Price, Kelly 1973(?)–
Kelly Price 1973(?)–
R&B vocalist
A musician of multifaceted creativity, Kelly Price bucked the trend of 1990s image consciousness when “Friend of Mine,” the lead single of her debut album Soul of a Woman, rose to number one on R&B singles charts for an impressive five weeks. The song gained air play without video exposure, and Price, though well known in the music industry, was hardly a blip on the radar screen of the public mind. The success of Soul of a Woman rested on one thing: Price’s musical talent. For the other entertainers who had long benefitted from Price’s abilities as a songwriter, background vocalist, arranger, and producer, her emergence as a solo star could not have come as much of a surprise.
Kelly Price was born around 1973 in New York City, in the Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens. She still lives there, and married her high school sweet-heart, Jeffrey Rolle, who serves as her manager. Price grew up in a religious atmosphere, and the foundation of her musical education came from singing gospel music when she was young. Price’s grandfather was a pastor, and her mother, who was musical director at the same Pentecostal church, imparted to Kelly not only a gift for singing, but also the charisma needed to deliver a dynamic performance.
Backed George Michael
During her teen years Price sang gospel with a group that was talented enough to work professionally, and this led to her own entry into the music business. This group, the Darryl Douglas Workshop Co., performed with British pop star George Michael in a 1992 Madison Square Garden performance of his gospel-inflected hit, “Faith,” and there the group im-pressed rising vocal diva Mariah Carey. Carey invited the choir to perform on the MTV Unplugged cable television program, and after that performance asked Price and two other singers to work with her further. Any doubts the young singer might have had about a musical career were quickly dispelled: “When I got my first check, I was convinced,” she told Jet. She sang backup on several Carey recordings in the early 1990s, including 1993’s Music Box and 1995’s Daydream, and toured with Carey for four years.
Price’s voice remains clearly marked by gospel. Her soul-tinged vocals are often compared to those of Faith
At a Glance…
Born ca. 1973 in New York City; married Jeffrey Rolle; two children: Jeffrey Jr. and Jonia. Religion: Pentecostal.
Career: R&B vocalist, composer, arranger, producer. Sang gospel music with Darryl Douglas Workshop Co, early 1990s; with Darryl Douglas Workshop Co., sang backup for George Michael live performance, 1992; sang backup for vocalist Mariah Carey on recordings and on tour, 1992-96; appeared as backup vocalist and arranger on various recordings of Bad Boy label, mid-1990s; signed to T-Neck label, 1996; assistant music director, Puff Daddy and the Family tour of Sean “Puffy” Combs, 1997; released Soul of a Woman CD, 1998; recorded remake of Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way,” 1999.
Awards: Soul Train Music Award for Best New Rhythm-and-Blues/Soul Artist, 1999.
Addresses: Agent—Pyramid Entertainment Group, 09 Fifth Ave., 7th floor, New York, NY 10003.
Evans, another backup singer who has emerged as a solo star, but Price has the deeper voice. “It’s more chesty,” Price herself pointed out to Billboard. Nevertheless, after she and Carey parted ways, Price moved in a new direction that was some distance from the world of gospel. Her multiple talents caught the attention of Bad Boy Records chief Sean “Puffy” Combs, whose shrewd marketing of the “gangsta” rap style culminated in an explosively successful solo release in 1997.
Price served as assistant music director for Combs’s Puff Daddy and the Family tour, and her voice was a familiar presence on Bad Boy recordings of the period, including Combs’s own. Her voice was prominently featured on a highly successful recording by the late Notorious B.I.G., “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” and on Mase’s “Feels So Good.” An indication of Price’s increasing versatility was that she took on arranging and production work for various artists, including Evans and the group SWV. She wrote songs for SWV and for the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
In 1996, Price also toured with the Isley Brothers, another legendary soul act of the 1960s. The Isleys had worked with Combs for a short time; at Combs’s request, Price wrote lyrics for a remix of their hit “Floatin’ on Your Love.” Then they relaunched T-Neck, the label they had founded in 1969 and a pioneering organization in the annals of African American entrepreneurship. T-Neck president Ronald Isley heard in his new backup singer just the sound he was seeking for his reinvigorated label. “When I heard her, I knew how special she was,” Isley told Billboard. “She had that ‘voice.’ In meeting Kelly right away I wanted to sign her. It was a gift to have her.” He signed Price to the T-Neck label, and plans for her debut release began to take shape.
Given the chance to express herself as a solo artist, Price blossomed as a songwriter. “I can watch the news, and I don’t even have to know the person, but if it touches me, I’ll write about it,” Price told Jet. “I think I was blessed to be not only sympathetic but empathetic, able to carry someone else’s burdens, and the only way to get rid of it is to get it out creatively.” When Price’s Soul of a Woman album was released in June of 1998, eleven of its twelve tracks bore Price’s name as writer or co-writer, and the album succeeded in part because she was able-to an unusual degree for a debut release by a young unknown-to stamp her own personality on it.
The lead single from Soul of a Woman, “Friend of Mine,” expressed the lament of a woman who is shocked to discover that her best friend has stolen her lover away. The song sampled “Summer Breeze,” the 1972 Seals and Crofts hit that had been covered by the Isley Brothers in 1974, but for the most part the album stayed away from hip-hop, stylistically. Another highlight of the album was the duet “Just One More Time,” co-written and co-performed with the highly creative vocalist-composer-producer R. Kelly. The song marked the first time Kelly had co-written with anyone.
Won Soul Train Award
“Friend of Mine,” in addition to its five weeks atop R&B charts, reached number nine on the pop singles chart, and in March of 1999, Soul of a Woman earned Price the Best New Rhythm-and-Blues/Soul Artist award on the televised Soul Train Music Awards show. Many new opportunities came her way: she co-wrote a duet with another giant talent of the 1990s, Gerald Levert, recorded a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way” for a soundtrack project, read over some film scripts that came her way, and began work on her second album. “My motto for the new millennium is, Tm just trying to have me a job,’” Price told Billboard. “I’ll try my hand at a little bit of everything.”
Price filed suit against T-Neck in 1999, claiming that no valid contract had existed between her and the label, but as of the summer of 1999 she remained affiliated with T-Neck. Outside the music arena, she launched her own clothing line aimed at full-figured women like herself. But her musical creativity seemed just to be getting in gear. Asked in an online Groove Planet interview who she would choose as a producer if she were two days from the end of human existence and had one day to complete her final work, Price answered, “I would do it myself because it would be an opportunity to give out everything I was feeling at that time…. It would be the purest form of Kelly Price because there would be no other entities involved.”
Selected discography
Soul of a Woman, T-Neck, 1998.
Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, May 30, 1998, p. 29; July 18, 1998, p. 94; February 27, 1999, p. 27; April 3, 1999, p. 38; June 26, 1999, p. 27.
Essence, December 1998, p. 69.
Jet, December 7, 1998, p. 64; July 24, 1999, p. 32.
New York Times, September 12, 1999, late East Coast ed., sec 14LI, p. 3.
Other
Additional information for this profile was obtained from http://www.allmusic.com; http://www.island.co.uk/news/news385.html; http://www.rockvillage.com/groove/artist/980910/5.html; and http://www.zyworld.com/theguide/Kellyp.htm
—James M. Manheim
Price, Kelly
Kelly Price
Singer, songwriter
Called the Aretha Franklin of her generation, R&B singer Kelly Price proved both her staying power and her status as a young diva with the release of her second solo album, Mirror Mirror, in 2000. Known for her big, powerful, and emotional voice, Price worked for years as a backup singer for such artists as Mariah Carey, the Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, and Mary J. Blige. As a solo artist, her soulful voice has brought her number one hits on the R&B charts. As Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote of the successful singer, “[a]nyone who doesn’t yet love … Kelly Price simply doesn’t know her.”
Price and her two sisters were raised by their mother in Far Rockaway, New York. The family was a musical one, and Price had an early immersion in gospel music. Her grandfather was the pastor of a Pentecostal church, and her mother the music director. Price started singing in the church when she was just six years old and quickly earned the nickname “Little Mahalia,” after gospel star Mahalia Jackson. Price was drawn to R&B at an early age as well, but had to listen to it in secret because it wasn’t allowed in her strict religious household. When Price was 18 years old, she joined a gospel choir that performed around New York City. The choir was chosen to sing backup for pop singer George Michael when he performed in the city, and Price’s professional musical career was launched.
Following her performance with the choir, Price was invited to tour with Carey and sing backup for her. The singer accepted, and she traveled with the well-known performer for four years. Price then sang on a demo for rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs, which landed her a position as a backup singer with his Bad Boy label. While at the label, Price recorded with artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Mase, Brandy, Monica, and Franklin. A big break came for the singer when she recorded Diana Ross-like vocals for Biggie Small’s single, “Mo Money, Mo Problems” in 1997. The recording represented the first time that Price stepped out from behind a lead singer to let her own voice be heard. The experience inspired her to pursue a solo career.
Finding a label to launch that career was not easy for Price, however. Several recording deals fell through before she found a home at T-Neck Records/Island Black Music. Price is a full-figured woman, and her image seemed to hold her back. She told Rahel Musleah of the New York Times, “Studios want artists to look like models…. A lot of people felt I didn’t fit that visual concept. They asked me to lose weight.” Price refused to give in but found an ally in Hiram Hicks, president of Island Black Records. He told Musleah, “I was looking for someone to represent the girl next door, someone who was natural. I knew her raw talent would shine through.” The label released Price’s debut album, Soul of a Woman, in 1998.
Not only did Soul of a Woman showcase Price’s voice, it reflected her prowess as a songwriter and producer.
For the Record…
Born c. 1973 in Jamaica, Queens, NY; married Jeffrey Rolle; two children: Jeffrey Jr. and Jonia.
Sang backup for Mariah Carey and others, early 1990s; sang on Biggie Small’s single, “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” signed with T-Neck/lsland Black Music, 1997; released debut solo album, Soul of a Woman, 1998; developed two clothing collections and music label, Big Mama Records, 1999; sang on Whitney Houston’s hit single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” 1999; signed with Island/Def Soul, released second solo album, Mirror Mirror, 2000.
Addresses: Record company —Island/Def Soul, 825 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10019, (212) 333-8000, website: http://www.defsoul.com. Website —Kelly Price Official Website: http://www.dearkellyprice.com.
She wrote or co-wrote all but one song on the album and produced roughly half of the tracks. In recording the release, Price worked with some of the biggest names in R&B, including Stevie J., R. Kelly, J Dub, and Sean Smith. She also worked with Kelly and Ronald Isley, who controlled T-Neck Records. Isley told Anita M. Samuels of Billboard, “Every few years, someone like her comes along…. When I heard her, I knew how special she was. She had that ‘voice.’ … It was a gift to have her.” Singles from the album included “Secret Love,” a song about finally confessing to loving someone, and “Friend of Mine,” about a best friend stealing a lover. “Friend of Mine” was Price’s first real hit, going to number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart and breaking into the top 20 on American pop charts. The success of the single drove sales higher for the album, which went platinum. The album climbed as high as number two on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.
Soul of a Woman also received critical praise. Richard Harrington of the Washington Post called the album a” spectacular entrance” for Price, whom he called a “great soul diva.” A Jet reviewer called the singer “sweet, strong, giving, and magnificently talented,” and Taylor called her a “budding chanteuse with a voice of steel.”
After the success of Soul of a Woman, Price had another hit—and a Grammy nomination—with “Heartbreak Hotel,” a 1999 collaboration with Whitney Houston and Faith Evans. The song went to number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart and number three on the Hot 100 chart. That same year, Price recorded “The Gods Love Nubia” for Elton John and Tim Rice’s stage musical, Aida. Broadening her efforts, Price also founded her own label, Big Mama Records (through Elektra), and began cultivating artists like young R&B singer Sasha Allen. Price also co-wrote and recorded songs with R. Kelly and Gerald Levert and began writing for and producing other R&B stars. But the multi-talented Price did not stop there. She also developed two different clothing lines for plus-sized women—the dressy Kelly Price Collection and the sportier Big Mama Wear.
The year 1999 proved to be a difficult one for Price, however. She began having conflicts with her label and filed suit against T-Neck Records, distributor Island Records, Ronald Isley, and the Isley Brothers Music Corp. for breach of contract and interference with other recording opportunities. The singer left her label and signed on with Def Soul Records, the R&B division of Def Jam Records. On a more personal level, Price was also struggling with the illness of her mother and mother-in-law, both of whom were diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. While Price’s mother’s cancer was treatable and went into remission, her mother-in-law died; the loss hit both Price and her manger-husband Jeffrey Rolle hard, and Price suffered from a depression that caused her to lose nearly 100 pounds. One positive thing did come from Price’s pain: with other Def Soul artists Kandice Love, LovHer, Case, Playa, Dru Hill, and Montell Jordan, Price recorded the single “Love Sets You Free,” which originally appeared on the soundtrack of The Hurricane. The proceeds from the release of the 2000 single went to breast cancer research.
Price rebounded from her personal losses in 2000 with the release of her second solo album Mirror Mirror. The recording, like Soul of a Woman, includes songs that are almost exclusively about love relationships, some autobiographical in nature, and other songs the stories of other people’s experiences. As Vivien Goldman described in an Interview review, the singer-songwriter “takes a cold microscope to our squirming emotions.” Many of the songs explore troubled marriages and unfaithful lovers, like “Married Man.” Price told Jet that her songs are “true stories but not always my story.” “I set out to make music that was universal,” she told Taylor in Billboard.
Like Price’s debut release, Mirror Mirror also received critical praise. Amy Linden of People noted that Price’s “womanly, from-the-gut voice” makes the album” an engaging and emotional collection,” and Lynn Norment of Ebony applauded the release for its “tremendous vocals and poignant lyrics.” Taylor called Price “one of the brightest young talents” in Billboard, while Kimberly Davis focused on Price’s growth and nuance in Ebony. Davis wrote that with the second album, “Price reveals a woman of many layers, each adding up to a renewed confidence in life and love.” The singer herself agreed, noting to Davis, “I’m more mine this time around.”
Not all of the songs on the album received the same level of praise, though. Robert Christgau wrote in Rolling Stone that “the album’s standouts include most of the tracks [Price] didn’t compose.” One song that most critics agreed was a standout was Price’s version of Shirley Murdock’s “As We Lay.” The sexy track was a treat for Price, who had admired Murdock since she was a child. Murdock showed her respect for the younger singer by playing Price’s mother in the video for the song.
A singer, songwriter, and producer, Price has already held many roles in the R&B world. With the success of her two solo albums, the strength and depth of her voice, and her continuing work behind the scenes with other recording artists, Price has only begun what promises to be a long and diverse career. As Taylor wrote in a Billboard review of Mirror Mirror, “Price is the real thing, an artist with a true gift.”
Selected discography
Soul of a Woman (includes “Friend of Mine” and “Secret Love”), T-Neck/Island, 1998.
(Contributor) Aida, Rocket/Island, 1999.
Mirror Mirror (includes “Love Sets You Free,” “You Should Have Told Me,” and “Mirror Mirror”). Def Jam/Universal, 2000.
Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, May 30, 1998, p. 29; January 9, 1999, p. 15; February 27, 1999, p. 72; March 19, 1999, p. 24; June 26, 1999, p. 27; July 24, 1999, p. 32; January 29, 2000, p. 40; May 13, 2000, p. 32; August 19, 2000, p. 21; December 23, 2000, p. 20.
Ebony, August 2000, p. 18; October 2000, p. 106.
Jet, December 7, 1998, p. 64; July 17, 2000, p. 63.
Interview, July 2000, p. 42.
New York Times, September 12, 1999, p. 3.
People, July 10, 2000, p. 46.
Rolling Stone, August 3, 2000, pp. 55-56.
USA Today, July 11, 2000, p. D5; July 9, 2001, p. D4.
Washington Post, November 8, 1998, p. G5.
Online
“Kelly Price,” All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (July 10, 2001).
“Kelly Price,” Listen.com, http://www.listen.com (July 10, 2001).
—Christine Kelley