don't understand!' You're better off getting a 15-year-old kid that only listens to a certain style of music, if that's the kind of tune you want to drop.

"You're not going to spend a million dollars making the album (in Canada) -- you're thinking of maybe $100,000. That doesn't mean you're record has to be automatically s--- as a result. It just means you have to spend that $100,000 really wisely."