This week’s open threads have highlighted Black British musicians and singers. To conclude the week, today’s thread will focused on several different artists.
Crazy – 1990
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born February 19, 1963 in Paddington, London, England. He is popularly known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an MTV Video Music Award. Seal is known for his numerous international hits; the best known being “Kiss from a Rose”, which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 film Batman Forever. He has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born to a Nigerian mother Adebisi Samuel and Brazilian father Francis Samuel. His name, Olusegun, means “God is victorious” in the Yoruba language.He was raised in a district of the City of Westminster in inner London by his foster family. He received a two-year diploma, or associate’s degree, in architecture and worked in various jobs in the London area. Although there have long been rumours as to the cause of the scars on his face, they are in fact the result of a type of Lupus called Discoid lupus erythematosus – a condition that specifically affects the skin above the neck.
His second album, also self-titled Seal was released in 1994. A success, the album featured the singles “Prayer for the Dying” and “Newborn Friend”, later receiving a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. “Prayer for the Dying” became a minor pop hit in the U.S., peaking at #21 on the Billboard charts. A third single, “Kiss from a Rose”, performed modestly when released but was later featured to much wider popularity when it was remixed for the soundtrack to Batman Forever. “Kiss from a Rose” won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1996, becoming Seal’s best performing single on the US market (it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in late August 1995) and hit number four in the UK.
David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter. David’s father is Grenadian and David’s mother is English and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David’s maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother a convert to Judaism. David’s parents separated when he was eight and he was raised by his mother. He attended Bellemoor School andSouthampton City College.
David’s father played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.
I’ve Been Waiting -2008
Incognito is a British band, as well as one of the members of the United Kingdom’s acid jazz movement. Their debut album, Jazz Funk, was released in 1981, with thirteen more albums following, the last of which, Transatlantic RPM, was released in 2010.
The band’s frontman, composer, record producer, guitarist and singer is Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick. Other notable band members have included the singers Jocelyn Brown, Carleen Anderson, Tony Momrelle, Imaani, Maysa Leak, Kelli Sae (of Count Basic) and Joy Malcom.
The band has had intermittent success in the UK Singles Chart. Their song “Need to Know” is the theme song for liberal radio and television news program “Democracy Now!”
You Gotta Be -1994
Des’ree (born Desirée Annette Weeks, 30 November 1968) is an English pop/soul singer, who was popular during the 1990s. She is well known for her hits: “Feel So High”, “You Gotta Be”, “Life”, and “Kissing You” (from the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet). Des’ree has not released any new material since 2003’s Dream Soldier.
And lastly…
Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is a British R&B singer. The first black male solo artist to reach #1 in the 1990s, his single, Return of the Mack, became a #1 or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at #2 in the United States the following year.
Return of the Mack -1996
***All information courtesy of Wikipedia***