Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award. She has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
The Pointer Sisters are an American girl group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as R&B, pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country, and rock. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. The group had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985.
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with Warner Bros. Records, she was asked by veteran producer Quincy Jones to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995), earning her Grammy Award nominations for their collaboration on "You Put a Move on My Heart" and "Slow Jams". Her self-titled debut album was released in 1998 and followed by a series of successful albums with Elektra Records, including A Nu Day (2000) and More (2004). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including "So Into You", "Stranger in My House", and "Imagination", as well as her collaborations "Into You", "Missing You", and "Spend My Life with You".
Floetry were an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart. The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage. They have worked with many US musicians and artists including: Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, Michael Jackson, Common, The Roots, Bilal, and more founders of Neo-Soul.
Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American R&B singer who had top 10 hit songs in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, including "Baby, Be Mine" (1987), "Come Share My Love" (1986) and "Love Under New Management" (1990). "Ain't Nobody Like You" (1992) and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" (1989) both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.
Rapture is the second album by American vocalist Anita Baker, released in 1986. This became Baker's breakout album and earning her two Grammy Awards. The album's first track, "Sweet Love", was a top 10 Billboard hit in addition to winning a Grammy Award. The album has sold over eight million copies worldwide, including five million in the US alone.
The Songstress is the debut solo album by the American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. It was originally released in 1983 by Beverly Glen Music, and was Baker's only album for that label prior to signing with Elektra Records with whom she had a string of hit albums. The Songstress was not a commercial success upon its initial release, though the album met with moderate success on the R&B charts. It did have a 1984 compact disc release and was one of the first independently released compact Discs. Notorious drug trafficker "Freeway" Rick Ross helped provide the money for the album.
"Sweet Love" is a song by American R&B singer and songwriter Anita Baker from her second studio album, Rapture (1986). It was written by Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson, and Gary Bias, and produced by Michael J. Powell. It was released in May 1986 as the album's first single.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, which includes lead singer Ziggy Marley with Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Stephen Marley. Formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members began their musical endeavours in their pre-teens under the name the Melody Makers.
A Nu Day is the second studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released by Elektra Records on October 10, 2000, following her transition from Qwest Records. A less ballad-driven collection of songs and more progressive approach than her debut effort, Tamia worked with a smaller number of songwriters and producers on the album, including Dallas Austin, Shep Crawford, Missy Elliott, Bink!, Errol "Poppi" McCalla, and Jazz Nixon, some of whom would become frequent collaborators on subsequent albums. As with Tamia, a cover version, DeBarge's 1983 single "Love Me in a Special Way", was also recorded for the album.
Ledisi Anibade Young, better known simply as Ledisi, is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.
Rhythm of Love is the fifth album by American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker, released in 1994. The album peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop chart and was certified double platinum, giving Baker her fourth platinum selling album.
Michael J. Powell is an American R&B musician, record producer and arranger who is best known for his work as producer for eight time Grammy Award-winning soul / R&B vocalist Anita Baker.
The Best of Anita Baker is a compilation album by the American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. It was released on June 18, 2002, in the United States by Rhino Records, and compiles material from Baker's career spanning 1983–2002. As of March 2004, the album has sold 402,000 copies and been certified Gold by the RIAA. The album spent 92 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming the longest-charting album by a female artist on the chart and 16 weeks on the Billboard 200.
The Rapture Tour was the first headlining concert tour by American recording artist Anita Baker in support of her second studio album Rapture (1986). The tour started in mid-March 1986, visiting several cities throughout North America and Europe. In 1987, Baker kicked off a North America second leg trek, which included seven dates in Los Angeles at the Beverly Theatre in January, including two and three-night dates in Merrillville, Indiana, New York City and Miami, Florida. The outing included four sold-out shows scheduled in Washington, D.C., and three consecutive dates for the second visit in Merrillville, Indiana.
American singer-songwriter Anita Baker has released six studio albums, one compilation & live album, and twenty-four singles. Referred as the "Queen of Romantic Quiet-Storm R&B/Soul", she is considered to be one of the most successful and influential R&B artists of the 1980s. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Baker has sold 13 million certified albums in the United States, including three multi-platinum albums. She has also scored 5 number-one hits on Billboard's Adult R&B Airplay and 13 top ten hits on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"You Belong to Me" is a song written by American singer-songwriters Carly Simon and Michael McDonald. Originally recorded by McDonald's rock group The Doobie Brothers for their seventh studio album, Livin' on the Fault Line (1977), the song was made famous by Simon when she recorded it for her seventh studio album, Boys in the Trees (1978). A live version of the song from The Doobie Brothers' 1983 album Farewell Tour would later chart on the Pop Singles chart at No. 79 in August 1983.
Beautiful Surprise is the fifth studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released by her own label, Plus One Music Group on August 28, 2012 in the United States, with distribution handled by EMI and Capitol Records. Her first release since 2006's Between Friends following a longer hiatus during which she gave birth and raised her second daughter with husband Grant Hill, much of Beautiful Surprise was produced in the eight months leading up to the release of the album. A breakaway from her previous effort, Tamia consulted a wider range of musicians to work with her, including Claude Kelly, The Runners, duo Carvin & Ivan, Salaam Remi, and frequent collaborator Shep Crawford.
Ella Mai Howell is an English R&B singer-songwriter. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of The X Factor. In 2015, she released her debut four-track solo extended play (EP), Troubled in October of that year. The EP and her performances on social media were discovered by American record producer DJ Mustard, who signed Mai to his record label 10 Summers Records, an imprint of Interscope Records.
Jeri Keever "Bunny" Hull is an American songwriter, musician, and author. Her catalog includes music, film and television projects. She is a recipient of 20 Gold and Platinum Certifications, a Grammy Award and two nominations, an Emmy nomination, a GMA Dove Award, a BMI Performance Award, and multiple Parents' Choice Awards. In 2021, Hull was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.
