Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop, Badu became associated with the neo soul subgenre in the 1990s and 2000s along with artists like D'Angelo. She has been called the Queen of Neo soul. Badu's career began after she opened a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment. Her first album, Baduizm, was released in February 1997. It spawned four singles: "On & On", "Appletree", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her first live album, Live, was released in November 1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
Baduizm is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Erykah Badu, released on February 11, 1997 by Kedar Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill was the main recipient, winning a total of 5 awards including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Her album was the first hip hop act ever to win the coveted award. The ceremony was known as the "Grammy Year of Women", because every artist nominated for Album of the Year was female. Madonna won four awards and opened the show with her performance of "Nothing Really Matters" while musicians the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain won two apiece. Celine Dion also received two awards both for "My Heart Will Go On", which received a total of four awards. It is widely remembered for Ricky Martin's performance of "La Copa De La Vida"/ "The Cup of Life".
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, Vandross was an in-demand background vocalist for several different artists including Todd Rundgren, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, and Donna Summer. He later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released its gold-certified debut album, The Glow of Love, in 1980 on Warner/RFC Records. After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a solo artist and released his debut solo album, Never Too Much, in 1981.
The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Beyoncé, who won five awards, and Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year. Tied for the most nominations, with six each, were Beyoncé, Outkast, and Jay-Z.
Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. Critics have also noted that while Badu's first album Baduizm contained its share of cryptic lyricism, Mama's Gun is much more direct in its approach, and places the artist in a subjective position more than its predecessor.
The St. Lucia Jazz Festival is an annual event on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia that brings together local and international musicians. The festival presents jazz, R&B, and Calypso music.
James Jason Poyser is an English–American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and current member of the hip hop band The Roots.
The Essence Festival, known as "the party with a purpose", is an annual music festival which started in 1995 as a one-time event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence, a magazine aimed primarily towards African-American women. It became the largest African-American culture and music event in the United States. Locally referred to as the Essence Fest, it has been held in New Orleans, Louisiana since 1995 except in 2006, when it was held in Houston, Texas due to Hurricane Katrina's effect on New Orleans and 2020 when it was cancelled. It was also held in Durban, South Africa in 2016. The festival features artists simultaneously performing on a main stage as well as four standing-room only superlounge stages.
The 1999 Soul Train Music Awards was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California and aired live in select cities on March 26, 1999, honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was hosted by Tyra Banks, Brian McKnight and Monica.
The 2003 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 1, 2003, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The show was co-hosted by Queen Latifah and Arsenio Hall.
The 2004 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 27, 2004 at the International Cultural Center Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Alicia Keys and Babyface.
The 2005 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 12, 2005 at the Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Brian McKnight, Fantasia, Nick Cannon and Nicole Richie.
The Sugar Water Festival was a music festival founded by American recording artists Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah and Jill Scott. The trek played to amphitheaters and arenas in the United States during the summer of 2005 and 2006. It began in 2005 as an event to bring awareness to health issues to African-American women. British duo Floetry opened shows during the 2005 run. The festival was relaunched briefly in 2006 with Kelis opening the show and comedian Mo'Nique hosting the festival. 2006 was the final year for the outing. The festival had plans to expand into Europe and Asia, however, this did not come to fruition.
Lady is a song co-written, co-produced and performed by American neo soul singer D'Angelo, issued as the third single from his debut studio album Brown Sugar. A remixed version of the song was also released, featuring vocals from American hip hop musician AZ. Separate music videos were created for both versions of the song.
Poogie Bell is an American jazz drummer, composer, band leader and producer. Bell is best known as a drummer, working extensively with bassists Marcus Miller and as a sideman for other artists such as Erykah Badu, Victor Bailey, David Bowie, Stanley Clarke, Randy Crawford, Roberta Flack, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Joe Sample, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Stanley Turrentine, Luther Vandross, Vanessa Williams and Victor Wooten.
The 3rd BET Awards took place at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 24, 2003. The awards recognized Americans in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian Mo'Nique hosted the event for the first time.
Ivan Hampden Jr. is an American jazz and R&B drummer, composer, and record producer. He was Luther Vandross’ tour and session drummer from 1987 to 2003.
The 2013 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony took place on December 1, 2013 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada and was hosted by comedian and actor Anthony Anderson. The ceremony was aired on BET and Centric and included special tributes to Dionne Warwick, who received the Soul Train Legend Award and Keith Sweat given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Anthony Kilhoffer is an American hip hop record producer, songwriter and engineer, best known for his collaborations with Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Rick Ross.
