Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty, keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They developed a devout fanbase and garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic described the band as "One of the most unique cult bands of the '90s...Driven by frontman M. Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry, Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism". Doughty described the band's sound as "deep slacker jazz". The group broke up in 2000. In June 2024, the group reunited for a United States tour in September and October of the same year.
Information Society is an American electronic band from Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, initially active from 1982 to 1997, primarily consisting of Kurt Harland Larson, Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist by 2008.
The music of Minnesota began with the native rhythms and songs of Indigenous peoples, the first inhabitants of the lands which later became the U.S. state of Minnesota. Métis fur-trading voyageurs introduced the chansons of their French ancestors in the late eighteenth century. As the territory was opened up to white settlement in the 19th century, each group of immigrants brought with them the folk music of their European homelands. Celtic, German, Scandinavian, and Central and Eastern European song and dance remain part of the vernacular music of the state today.
Robert Arthur Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.
June Deniece Williams is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free", "Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether. She is also known for recording “Without Us”, the theme song of Family Ties.
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists, most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group originally consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of gospel musician and choral director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. They are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered pioneers of contemporary gospel.
Next is an American R&B musical trio, popular during the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are best known for their Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit single "Too Close". They are also known for "Wifey", "Butta Love" and "I Still Love You", all of which still receive frequent airplay on Urban Adult Contemporary radio stations in the U.S. and internationally.
The Revolution is an American band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, pop, R&B, funk, new wave and psychedelic elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.
Ann Nesby is an American R&B, gospel and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight; and an actress who co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles.
Mint Condition is an American R&B band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band is focused on diverse genres such as jazz, hip hop, funk and dance. Mint Condition has also been nominated for one Grammy and three Soul Train Awards. The group is credited with being one of the last major funk bands to chart before hip-hop and new jack swing dominated black music in the 1990s.
Cynthia Johnson is an American singer, songwriter and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the band Lipps Inc. with the worldwide smash hit "Funkytown".
Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard bluegrass chart. Their fifth release, Palomino, stayed in the chart's Top 10 for 52 straight weeks. Their latest album, Alpenglow, was released on October 28, 2022.
"Optimistic" is a song by American vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, recorded for their debut studio album The Evolution of Gospel (1991). It was written and produced by Gary Hines, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and features vocals from Ann Bennett-Nesby, Carrie Harrington, Coré Cotton, Patricia Lacy, and Jamecia Bennett. The urban contemporary gospel song was released as the group's debut single and reached the top three on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart. A remake by August Greene featuring Brandy was released in 2018. Jadakiss also recorded a version of the song, titling it "Keep Ya Head Up". The song was included on his first album, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye.
"The Right Kinda Lover" is a song by American singer and actress Patti LaBelle. It was written by Ann Bennett-Nesby, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, and James "Big Jim" Wright, while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Wright as co-producing. The song was released as the first single from her LaBelle's 12th album, Gems (1994), and appeared on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Beverly Hills Cop III, starring Eddie Murphy.
"When You Talk About Love" is a song recorded by American singer and actress Patti LaBelle. It was written by Ann Nesby, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, and James "Big Jim" Wright for her thirteenth studio album, Flame (1997). Production was helmed by Harris and Lewis, with Wright credited as co-producer. Released as the album's lead single, it became one of the LaBelle's most popular hit singles in the 1990s, reaching number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A dance remix of the song helped to bring the song to number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, making it the fourth number-one dance single in LaBelle's career. The accompanying music video featured LaBelle playing a teacher giving a "class" about love.
"The Pressure Part 1" is a 1991 song by American recording artist group Sounds of Blackness. Released as the second single from their album, The Evolution of Gospel. The track was written by Gary Hines, James Samuel Harris III and Terry Lewis. "The Pressure Part 1" was the group's second release to make the US R&B singles chart where it peaked at #16. The single was also the first of two number ones on the US dance chart. "The Pressure" was selected as one of the "100 Top Dance Songs" by Slant Magazine. The single was also featured in the 1996 Walt Disney Pictures movie First Kid.
Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum is an album by vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, released in 1994. It includes the singles "I'm Going All the Way", "I Believe", "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" and "Black Butterfly".
I'm Here for You is the debut album by the American singer Ann Nesby, released in 1996. Nesby supported the album by performing at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics, in Atlanta.
James Quentin "Big Jim" Wright was an American musician, composer, songwriter, film score and record producer. A member of the vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, Wright became a frequent collaborator of production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and an in-house producer for their company, Flyte Tyme Productions, in the 1990s.
