 | | As a youngster growing up in Palmer Park, Maryland, Marcus Canty developed loves for acting, basketball, and singing. |
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 | | A member of 112, an R&B group that amassed seven Top Ten R&B hits and a pair of multi-platinum albums while on the Bad Boy and Def Soul labels, Atlanta native Quinnes "Q" Parker first stepped out as a solo artist in the late 2000s. |
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 | | One of the most promising R&B artists to emerge during the early 2010s, singer and songwriter Elle Varner grew up in a musical family -- one that spent much of its time together in recording studios. |
 | | Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyoncé Knowles, studied dance and theater as a child and made her singing debut at age five at an amusement park. |
 | | An entertainer since early childhood, Virginia native Alex Boyd had his life changed in multiple ways when he was accepted into Washington, D. |
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 | | Research fellow Tom Krell makes ghostly, lo-fi R&B under the moniker How to Dress Well, a name he stumbled upon and adopted as his own in a Minneapolis bookstore in 2004. |
 | | Allegedly “shrouded in mystery” despite social media presence (with accompanying photos) on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Soundcloud, and YouTube, as well as major support from fellow Torontonian Drake, alternative R&B act the Weeknd -- a solo outlet for vocalist Abel Tesfaye -- surfaced in March 2011 with House of Balloons. |
 | | Offering a throwback sound to complement her rich, womanly voice, Melanie Fiona is a bright R&B artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
 | | Bay Area vocalist Jonn Hart broke into mainstream R&B radio in 2012 with a chiming, booming, and raunchy number titled "Who Booty" -- an introduction to a sound he called "R&Bay slap. |
 | | Singer, songwriter, and producer Miguel (born Miguel Jontel Pimentel) spent a handful of years behind the scenes and flirted with the mainstream before he released his first hit single and became one of pop-R&B's most significant artists. |
 | | An R&B vocalist affiliated with the outlandish hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Frank Ocean (Christopher "Lonny" Breaux) was born and raised in New Orleans. |
 | | Compton, California's Kendrick Lamar initially rapped as K. Dot and released a series of mixtapes under that name. |
 | | Busting out of Atlanta in 2011 with his hit street track "Tony Montana," rapper Future grew up in Atlanta's Zone 6 section. |
 | | Kelly Rowland rose to fame with the success of Destiny's Child during the late '90s. During that time, Destiny's Child catapulted into the new millennium as one of the best-selling female musical groups in history. |
 | | Born and bred on Chicago's South Side, R&B singer Jeremih taught himself how to play several instruments and didn't consider himself a vocalist until a warmly received performance at a talent show. |
 | | Although Trey Songz loved hip-hop while growing up, the only R&B he could get into was R. Kelly. When his friends heard his perfect tenor voice, however, they pushed him to drop rap and start crooning. |
 | | One of the more genuine urban songstresses to emerge in the 2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21. |
 | | Coming across like a less sensitive, Houstonian version of Drake, Kirko Bangz is a Southern rapper -- and occasional singer -- who released his first charting single, “What Yo Name Iz,” in late 2010. |
 | | R&B singer Cassie got her first taste of the music industry at 16 when she had the opportunity to speak with the producer Rockwilder, a meeting that inspired her to take formal voice lessons. |
 | | Contemporary R&B singer Tank, whose moniker refers to his physique, recorded solo albums sporadically, beginning with his 2001 debut, Force of Nature, and kept increasingly busy behind the scenes as a songwriter, musician, and producer. |
 | | B2K lead vocalist Omarion (born Omari Ismael Grandberry) went solo in 2005 with O, featuring production help from the Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins, and the Underdogs. |
 | | Ne-Yo was one of the most successful songwriters and artists of the 2000s. His breakthrough didn't come until late 2004, as the co-songwriter of Mario's "Let Me Love You," a number one Hot 100 hit that Billboard later determined to be the eighth most successful single of the decade. |
 | | As lead singer for the Gap Band, Charlie Wilson sang on four number one R&B hits: "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)," "Early in the Morning," "Outstanding," and "Addicted to Your Love" -- as well as the classics "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," "Yearning for Your Love," "Party Train," and "Big Fun. |
 | | Dubbed "the First Lady of Crunk & B" by the producer who should know, Lil Jon, singer Ciara burst onto the scene with the never-gonna-get-it single "Goodies," the breathy "answer song" to Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek. |
 | | Tamar Braxton's entry into the music industry came through her five-member sibling group, the Braxtons, which featured older sisters Traci, Trina, Towanda and, most notably, Toni. |
 | | Whether she was singing pop-friendly urban soul or acting in her own family-oriented sitcom, Brandy's winningly wholesome persona helped catapult her to stardom during her teenage years. |
 | | Shortly after the end of her gold-selling R&B act Floetry, singer, songwriter, and producer Marsha Ambrosius -- whose biggest claim to fame as a writer is Michael Jackson's Top 20 hit "Butterflies" -- signed with Dr. |
 | | By mixing R&B with a sultry dose of neo-soul, Alicia Keys became an international star in 2001 with the release of her debut album. |
 | | In November 2005, Chris Brown’s Scott Storch-produced “Run It!” -- a rewrite of Usher’s “Yeah!” -- topped the Billboard Hot 100, making the 16-year-old singer the first male artist in over a decade to top the chart with a debut single. |
 | | R&B singer and actor Tyrese Gibson -- referred to as Tyrese -- began his career at the age of 14, performing in local talent shows around his home in Los Angeles' Watts section; his big break came when he starred in a commercial for Coca-Cola, followed shortly in 1998 by his self-titled debut album for RCA. |
 | | With a series of hits that bundled gangster rhymes, weed talk, pop hooks, and slick production, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rapper Wiz Khalifa went from breakthrough single ("Black and Yellow") to feature film star (Mac and Devin Go to High School) in the short span of two years. |
 | | A native of Canada, contemporary R&B singer and songwriter Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on the Rod Temperton-penned "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager. |
 | | R&B producer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter R. Kelly and his supporting band Public Announcement began recording in 1992 at the tail-end of the new jack swing era, yet he was able to keep much of its sound alive while remaining commercially successful. |
 | | Crossover contemporary R&B singer Karyn White was born in Los Angeles, California, where her father played trumpet and her mother was a church choir director. |
 | | After Usher Raymond was spotted by a LaFace record executive at a talent show in his hometown of Atlanta, it took no time for his career to take off. |
 | | Contemporary R&B upstart Urban Mystic, the son of a church minister, grew up in a world of music and made his jump into the industry while still a teenager. |
 | | Even though Brian Culbertson might be categorized as jazz lite, his music has enough "oomph" to keep you interested. |
 | | Rihanna established her dance-pop credentials in summer 2005 with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to demonstrate hit potential in subsequent years (e. |
 | | Compton's own Game (aka the Game and Hurricane Game) issued his debut LP, The Documentary, in 2004 through Aftermath/G-Unit/Universal. |
 | | After a false start with the late-'80s vocal group Maniquin, Kenny Lattimore became a minor R&B star in his own right in 1996 when his eponymous debut album generated two hit singles. |
 | | Outside his primary roles as André 3000's partner in OutKast and as one of the central members of the Dungeon Family, Big Boi (born Antwan André Patton) appeared on tracks by Missy Elliott ("All N My Grill"), Trick Daddy ("In da Wind"), Jay-Z ("Poppin' Tags"), Killer Mike ("A. |
 | | Whitney Houston was inarguably one of the biggest female pop stars of all time. Her accomplishments as a hitmaker were extraordinary; just to scratch the surface, she became the first artist ever to have seven consecutive singles hit number one, and her 1993 Dolly Parton cover "I Will Always Love You" became nothing less than the biggest hit single in rock history. |
 | | Producer and MC J. Cole was the first artist to signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. Born in Germany but raised in North Carolina, Cole grew up with a mother who loved rock and folk while his father was a fan of hardcore hip-hop artists like 2Pac and Ice Cube. |
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 | | Eric Benét is a contemporary R&B singer with mild hip-hop and strong adult contemporary influences. As a teenager, he performed in a family vocal group (appropriately named Benét) with his sister and cousin. |
 | | Influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliot along with the sexually charged attitudes of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, Queens native Nicki Minaj was discovered thanks to her MySpace page. |
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