Floetry was a British R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius (“the Songstress”) and Natalie Stewart (“the Floacist”). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 800,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1999, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage.
In 2002, the duo released their first album entitled, Floetic. The album sold over 864,000 copies in the United States. The album spawned the singles “Floetic”, the top ten song “Say Yes”, and “Getting Late”. Following their success, Floetry released their live album Floacism, featuring the single Wanna B Where U R. In 2005, Floetry released their second album Flo’Ology. Two singles were released from this album, “SupaStar” and “Lay Down”. Later in 2007, Natalie Stewart (“the Floacist”) left the duo and was later temporarily replaced by femcee and MTV2 personality Amanda Diva. Diva is no longer associated with the Floetry brand.
Floetic – 2002
Ambrosius and Stewart met due to their love of basketball. Stewart, who hails from London, was a superstar on her court, while Ambrosius from Liverpool wowed fans in her local English neighborhood. They were competitive, but not rivals, so a friendship was formed. Music was also a passion. Stewart relished in her reggae roots while Ambrosius had been raised in the funk and soul tradition. While attending The Brits Performing Arts School, Ambrosius studied business and finance, but made room for courses in voice, performance technique, and recording. Stewart, who was voted ‘Student of the Year’ majored in Performance Arts and English. Later, Ambrosius and Stewart headed to college.
Ambrosius planned to attend Georgia Tech on a basketball scholarship, but injury forced her to bow out. Still, the two kept in touch and raved about music. It wouldn’t be until Stewart’s poetry group, 3 Plus 1, broke through on the spoken word scene in London that Stewart would invite Ambrosius onto the stage. In 1999, Ambrosius became an honorary member of 3+1 and joined them on the performance poetry circuit in and around London. It was on these stages that Floetry was born. A year later, they were invited to Atlanta. A trip that led to a traveling to Philadelphia where the Neo Soul scene was thriving.
Since moving to the US in 2000, they have written for Jill Scott, Jazz of Dru Hill, Glenn Lewis (Marsha only), Bilal, and Michael Jackson, for whom Marsha penned the hit 2002 single “Butterflies”. In 2002, they signed with DreamWorks Records and released their debut album Floetic, which featured the singles “Floetic”, “Say Yes “, and “Getting Late”. The album was also released in the UK with additional tracks, one of which features British singer/songwriter and producer Sebastian Rogers. Their song “Where’s The Love” was featured in the film “Bringing Down the House”.
Floetry released a live album titled Floacism in 2003. The two-disc set consisted of a CD and DVD and included the single “Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong)” featuring rapper Mos Def. Their third and final album Flo’Ology was released in November 2005. The album debuted at #7 on Billboard’s Hot 200 and #2 on the Top R&B charts, and sold over 77,000 copies in its first week. The album included the single “Supastar” featuring rapper Common.
Flo’Ology was the third and final album with original member Natalie Stewart, who was replaced with Amanda Diva for tours in 2007. Soon after Floetry finished promoting its newest member, the group separated. Marsha Ambrosius was later signed as a solo artist to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment.
Say Yes -2003
***Information courtesy of Wikipedia.org***