N’Dea Davenport, a singer/songwriter/producer with a soulful voice, first became famous in 1991 as the frontwoman for Acid Jazz British funk band The Brand New Heavies. She fell in love with performing, dancing, and music long before she was famous. “I believe I was involved in nearly every creative activity I could when I was in school to keep myself busy and to help me stay out of trouble. You can name it, from sports to theatre. It was possible. Her development was based on a regular schedule of dance and piano lessons. It is ironic that singing would become her passion later. She left Atlanta as soon as it was possible to “break free”, as she refers to it. With little more than $300, she traveled to Los Angeles, with the sole purpose of going to a place she hadn’t been before. She didn’t know that her early sense of adventure would lead to a series of events that would forever change her life. She was inspired by the underground “club warehouse” scene in Los Angeles and became a part of it. It was a vibrant community of musicians, fashion designers, and artists. It celebrated funk, hiphop and rock as well as punk, graffiti and performance art. It was a truly special experience to meet Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Herring, and the very alive Fab Five Freddy. After a reluctant song for Fred, he quickly reached out to his friend, who happened to be one half of Delicious Vinyl, the newly formed record company. Soon, she was recording and planning her debut CD. The label signed a British band called The Brand New Heavies shortly thereafter. N’Dea’s love for collaboration and the fact that there was no lead singer set the stage for a magic combination. With the Heavies she moved to London, where she created Acid Jazz. Acid Jazz, a blend of soul, funk and RnB, is also known as “The second Coming of Soul”, reestablishing tradition and opening up the doors to Neo-classical soul. After years of success, N’Dea left London with her bandmates and headed back to the U.S. in 1995. She continued her solo album development and collaborated with many artists, including Everlast, DJ Krush and Dallas Austin. The self-titled debut, which she had put off for many years, was finally released by V2 Records in 1998. It boasts the same funky flavor that her listeners have come to love. This album takes you back to a time when music was not categorized into easy-to-digest categories. This led her to the freedom and self-exploration that allowed her to produce and orchestrate the majority of her musical projects. Many of her songs contain social commentary that are meant to stimulate thought and encourage dialogue. She continues that process by creating and performing new material for her next cd. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
