Taral Hicks | |
---|---|
Born | September 21, 1974 The Bronx, New York City, U.S. |
Education | Grace Dodge Vocational High School |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1993–present |
Spouse | Loren Dawson (m. 2001) |
Family | D'atra Hicks (sister) |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Labels | Motown |
Website | twitter |
Taral Hicks (born September 21, 1974) is an American actress and R&B singer. Hicks is best known for her acting in such films as 1993's American crime drama film A Bronx Tale and her 1997 debut R&B studio album This Time which featured a cover of Deniece Williams' "Silly" that peaked at No. 4 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
Raised in Bronx,NY, Hicks graduated from Grace Dodge in 1993. [1]
Hicks began her film career with a role in the critically acclaimed 1993 film, A Bronx Tale . Her subsequent film roles were small: 1995's Just Cause with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, and 1996's Educating Matt Waters and The Preacher's Wife with Whitney Houston. She appeared in the movie Belly in 1998. In 2000, she appeared on screen in the short film, Are You Cinderella?, with actor Wood Harris. Her later film roles were in independent films such as 2005's The Salon , with Vivica A. Fox, Dondre Whitfield, and Darrin Henson; 2006's Forbidden Fruits with Ella Joyce, Fredro Starr, and R&B singer Keith Sweat; 2007's Humenetomy; and 2010's Ex$pendable. Hicks featured in the HBO television series Subway Stories in 1997. Two guest roles followed: 2002's 100 Centre Street in the episode titled "Fathers", and a 2003 episode of Soul Food: The Series titled "The New Math".
Hicks co-starred in the musical stage play Tyler Perry's Aunt Bam's Place with Paris Bennett, Cassi Davis, Jeffrey Lewis, and Melonie Daniels. It had a 3-day run beginning August 30, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia (Cobb Energy Center) and was filmed for a DVD release on June 12, 2012. [2]
In 1995, Hicks signed a deal with Motown Records and released an album titled This Time . The single "Ooh, Ooh Baby", written by and featuring Missy Elliott, charted on the Billboard R&B singles chart. However, the lead single intended to debut her singing career was "Distant Lover", an uptempo track produced by Teddy Riley. The album did not take off until the second single, "Silly", a remake of the classic R&B hit by Deniece Williams, was released. Featuring a black-and-white music video directed by Hype Williams, the single charted well on the R&B chart. After collaborating on the video for "Silly", Williams cast Hicks as in his directorial film debut, 1998's Belly , as Keisha, DMX's girlfriend. The video for "Silly" appeared in one of the film's scenes. Hicks has expressed interest in pursuing a career in gospel music. [3]
Hicks is a 1993 graduate of Grace Dodge Vocational High School in the Bronx, New York. [1] She is the younger sister of actress and singer D'atra Hicks. In 1999, Hicks began dating Loren Dawson, [4] and the couple married in 2001.[ citation needed ]
Year | Album | Peak positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B | |||
1997 | This Time | — | — |
Year | Song | Peak positiona | |
---|---|---|---|
US Pop | US R&B | ||
1996 | "Ooh, Ooh Baby" (featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) | — | 81 |
1997 | "Distant Lover" | — | 60 |
1998 | "Silly" | 104 [5] | 54 |
"How Can I Get Over You" | — | — |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | A Bronx Tale | Jane Williams | |
1995 | Just Cause | Lena Brown | |
1996 | The Preacher's Wife | Teen | |
1997 | Subway Stories | Woman with Flowers | TV movie |
1998 | Belly | Keisha | |
2000 | Are You Cinderella? | Homeless Woman | Short |
2005 | The Salon | Trina | |
2006 | Forbidden Fruits | Nicole Walters | Video |
2007 | Humenetomy | Member of Gospel Choir | |
2010 | Ex$pendable | Brenda | Video |
2012 | Aunt Bam's Place | Mona | |
2014 | The Hilltop Barbershop | Member of the church choir | |
2016 | Where Hearts Lie | Shante Jackson | |
A Sub in the Brick City | Detective Tammy | Short | |
The 1 Closest 2 U | Le-Le | ||
Supposition | Cheryl Jameson | ||
King of Newark | Mistress | ||
2017 | The Hills | Dr. Welker | |
North Housing Authority | Billy Blaire News Caster | ||
2018 | King of Newark 2 | Lawyer | |
2020 | Bitch Lover | Mrs. Marshall | |
2022 | Gaslight | Kendra | |
Sleepyhead | Yvonne | ||
A Second Chance | Shena | ||
A Father's Pride | Sister Rose |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | 100 Centre Street | - | Episode: "Fathers" |
2003 | Soul Food | Naomi | Episode: "The New Math" |
2018 | Illusions | Kelly | Main Cast |
2020 | Chase Street | Beverly Johnson | Main Cast |
Ray Erskine Parker Jr. is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film Ghostbusters and also sounds from the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-5 hit in 1982 with "The Other Woman". He also performed with his band, Raydio, and with Barry White in the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
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.
Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
"Your Precious Love" is a popular song that was a 1967 hit for Motown singers Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song was written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. The doo-wop styled recording features background vocals by Fuqua, Gaye, Terrell and Bristol, and instrumentals by The Funk Brothers with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The song peaked at #5 on Billboard Pop Singles chart, #2 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, and the top 40 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The song was later sampled by Gerald Levert on the song, "Your Smile", on his 2002 album, The G Spot.
"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J. Blige.
Philip James Bailey is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his four-octave vocal range and distinctive falsetto register, Bailey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Bailey was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work with the band.
"My Guy" is a 1964 hit single by American singer Mary Wells for the Motown label. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, the song is a woman's rejection of a sexual advance and affirmation of her fidelity to her boyfriend, who is her ideal and with whom she is happy, despite his ordinary physique and looks.
"Think of You" is a song by American musician Usher. It was co-written by Usher alongside LaFace Records labelmate Donell Jones and Bad Boy singer Faith Evans for his self-titled debut album (1994). The song samples a groove from the instrumental track "Tidal Wave" (1975) by American jazz musician Ronnie Laws, also featuring vocals from rapper Biz Markie's "Just Rhymin' With Biz" (1987). Lyrically, "Think of You" finds the protagonist going through a breakup and dealing with conflicting feelings about his ex.
"Ooo Baby Baby" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore. It was a 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label.
Sharissa Dawes is an American singer. Born in New York City's borough of Brooklyn, Bronx raised, she began her musical career in the R&B group 4KaST. 4KaST released their 1998 debut album, Any Weather, on RCA Records, which was promoted with the singles "Miss My Lovin'" and "I Tried". After her time in the groups, Sharissa worked as a backing vocalist before she signed to Henchman/Motown Records.
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" is a song by Deniece Williams that appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film Footloose. The song was released as a single from both the soundtrack and her album of the song's same name on February 14, 1984, by Columbia Records. It was written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford and produced by George Duke. The song became Williams' second number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 1984, also topping the dance and R&B charts, and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, behind "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was certified platinum in the US and gold in Canada and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America, Music Canada and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively. The music video was released in mid-April 1984. The song features background vocals from George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who would go on to form the duo Boy Meets Girl.
"Free" is a song by American singer Deniece Williams that was included on her album This Is Niecy. The song was written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and Susaye Greene and produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney.
"It's Growing" is a 1965 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, on which it peaked at number 18. On Billboard's R&B singles chart, "It's Growing" peaked at number 3.
My Melody is the fifth studio album by American singer Deniece Williams, released in March 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart. My Melody was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
"Everything to Me" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written by fellow singer Jazmine Sullivan and co-produced by Missy Elliott and Cainon Lamb for her sixth studio album Still Standing (2010), incorporating a sample of the 1981 recording "Silly" as penned by Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald, and June Deniece Williams and performed by Deniece Williams.
Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high-school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" in 1984.
"Silly" is a song written by Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald and Deniece Williams and performed by Williams. The soulful ballad was released off Williams' My Melody album in 1981 and became the most successful track off the album reaching as high as number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming an even bigger success on the R&B chart where it peaked at number eleven. It has since gone on to become one of Williams' most requested songs over a career that has spanned over thirty years. The song featured production by Williams and respected Philly soul producer Thom Bell. The song was recorded at Philadelphia's acclaimed Sigma Sound Studios. The song would be later covered by singer Taral Hicks nearly two decades later in 1997 and was released as the second single off Hicks' debut album becoming a hit on the R&B chart.
Clarence Kermit "Mac" McDonald was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove.
"Ooh, Ooh Baby" is the debut single by American R&B singer Taral Hicks. The song features a guest appearance by then–unknown Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, who was at the time an ex-member of DeVante Swing's act Sista. The song was released on June 18, 1996, as the first single from Hicks' debut album, This Time (1997). A music video for the song was directed by Hype Williams, but it was never released.
This Time is the debut studio album by R&B singer Taral Hicks. It is noted for its feature of various collaborations from the likes of Teddy Riley, Narada Michael Walden and future superstars that were then-unknown at the time; including Missy Elliott, DJ Eddie F and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. The album also featured background vocals by Hicks' siblings; Tina Hicks, Miriam Hicks and Erik Hicks, who co-wrote two of the album's tracks: "A Lil' Somethin'" and "Whoopty Whoop".
When Shanell Jones graduated from Teaneck High School in June, she already had a deal with Def Jam, a major recording label. But as former Motown Records artist Taral Hicks (Teaneck, Class of 1994) and Alligator recording artist Shemekia Copeland (Teaneck, Class of 1997) could tell her, that's no big deal in this neck of the woods.