salems

video

salems — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:51:02 +0000

video

salems — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:37:34 +0000

video

salems — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:29:24 +0000

Erykah Badu

salems — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:21:29 +0000

Born: February 26, 1971, Dallas, TX
Active: ’90s, 2000s
Genres: Rhythm & Blues
Instrument: Vocals
Representative Albums: “Baduizm,” “New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War,” “Worldwide Underground”
Representative Songs: “On & On,” “Tyrone,” “Appletree”
She grew up listening to ’70s soul and ’80s hip-hop, but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm. The grooves and production on the album are bass-heavy R&B, but Badu’s langurous, occasionally tortured vocals and delicate phrasing immediately removed her from the legion of cookie-cutter female R&B singers. A singer/songwriter responsible for all but one of the songs on Baduizm, she found a number 12 hit with her first single “On & On,” which pushed the album to number two on the charts.Born Erica Wright in Dallas in 1971, Badu attended a school of the arts and was working as a teacher and part-time singer in her hometown when she opened for D’Angelo at a 1994 show. D’Angelo‘s manager, Kedar Massenburg, was impressed with the performance and hooked her up with the singer to record a cover of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet “Precious Love.” He also signed Badu to his recently formed Kedar Entertainment label, and served as producer for Baduizm, which also starred bassist Ron Carter and members of hip-hop avatars the Roots on several tracks. The first single, “On & On,” became a number one R&B hit in early 1997, and Baduizm followed it to the top of the R&B album charts by March. Opening for R&B acts as well as rap’s Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu stopped just short of number one on the pop album charts in April. Her Live album followed later in the year. In 2000 she returned with her highly anticipated second studio album, Mama’s Gun, which was co-produced by Badu, James Poyser, Bilal and Jay Dee and contained the hit single “Bag Lady.” Worldwide Underground, a loose affair billed as an EP despite being longer than many full-lengths, was released in 2003. Her next step, 2008′s New AmErykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, initiated a series of planned releases across the following year. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

keri hilson

salems — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:24:17 +0000

Keri Hilson was born October 27, 1982 in Atlanta, Georgia. Hilson began writing songs as a child, and continued to pursue her passion for music while a student at Oxford College in Atlanta. Hilson has penned songs for many established artists such as Toni Braxton, Xzibit, Ciara, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Timbaland, the Pussycat Dolls, Kelly Rowland, and many others. Hilson has also added background vocals in many of the songs she has written. She was featured on Xzibit’s single, “Hey Now (Mean Muggin’)”, and performed with Xzibit at the 2004 MTV Europe Awards. After “Hey Now” Hilson was featured in the video for the Nelly Furtado single “Promiscuous.” In 2007, Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E., became a Top 10 hit. Timbaland and Hilson are reportedly working on her debut album. Long before establishing herself in the music industry, 13-year-old Keri and her family moved into this home in Lithonia, Georgia, shortly after its construction in 1995.

video

salems — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:11:21 +0000

India arie

salems — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:47:40 +0000

India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson on October 3, 1975) is a Grammy Award winning American soul, R&B, and neo soul singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and flautist.

Arie was born in Denver, Colorado. She absorbed musical skills early in life as she was encouraged by both parents. Her mother Joyce is a former singer (she was signed to Motown as a teenager and opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green)^[1] and is now her stylist. Her father is former ABA and NBA basketball player Ralph Simpson. She has an older brother named J’On. After her parents divorced, Arie’s mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was thirteen.^[2] Arie had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, but her interest in the guitar while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. “When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs”, she said at the press release of her debut album, Acoustic Soul.

Co-founding the Atlanta-based independent music collective Groovement EarthShare (Groovement was the collective artists’ name and EarthShare was their independent label name), her one-song turn on a locally-released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the 1998 Lilith Fair. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to former Motown CEO Kedar Massenberg.

ciara

salems — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:37:31 +0000

Mostly Credited As:	Ciara
Sometimes Credited As:	Ciara Harris
Birth Name:	Ciara Princess Harris
Date Of Birth:	October 25, 1985 (Age 23)
Country Of Birth:	USA
Birth Place:	Austin, Texas
Height:	5‘ 8“ (1.72 m)

Ciara “Princess” Harris was born on October 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas. She moved around a lot when she was younger because her father was in the US Army. She grew up in army bases in Germany, New York, California, Arizona, and Nevada . Ciara said after seeing a Destiny’s Child’s performance on television it inspired her to pursue a career in music. In her early teens she formed the goal to become a professional singer. She joined a girl group, worked on her songwriting, left the group, got a publishing deal, and found a “music soul mate” when she met producer Jazze Pha.

video

salems — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:24:55 +0000