Gladys Maria Knight, known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer and actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her group The Pips, which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been called "a hip hop masterpiece."
TLC is an American girl group whose original line-up consisted of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1990, the group enjoyed success during the 1990s. After the addition of Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, they scored nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number-one singles: "Creep", "Waterfalls", "No Scrubs", and "Unpretty". The group also recorded four multi-platinum albums, including CrazySexyCool (1994), which received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). TLC also became the first R&B group in history to receive the Million certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for FanMail (1999).
Patricia Louise Holte best known as Patti LaBelle, is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and frontwoman of the vocal group Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the 1970s, they released the popular song "Lady Marmalade" which was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. As a result, the group became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and the first pop group to play at the Metropolitan Opera House. LaBelle is referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and ten Billboard Music Awards. 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.
Soul Train is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and executive producer.
Ciara Princess Wilson is an American singer. Born in Fort Hood, Texas, her family eventually settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where she joined the girl group Hearsay. She later signed a publishing deal and befriended producer Jazze Pha, who recorded demos that would appear on her debut album. With his help, Ciara signed a record deal with LaFace Records.
Chanté Torrane Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer.
Yolanda Yvette Adams is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold nearly 10 million albums worldwide. In addition to achieving multi-platinum status, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards. She was the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.
LeToya Nicole Luckett is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a member of Destiny's Child, she achieved four US Top 10 hit singles, "No, No, No", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name" and "Jumpin', Jumpin'", and won two Grammy Awards. In the 2000s, she began her solo career after leaving the group and signing a record deal with Capitol Records. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), debuted at number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA, that same year.
The Grind Date is the seventh studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on October 5, 2004. The album was originally intended to be the final album of the Art Official Intelligence (AOI) trilogy, but as the album quickly changed focus, the group decided to put AOI III on hold and finish The Grind Date as a stand-alone work.
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American singer who embarked on her music career contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. At the time, she was known as B2K member Lil' Fizz's "cousin", though she is not actually related to him. It was used as a marketing tool, suggested by Sony and Epic Records to promote Aiko through the group and cultivate her own following. In 2003, Aiko was set to release her debut album, My Name Is Jhené, through her labels Sony, The Ultimate Group and Epic; however, the album was never released, with Aiko eventually asking to be released from the label in order to continue her education.
Jazmine Marie Sullivan is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, Fearless was released in 2008 to commercial and critical success. The record topped Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned four singles, including "Need U Bad" and "Bust Your Windows", both of which were in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart; the former became Sullivan's first and only number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Turnin Me On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, from her debut album, In a Perfect World... The song features American rapper Lil Wayne who co-wrote the song alongside Hilson and Zachary Anson Wallace. Production credits are shared between Danja and Polow da Don, who also co-wrote the song. Following the minimal chart success of Hilson's worldwide lead single "Energy" in the United States, international markets received "Return the Favor", while "Turnin Me On" was released as the third single in the US.
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Los Angeles as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notable roles included as a motion-capture model in the animated film The Polar Express (2004), Robin Wheeler in the Cartoon Network television series Out of Jimmy's Head (2007–2008), and a recurring role in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2008–2009).
Woman to Woman is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Keyshia Cole, released on November 19, 2012 through Geffen Records and Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place between early 2011 and mid-late 2012. Cole enlisted a variety of producers such as Darhyl Camper, Dru Castro, Eric Hudson, Harmony Samuels, Keyz, Rodney Jerkins, T-Minus, Vidal and Wonda. Musically, Woman to Woman is an R&B album, that featured guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Ashanti, Elijah Blake, and Robin Thicke.
Leah LaBelle Vladowski was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of American Idol, placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began recording covers of R&B and soul music for her YouTube channel. These videos led to work as a backing vocalist starting in 2008 and a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. LaBelle released a sampler, three singles, and a posthumous extended play (EP).
"Sexify" is a song recorded by American singer Leah LaBelle, which was released on May 1, 2012, as part of the sampler album Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle (2012). Written and produced by Pharrell Williams, it was the first song that LaBelle recorded with Williams as part of a joint record deal with Epic Records, So So Def Recordings, and I Am Other. It is an R&B song that features throwback elements to 1990s music. In its lyrics inspired by headlines from the women's fashion magazine Cosmopolitan, LaBelle instructs a woman on how to draw and keep the attention of a man.
"I Choose You" is a song by American singer Keyshia Cole released for her fifth studio album, Woman to Woman (2012) as the album's third and final single. Written by Cole, Jack Splash, Elijah Blake, and Lundon Knighten, with production being handled by Splash, the song was sent to US urban contemporary radio stations as the album's third and final single on August 23, 2013 through Geffen Records and Interscope Records. A sentimental ballad, its lyrics revolve around Cole being caught in a love triangle and struggling to choose which man she wants.
Whitney Shay is an American blues, soul, and rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. To date, Shay has released three albums including her 2012 debut issue, Soul Tonic.
