Lil’ Mo

Lil’ Mo (born Cynthia Loving on November 19, 1978 in Long Island, New York) is a female R&B singer who is known as a one-hit wonder in the early 2000s and for working with artists such as Ja Rule, Missy Elliott and Fabolous.

Lil’ Mo was born into a military family. She was primarily raised on Long Island, but she moved regularly due to her father’s military assignments.She resided in Texas, Atlanta & North Carolina before settling down in Baltimore, Maryland. She used to perform in talent competitions wherever her family resided.

By the time she became an adult, Lil’ Mo moved to Manhattan, New York with hopes of pursuing a music career. In early 1998 (as she was submitting demo material to singer Nicole Wray’s debut album “Make it Hot”), she received a callback from Merlin Bobb who later connected her to Missy Elliott.

Fascinated by her voice, Missy requested Lil’ Mo to immediately come to the Elektra Recording studios in New Jersey. After her arrival, she landed a record deal with Elektra Records and she began closely working with Missy throughout the early part of her career.

Shortly after Nicole Wray’s debut album was released, Lil’ Mo began working on her own debut album. In between recording sessions, she would either collaborate on Missy’s records or perform in Missy’s touring venues.
By the fall of 1998, Elektra Records serviced Lil’ Mo’s debut single “5 Minutes” to radio. It was not only released as the lead single for the soundtrack to the movie “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” it was also the original lead single for Lil’ Mo’s debut album.

Even though “5 Minutes” managed to chart at #72 on the U.K. Singles chart, it didn’t generate a lot of success in the U.S. despite the music video receiving frequent airplay on the BET network and the College Television Network. The song also had generally favorable reviews by critics. Due to the underperformance of “5 Minutes,” it was pulled from the album’s final tracklisting.

In 1999, a promotional single “If You Wanna Dance” was released, but didn’t appear to make the album’s final tracklisting.

Lil’ Mo’s debut album was scheduled to be released in March of 1999, but her record label pushed back the release date multiple times hoping to revamp Lil’ Mo’s sound & image. During that same year, she gained exposure for appeared on Old Dirty Bastard’s song “Good Morning Heartache” and Missy Elliott’s single “Hot Boyz.”

In 2000, Lil’ Mo was granted her own production company called HoneyChild Entertainment. She was featured on Ja Rule’s single “Put it On Me” which became a pop and R&B hit. More collaborations by Ja Rule and Lil’ Mo followed (including the song “I Cry”).
In April of 2000, Lil’ Mo released the lead single from her debut album “Ta Da” which peaked at #95 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 17 weeks. The song was written by R&B singer Montell Jordan and received generally favorable reviews from critics.

During the song’s run on radio, DJ Boogie (from Pittsburgh radio station WAMO) noted that the reception was “more positive than negative” and “the females especially have been feeling it.”

Elektra Records was unhappy with the chart performance of “Ta Da” which resulted in disputes between Lil’ Mo and the record label’s executives. The dispute later developed over the album’s follow-up single “Superwoman.”

In February of 2001, “Superwoman” (which was produced by Bryan-Michael Cox) was released. It managed to peak at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for only 9 weeks.

The song received mixed reviews by critics & failed to get any successful airplay on radio. Because of that, Elektra Records pushed Lil’ Mo’s debut album back to a later date in 2001.

Lil’ Mo tried convincing her record label that “Superwoman” would be a hit and in order to prove it, she contacted DJ Clue to remix the track with a beat that he was holding for rap duo M.O.P. At first, DJ Clue wasn’t supportive about the idea, but after loving the results, he premiered it on New York City radio station Hot 97’s radio show.

Following the song’s premiere, it began circulating on various mixtapes and began charting on the Billboard charts, but because Billboard didn’t allow remixes to chart, Lil ‘Mo had to convince Elektra Records to re-release the single under an alternate title (now known as) “Superwoman Pt. II.”

During a 2-hour studio session, Lil’ Mo recorded the vocals for “Superwoman” at Enterprise Records in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Additionally, she had to beatbox the infamous stuttering “da-da-da-da-da” beat to her production team since they weren’t understanding her vision.

Since Lil’ Mo was in Los Angeles at the time, she had a deadline to transfer her vocals via a CD to give to DJ Clue at a New York airline. Within the song’s deadline, a relative of Lil’ Mo’s requested her to feature “the mixtape rapper who spells his name” (also known as rapper Fabolous).

Lil’ Mo contacted DJ Clue to see if it was possible to add Fabolous to the record. At the time, Fabolous was shocked at her decision to feature him on the song because she had worked with other well-known rappers such as Ja Rule & Jay-Z.
“Superwoman Pt. II” became a hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #36 on Billboard’s Top 40 Tracks chart, #8 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #4 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks The success of “Superwoman Pt. II” helped bring Fabolous (who was a underground artist at the time) to mainstream success.

In May of 2001, she became engaged to Al Stone. They first met at a gas station in Washington, D.C.

On June 22, 2001, Lil’ Mo was assaulted by a male civilian at a San Francisco, California concert venue while being escorted to a limo. She was bludgeoned in the head by the man’s champagne bottle causing her to be hospitalized & received 20 stitches.

The assault left Lil’ Mo traumatized and suspicious, believing that it must’ve been a potential set-up. A reward (ranging from $1,000 to $5,000). Even though her assailant was never discovered, local police in San Francisco received anonymous tips that the attacker boasted about his actions at a Hunters Point housing project near San Francisco.
On June 26, 2001, Lil’ Mo released her debut album “Based on a True Story” which peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 and #6 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. It was later certified Gold by the RIAA.
In August of 2001, the last single from the album “Gangsta (Love 4 the Streets)” was released. The track samples Snoop Dogg’s 1994 song “Gin & Juice.” The song peaked at #39 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #57 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.

The music video for the single was directed by Chris Robinson. It was originally slated to be a double-video shoot along with the single “Supa Star” (which was later cancelled), but due to Lil Mo’s assault in San Francisco, the plans were quickly changed to meet the deadline of mid-July of 2001.

The video aired on BET in late August of 2001. During that same month, Lil’ Mo married Al Stone.

In 2002, she developed an interest in communications after working as a part-time anchor for Baltimore urban radio station WXYV-FM. In August of that same year, she gave birth to her first daughter Heaven Love’on Stone.

Also in that same year, Lil’ Mo began working on her sophomore album. She told Billboard magazine that she was going to purposely use a different sound for the album in hopes of convincing the public to overlook her creditability for her single “Superwoman Pt. II.”
In February of 2003, the lead single from the album “4Ever” (featuring Fabolous) was released. The song peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 23 weeks.
The song “Ten Commandments” (featuring Lil’ Kim) was supposed to be the album’s second single, but due to limited promotion & attempts for a music video were unsuccessful, it was never given a proper release.
On April 29, 2003, Lil’ Mo’s sophomore album “Meet the Girl Next Door” was released. It peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

In May of 2003, Lil’ Mo released the single “21 Answers” (a response to 50 Cent’s song “21 Questions”) was sent to radio as a promotional single.

It managed to peak at #50 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks, but was not featured on the album’s final tracklisting because it didn’t finalize in time to meet the deadline for the album.

Two more promotional singles from the album “1st Time” and “Shoulda Known” were released, but didn’t make the Billboard charts at all.

The promotion for the album was limited due to Lil’ Mo’s pregnancy and lack of support from Elektra Records. Despite that, she performed the singles on shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Soul Train.” Shortly after the album’s promotion came to an end, Lil’ Mo’s contract with Elektra Records expired and she moved to Cash Money Records to record a new album.

In July of 2004, she started recording material for her third album “Syndicated: The Lil’ Mo Hour.”
In November of 2004, Lil’ Mo released the single “Hot Girls” which peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart.

The song received mixed to negative reception. Critics felt that it was an “insecure female anthem” due to the lyrics and believed that Lil’ Mo was solidifying her point of feeling some sort of insecurity or jealousy. Lil Wayne’s guest appearance on the track was also not well received. On February 24, 2005, Lil’ Mo gave birth to her second daughter, God’Iss Love Stone.
In May of 2005, she released the single “Dem Boyz” which peaked at #86 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart, staying on the chart for only 2 weeks. The song received generally favorable reviews.

Two more promotional singles “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” (featuring violinist Miri Ben-Ari) and “Mother of Your Child” were released, but didn’t make the charts.

“Syndicated: The Lil’ Mo Hour” was scheduled to be released in October of 2005, but the date passed and after Hurricane Katrina damaged Cash Money’s New Orleans studio, Lil’ Mo was dropped from the label’s roster and the album ended up being shelved. In December of 2005, she and her husband Al divorced.

In 2006, Lil’ Mo (along with Faith Evans, Fantasia and SWV’s Coko) appeared on the remake of The Clark Sisters’ song “Endow Me” from Coko’s 2006 gospel album “Grateful.”
In August of 2007, Lil’ Mo released her third album “Pain & Paper” under her independent record label HoneyChild Entertainment.
The singles from the album “Sumtimes I” (featuring Jim Jones) and “Lucky Her” failed to make the Billboard charts.

In 2008, Lil’ Mo began working on a new album under a new record label, Global Music Group. The original title of the album was “Tattoos & Roses: The Rebellion Against My Pain.”

Initially, the album was supposed to be a double disc with half of the album being a live production, but the plans ended up being scrapped & the album ended up undergoing a different recording process. Missy Elliott, MC Lyte and Fabolous were listed as contributors to the album, but due to undisclosed reasons, they didn’t make the album’s final cut.

Lil’ Mo later married gospel recording artist Phillip Bryant. On January 16, 2009, she gave birth to her first son, Justin McKenzie Phillip. Preparing for the release of the album, Lil’ Mo hosted a radio show in Washington, D.C.
On November 1, 2011, she released her fourth album “P.S. I Love Me.” The singles from the album “I Love Me” (feat. Tweet) and “Take Me Away” (feat. Maino) didn’t appear to chart at all.

On July 10, 2012, Lil’ Mo gave birth to her second son, Jonah Maddox-Phillip Bryant. In 2013, she became a cast member on the TV One network reality show “R&B Divas: Los Angeles.”
In September of 2013, she released the song “I’m a Diva” on iTunes.
The following week, another song “L’s Up” was released. In 2014, Lil’ Mo separated from Phillip Bryant and is now in a relationship with professional boxer Karl Dargan.
In April of 2014, Lil’ Mo released a mixtape called “No S*** Sherlock.”
The mixtape was released as part of the preparation for her fifth studio album “The SCARlet Letter” which was released on October 28, 2014.

To see the music video for “5 Minutes,” go to:

To see the music video for “Ta Da,” go to:

To see the music video for “Superwoman Pt. II,” go to:

To see the music video for “Gangsta,” go to:

To see the music video for “4ever,” go to:

To see the music video for “Dem Boyz,” go to:

To see the music video for “Sumtimes I,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “I’m a Diva,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “L’s Up,” go to:

To see the music video for “Mother of Your Child,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Hot Girls,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Superwoman, Part 1,” go to:

 

[Updated on 11-06-14]

Charli Baltimore

Charli Baltimore (born Tiffany Lane on August 16, 1974 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a female hip-hop rapper. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis’ character in the 1996 film “The Long Kiss Goodnight.”

Growing up, Charli was primarily raised by her elder half-sister, Yolanda. She gave birth to her first daughter when she was only 14 years old. She even graduated from Pierce College & became a certified paralegal.

In the summer of 1995, Charli met the Notorious B.I.G. and they became involved romantically. The Notorious B.I.G. introduced her to Lance “Un” Rivera who signed her (and rapper Cam’ron) to his new record label, Untertainment.

During that same year, Charli made her first musical appearance on rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s song “Get Money.”
In 1998, she released her debut single “Money” which peaked at #50 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart and #59 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for five weeks. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the movie “Woo.”

During that same year, Charli began recording her debut album. She also appeared on Cam’ron’s single “Horse & Carriage.”
In 1999, she released her second single “Stand Up” (featuring Ghostface Killah) which peaked at #9 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart and #84 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.
Charli’s debut album “Cold as Ice” was scheduled to be released on April 28, 1999, but it wasn’t until August 3, 1999 that the album was released promotionally. The album was later digitally released on iTunes in 2009.

Other singles from the album “N.B.C.,” “Feel It” and “Everybody Wanna Know” failed to make any impact on the charts at all.
In 2002, Charli was featured on Ja Rule’s single “Down A** Chick” which peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

Charli was later signed to Murder Inc. Records and began recording her new album “The Diary (You Think You Know)” in 2001. Most of the album’s recording took place at Soundtrack Studios in Manhattan, New York.

During the recording sessions, Charli’s former labelmates claimed that she would have numerous songs completed & the quantity of them would be more than what producers Irv Gotti and Chink Santana would have instrumental beats completed for her.

At one point, there was a rumor that a power outage occurred at the recording studio where Charli & the producers were working at. Shortly after the situation was resolved, Charli had recorded a total of twelve songs within that same night.

In June of 2002, the first buzz single from Charli’s album “No One Does it Better” (featuring R&B singer & former labelmate Ashanti) was released, but didn’t make the charts.

The song was featured on her record label’s compliation album “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.”
The second single from the album “Diary” was released to radio stations during the summer of 2002. It was released as the b-side to “No One Does It Better.”

Promotional radio copies of the single were released, but it was later canceled as the lead single from the album due to the song failing to make any music charts.

A year following the single’s release, the song gained a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for “Best Female Rap Solo,” but lost to Missy Elliott.
In late August of 2002, another buzz single “Hey Charli” was reported by MTV to be the lead single from the album and Charli was scheduled to shoot a music video for the song, but the video was canceled & the song was pulled from radio markets & airwaves due to undisclosed reasons.

Charli’s album was scheduled to be released on September 10, 2002, but due to the cancellation of the “Hey Charli” single, it was pushed back to the 4th quarter of 2002.
In late 2002, yet another buzz single from the album “Philly’s Finest” (featuring rapper Eve) was released.

The song gained positive public reception and was heavily added to numerous mixtapes, but due to lack of airplay on the radio, it failed to chart & was never chosen as the album’s official single.

Shortly after Murder Inc’s compliation album “Irv Gotti Presents: The Remixes,” it was revealed (and briefly reported on MTV) that Charli’s album would be released on December 3, 2002, but the album was again pushed back to be released in the summer of 2003.

The album’s final buzz single “Charli, Charli” was scheduled to be released in early 2003, but due to undisclosed reasons, Charli ended up leaving her record label, the album was shelved & the song was never properly released.

Shortly after “Charli, Charli” was cancelled, it was leaked to several mixtapes & released on rare unauthorized promotional vinyl copies.

After that, not much was heard from Charli until 2008 when she re-signed with The Inc. Records and began working on a new album called “True Lies.”
In 2010, she released the single “Come Test Us” (featuring Lil Wayne) which is available on iTunes.

In 2011, Charli appeared in the music video “If I Die Tonight” (along with Trey Songz and Lue Diamonds). On September 14, 2011, she teamed up with Sally Anthony to release “Machine Gun (Remix)” which is available on iTunes.
On March 22, 2012, Charli released the mixtape “Mickey and Mallory Knox: Natural Born Khronicles” along with rapper Dutchie Man.
On May 8, 2012, Charli’s single “All Lies” (featuring Maino) was released on iTunes. The song features Charli’s daughter India providing vocals to the chorus.

She was also set to release her own mixtape “#DirtyA**Chuck” and her website offered autographed copies of “True Lies” which was scheduled to released on September 25, 2012, but it was not released.
In 2013, Charli released the mixtape “Hard2Kill.” It is available on iTunes and Datpiff.com.

The “True Lies” album still remains unreleased and any references about it have been removed from Charli’s personal Twitter account and has not made anymore radio appearances regarding its release since the summer of 2012.

These days, Charli resides in Jersey City, New Jersey. She has two daughters India and Sianni. She appears to still be performing.

To see the music video for “Money,” go to:

To see the music video for “Stand Up,” go to:

To see the music video for “Feel It,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Everybody Wanna Know,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “NBC,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Nobody Does it Better,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Diary,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Hey Charli,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Philly’s Finest,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Come Test Us,” go to:

As a bonus, to see the music video for “Down A** Chick,” go to:

Gia Farrell

Gia Farrell (born Jeannie Marie Bocchicchio on February 9, 1989 in Suffern, New York) is a female pop singer from the 2000s.

She began taking singing lessons when she was 8 years old. She later appeared in a local production of “Guys and Dolls” and opened up for Fat Joe where she performed songs by Beyonce & Mariah Carey.

When Gia was 13 years old, she performed on “Showtime at the Apollo” and was named one of their best artists of the year. She also performed on Ed McMahon’s “Next Big Star” and “Star Search.”

In 2005, she signed a record deal with Atlantic Records at the age of 16 and adopted her grandmother’s maiden name as her stage name. During the 2006 holiday season, Gia’s song, “Christmas Everyday” was featured on the Make-A-Wish Holiday CD which was sold at Bath & Body Works.
In January of 2007, Gia released her debut single, “Hit Me Up” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Happy Feet.”

In the United States, the song peaked at #40 on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart. Internationally, it gained success in countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Europe, Finland, Germany, Hungary (where it peaked at #1 on the music charts), Indonesia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey. It was even used as the theme song for the second season of “Germany’s Next Top Model.”

Early in Gia’s career, she had several managers and handlers (including Doug Davis, the son of Clive Davis). After parting ways with Doug Davis, she was forced to find new management, but unfortunately, her new manager was an unscrupulous individual who tried to derail her career, steal her money and keep her in the dark.

The manager was also successful at terminating Gia’s multi-million dollar recording contact with Atlantic Records and attempted to sue her as well. After a lengthy court battle and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, Gia finally won her court case and permanently parted ways with her manager.

In April of 2007, she rode on the float for the opening parade celebration at the Cincinatti Reds opening day game and also sang the U.S. National Anthem. In December of that same year, she was dropped by her record label. After that, not much was heard from her.

In 2009, Gia released a new demo single called “New Religion”, and later began posting random YouTube videos of herself singing cover and original songs.

In January of 2011, she joined Miranda Cosgrove on her tour to promote her debut album, “Sparks Fly.” In mid-June of that same year, she joined in on a cover song with a band called The All Ways. She auditioned for the 11th season of “American Idol” under her birth name, but didn’t make it any further in the competition.

After returning from touring with Miranda Cosgrove, Gia planned to work on her own music and make the album that she wanted to make, but never got the chance to do so. In late summer 2013, she was introduced to songwriter\manager Zach Neil where they began working on songs together.

In 2014, Gia formed a pop\alternative music duo called Blackbird and later performed under the name Bokeeks. These days (according to research), she and Zach Neil run a horror themed restaurant in New York called Beetle House. She also has her own cosmetics line called Dirty Mind Cosmetics.

To follow Gia on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/giafarrellmusic/

To see a video for “Hit Me Up,” go to:

To see a video for “Christmas Everyday,” go to:

To see a video for “Stupid for You” (from her unreleased debut album), go to:

To see a video for “You’ll Be Sorry” (from her unreleased debut album), go to:

To see a video for “New Religion,” go to:

[updated on 11\19\2021]

Lamarr K. Swing

Lamarr K. Swing was an R&B singer from the ’90s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to Valley Vue Records.

In 1994, he released his debut (and only) album “His Debut Album.” It’s unknown how or if the album made any music charts at all.
The only single released from the album was “Say You Will” which failed to make any impact on the charts.

After that, it seems as if Lamarr K. Swing has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what he’s up to these days.

To see a fan-made video for “Say You Will,” go to:

Lonnie Reaves

Lonnie Reaves was an R&B singer\songwriter from the ’80s. Lonnie has written songs for artists such as Tavares, The Emotions, Leroy Hutson, Ramsey Lewis and Next Movement.

In 1985, he released his only single “Too Tough” on Qwest Records. It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.

After that, it seems as if Lonnie has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what he is up to these days.

To see a fan-made video for “Too Tough,” go to:

Future Flight

Future Flight was an R&B\soul\disco\funk quartet that was led by Lamont Dozier. The members consisted of Brynwood Tanner (born Frank Dookun), David Swanson, Sy Jeffries and Anthony Patler.

In 1981, they released their only self-titled debut album on Capitol Records. It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted.
The only single released from the album “Dues\Hip-Notic Lady” which didn’t appear to make a lot of impact on the charts.

After that, it seems as if Future Flight faded into obscurity.

Brywood Tanner wrote & produced music for artists such as Evelyn “Champagne” King, Glenn Jones and Jeffrey Osborne.

David Swanson appeared on the soundtrack to the 1985 film “Fast Forward” on the track “Long as We Believe” (a duet with Siedah Garrett).

Anthony Patler has appeared on various artists’ albums such as General Caine, Lamont Dozier, Janet Jackson, Norman Dozier, Chaka Khan, Jon Gibson, Chico DeBarge, ABC and Rick Astley.

It’s unknown what Sy Jeffries is up to these days.

To see a fan-made video for “Dues,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “Hip-Notic Lady,” go to:

Mister McGee

Mister McGee was an R&B singer from the early ’90s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to Fraternity Records.

In 1992, he released his only single “You’re What I’m Lookin’ For\Sue.” It’s unknown how or if the single made any impact on the charts at all.

After that, it seems as if Mister McGee has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what he is up to these days.

[There are no videos available for this entry]

Lynda Seals

Lynda Seals was a female R&B singer from the early ’80s. Not much information is given about her, but she was signed to Fraternity Records.

In 1980, she released the single “Skinny Dippin’\Head Start.” It’s unknown how or if the single ever made the charts.
Lynda released two more singles on Jamex Records: “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” and “This is Where Love Begins” before fading into obscurity.

It’s unknown what she is up to these days.

To see a fan-made video for “Skinny Dippin’,” go to:

Joy Enriquez

Joy Enriquez (born Joy Charity Enriquez on June 6, 1978 in Whittier, California) is a pop singer from the 2000s.

As a child, Joy sang a solo at her kindergarten graduation and at the age of eleven, she appeared on the popular television show “Star Search” where she won “Female Vocalist” eleven times in a row. During her teen years, she attended the Orange County Performing Arts High School, and appeared at local clubs on the evenings and weekends.

After that, Joy’s mother sent out videotapes of her performances, hoping to land a record deal. She later signed with LaFace Records. During the late ’90s, Joy did background vocals on songs such as “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston.
In 1999, she appeared on the soundtrack to the film, “Anna and the King” with the song, “How Could I Not Love You.” The song was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award.
In 2000, Joy released the single, “Tell Me How You Feel” which managed to peak at #31 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart. The song also charted in Australia and New Zealand (where it was certified Gold).
In September of 2001, Joy released her self-titled debut album which was released a week after the September 11 attacks. Although the album didn’t chart in the United States, it managed to make the album charts in Australia and New Zealand.The follow-up single from the album, “Shake Up the Party” peaked at #23 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play Singles chart. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the movie “Double Take.”

During that same year, Joy performed the song, “Bella Notte” (along with singer Carlos Ponce) for the film, “Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure.” She also appeared in television shows such as “7th Heaven” (in six episodes), “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “Resurrection Blvd.”
The last single released from the album, “What Do You Want” failed to make any impact on the charts at all.

Joy was also a spokesperson for the Candies’ Foundation and L’oreal. In 2003, she starred in the film, “Chasing Papi.” On April 4, 2004, she married music producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins; together, they have four children: sons Rodney Jr. and Royal, and daughters Heavenly and Hannah.
After almost completing her sophomore album (which was the same pop\R&B format as her debut album), Joy had a change of heart and decided to record a contemporary Christian music album instead. In March of 2006, she released her sophomore album, “Atmosphere of Heaven.”

In 2010, Joy wrote the song, “Boom Chika Boom” for the soundtrack to the film, “Our Family Wedding” and the song, “Beatz Be Rockin'” for the Nickelodeon sitcom series, “iCarly.” In 2012, she contributed songs to the Lifetime network reality series, “Dance Moms.”

In 2013, Joy’s reality show, “House of Joy” premiered on the NUVOtv network. After each episode, a new digital single would be released. On September 10, 2013, the songs were released on an EP called “House of Joy.”

In January of 2016, Joy released her third studio album, “The Call” which was produced by her husband. The tracks, “Hallelujah” and “Shine” (featuring her daughter, Heavenly) have been released as singles on iTunes.

To see a video for “How Can I Not Love You,” go to:

To see a video for “Tell Me How You Feel,” go to:

To see a video for “Shake Up the Party,” go to:

To see a video for “What Do You Want,” go to:

To see a video for “Get to Know Him” (from “Atmosphere of Heaven”), go to:

To see a video for “Been So Good” (from “Atmosphere of Heaven”), go to:

To see a video for “Hallelujah,” go to:

To see a video for “Shine,” go to:

[updated on 11\19\2021]

Brooke Valentine

Brooke Valentine (born Kanesha Nichole Brooks on October 5, 1984 in Houston, Texas) is a female R&B singer from the 2000s.

Brooke began her music career as a member of a girl group called Best Kept Secret. After the group disbanded, she moved to Los Angeles, California (along with music producer Deja the Great) hoping to land a solo record deal. She later signed to Virgin Records.

In 2004, she was featured on Guerilla Black’s single, “Guerilla Nasty” along with Jazze Pha. The song was moderately successful on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In January of 2005, Brooke released her debut single, “Girlfight” (featuring Lil Jon and Big Boi). The song peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, #30 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart, #7 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #36 on Billboard’s Pop 100, #31 on Billboard’s Pop 100 Airplay chart, #42 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs chart and #13 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart (staying on the chart for 21 weeks), becoming her biggest hit to date.
In March of 2005, Brooke released her debut album, “Chain Letter” which peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album sold 290,000 copies in the United States and met with critical acclaim from music critics.
In July of 2005, her follow-up single, “Long As You Come Home” was released. The single didn’t match the success of “Girlfight” and only peaked at #71 on Billboard’s Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (staying on the chart for 5 weeks).
A promotional single from the album, “Cover Girl” was released, but didn’t make the charts in the United States at all, but it managed to chart in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Brooke appeared on the movie soundtrack to the 2005 film, “Roll Bounce” with a cover version of A Taste of Honey’s song, “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”
In 2006, Brooke released the single, “D-Girl” (or “Dope Girl”) featuring rapper Pimp C as the lead single for her upcoming sophomore album, “Physical Education.” The song peaked at #92 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart, staying on the chart for only 4 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Pimped Out” (featuring Dem Franchize Boys) was released, but it only peaked at #87 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.
Due to Virgin Records’ merger with Capitol Records in 2008, Brooke’s sophomore album was put on hold, but Deja the Great was able to acquire the masters & contract rights from Virgin Records. In 2009., her mixtape, “Physical Education Mixtape” was released.

Brooke later revealed in an interview that the “Physical Education” project was a “paper album” with Virgin Records, as it was a forced effort due to her being on the label’s timeline for a new release and being set up with all the “hot” producers at the time. She was also dealing with the death of her cousin during the release of “D-Girl”, all of which added to the album not being initially released.

In 2010, Brooke chose to take a break from music. During that time, she wrote songs for other artists and gave birth to a son named London, who suffered from a stroke at birth and has cerebral palsy.
In 2012, she returned to music, changing her stage name to B. Valentine and released a music video for the song, “Insanity.” A year later, she released an EP called “Love Letters” and one of the tracks, “Don’t Wanna Be in Love” peaked at #29 on Billboard’s Adult R&B chart.

In 2017,  Brooke began appearing in the 4th season of the VH1 network reality series, “Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood” and was promoted to a series regular for the show’s 5th season.

In February of 2019, she secretly married to rapper Marcus Black and welcomed their daughter, Chi Summer in May of that same year. In July of 2019, it was announced that they were taking a break from “Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood” to raise their children.

To follow Brooke Valentine on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/4everbrooke/

To see a video for “Girlfight,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Long As You Come Home,” go to:

To see a video for “Cover Girl,” go to:

To see a video for “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” go to:

 

To see a video for “D-Girl,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Pimped Out,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Insanity,” go to:

To see a video for “Don’t Wanna Be in Love,” go to:

[updated on 11\19\2021]