Have you noticed that black folk are quick to tell you who can and cannot sing? Many of us, who’ve never taken a vocal lesson, will swiftly let you know when someone can’t blow. We are an unauthorized authority on the subject. And any vocal connoisseur will tell you that there are people who are completely tone deaf, people who can hold a note, people who can sing and then there are people who can sang. For those who don’t know the word “sang” used in this context is not poor grammar; instead it’s a word used to emphasize the width and breadth of a person’s vocal ability. We all know who the sangers are, they’re the people with soul. The people who can take you from the Slore house to the church house and back again. You know them: Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle & Luther Vandross of the old school and Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia of the new. (That’s just to name a few.) But just because a person can’t sang like some of the greats, doesn’t mean they don’t have talent and can’t make good music. Don’t believe me? Find out who I’m talking about.

I’m sure you were somewhere getting in your feelings to the jams of these ladies. If not, you were pretending to be more cultured because you knew the words to Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason,” either way, the women behind some of our favorite emotional jams had more talent in their pinky fingers than most singers had in their whole bodies. Many achieved a pretty good level of success, and some are happy just making music, but they’re very underrated to us.

Hello wonderful Readers!  As you all know, Kendra is nothing else if she isn’t dedicated to making you all happy.  So, when I’m not talking in third person (which I just did on the fly, weird experience, but Kendra digs) I try to find ways to make you all smile.  When I did the first 90s Where Are They Now, QueenNTheMaking said:  ”This list needs a part 2,” and Queenie, I’m hear to abide.  Here are SOME of the groups that you requested (seeing that some of the others have been covered on this site already, and someone broke down “H-Town’s” fate in the comment section).

All right, let’s get to it!

last.fm

702

A Youtube commenter said:  ”Before there was swag, there was steelo,” and how right they were.  The group 702 who hailed from Las Vegas came on the scene in 1996 after being discovered by Sinbad, mentored by Michael Bivins, and had a few member changes hit the scene hard with songs like “Steelo,” “Get it Together,” and “Where My Girls At.”

In 2001, the group took an hiatus and Kameelah Williams decided to go the solo route.  She sang background for people like Faith Evans and Missy, and she wrote a few tracks for Faith on her Faithfully album.  When Kameelah left, she was replaced by Cree Lamore and the newly formed group performed a single from the Pootie Tang soundtrack.  In 2003 Kameelah came back from touring with other artists and they gave Cree the boot, and released the album Star, that placed on the Billboard R&B charts.  But in 2008, original member, Orish Grinstead, the twin sister to Irish Grinstead sadly died of kidney failure.

In 2010, Kameelah announced on her twitter that she was working on a solo album, she performed in a SWV tribute concert in honor of Coco’s birthday at BB King’s,  Oh, and she also had a child with Musiq Soulchild and the two have been together for 3 years.  She’s still cool with the girls (who have been relatively quiet since their last album), but don’t look for a reunion anytime soon.  Check out Meelah’s own thoughts in an interview she conducted with Linezofblow.com.

When we ran a post yesterday about rappers without babies some people didn’t understand what the big deal was and why there were no women on the list. The truth is, the same stereotype about male entertainers knocking up a bunch of women doesn’t follow female artists, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get criticized for other reasons. As one commenter pointed out, for women, instead of supporting the fact that they aren’t having a baseball league of babies, people ask, what are they waiting on?

Well, these ladies aren’t worried about that at all. Just like many of us non-famous gals have other things on the brain besides baby bottles and booties, these celebs are enjoying non-mommyhood to the fullest and debunking that old tired line about all black women having a bunch of kids by a bunch of different men. Here are 14 girls in the game who are not about that baby life — right now at least.

Source: Untwistedbeats.net

These days it’s all about knowing the personalities behind the music. Which is why so many artists are so forthcoming about their personal lives. From social media, to reality tv shows, we often times end up with way more than we’ve bargained for. Check out the celebs who should talk less and sing more.

The assumption…or stereotype is that if you’re a male R&B singer, you’re bound to be a tad bit feminine.With the prevalence of Hip Hop and it’s strong machismo culture, R&B singers are often regarded as “sweet,” a little metrosexual even. Nothing wrong with that. If a majority of your audience is going to be female you better know what they want to hear and how they want to hear it. But just because you sing to the ladies doesn’t mean you have to fit this stereotype. In fact there are a few brothas who “sang” and are more mannish than a little bit. Who am I talking about? Check out the list below…

Source: stupiddope.com

Tank

With a name like Tank, it’s clear that this man, born Durrell Babbs, was trying to send a message. Really, what else can you expect from a multi-sport athlete? But the music called him. He ended up giving up an opportunity to play college football to sing back up for Ginuwine. Turned out to be a good decision. Plus football is so dangerous and we could not have anything happen to this beautiful man and his body. Just look at that smile! But I digress. Though Tank is always singing to us, you can still hear the ruggedness in his delivery. If you recall the end of the “Maybe I Deserve” video, you know what I’m talking about. We dig that.