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Omar, dubbed the godfather of UK Soul, has made his mark over the past 20 years as one of the most creative and respected musicians on the R&B/Soul scene. The likes of Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Estelle, and Common have all jumped at the chance to collaborate with him on various albums.
The Man, his 7th album, is Omar's most consistently impressive set since his second album. Featuring such guests as Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul fame and Stuart Zendor of Jamiroquai, The Man delivers his unique mix of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Latin, and Groove, especially on an inspired remake of his signature hit "There's Nothing Like This".

Designated by many as the father of British neo-soul (though his impact extends over to U.S. shores as well), singer/songwriter/producer Omar began as one of the U.K.'s most promising R&B hopefuls with his early-'90s international hit "There's Nothing Like This." However, unintentionally avoiding pop stardom, he chose never to compromise his artistic credibility, and because of that, people like India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Gilles Peterson, and his biggest idol, Stevie Wonder, have all endorsed him as personal fans (with the prior three naming him as an influence). Although he gets thrown into the R&B category, Omar has no real definitive boundaries. In interesting new ways with each album, he has molded soul and urban music to fit his wide variety of influences, including ragga, hip-hop, funk, jazz-pop, rock, and Latin/Caribbean dance. Despite the lack of chart success, his original techniques have garnered him a strong legion of followers in the U.K. and a devoted fan base in diverse regions across the world.

Born October 14, 1968, in London but raised in Canterbury, Omar Lye-Fook couldn't escape the call to music even he tried. His father, Byron Lye-Fook, was a studio musician and drummer who had done work for reggae greats Bob Marley and Horace Andy, as well as the Rolling Stones. At age five, Omar was already learning how to play the drums. During his grade school years, he completed formal training in piano, trumpet/coronet, and other percussion instruments, but he also taught himself to play the bass, emulating Level 42 guitarist Mark King. As a part of various brass, jazz, and percussion ensembles, the young prodigy had performed in Italy, Brazil, and the U.S. before turning 15 years old. By the time he was a student at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London, he was too tempted in pursuing a professional career and left after one year. Recording for his father's Kongo label, Omar debuted in 1985 with the single "Mr. Postman" at age 16. With Kongo following up with a series of buzz-worthy white labels throughout the late '80s, Omar's favorable reception continued to grow because of his classic yet updated soul approach, which was years before neo-soul became an acknowledged subgenre.

"There's Nothing Like This" first broke out in 1990. It peaked in the U.K.'s Top 20 the following year and remained on top of the R&B and dance charts for several weeks. This was at a time when acid jazz and house were the dominant urban forms in Britain. The soulful ballad got Omar signed to pioneering disc jockey Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud imprint. He recorded the albums There's Nothing Like This (1990), which was compiled from his earlier Kongo recordings, and Music (1992), a more mature outing, both in terms as a musician and a singer. (On some of these earlier recordings, he is credited as Omar Hammer, derived from his stepfather's last name.) For his following two albums, For Pleasure (1994) and This Is Not a Love Song (1997), he moved on to major-label RCA. The former had him in the studio with ex-Motown songwriters and producers Leon Ware and Lamont Dozier, who were both fans of his music. But on the latter album, keyboardist/producer David Frank (Chaka Khan, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, and his own group, the System) took the reins of the album's direction.

Omar never received the type of promotion that he expected when joining RCA's roster, and so he parted ways with the label, finding himself on the French-based Naïve Records. Stating influences of soundtrack compositions and Latin jazz, he had much more personal space to work with on the 2000 effort Best by Far, indulging in his signature string and horn arrangements. However, a long period of inactivity ensued following the 2000 recording, although he did appear on U.S. rapper Common's Electric Circus LP in 2004. During that time, Omar constructed his own studio and established the record label Blunt Music. At this point in his career, he felt more independent than ever before, and with extreme satisfaction he released his sixth studio album, Sing (If You Want It), in 2006. Both U.S. (Common, Angie Stone) and U.K. artists (Rodney P, Estelle) paid homage to Omar, recording guest vocals for the album, but his crowning achievement was obtaining the Stevie Wonder duet "Feeling You," a song that Wonder apparently promised him 15 years earlier. Omar's brother, hip-hop/reggae producer Scratch Professor, also contributed, offering more drum-kicking rhythms for the dancefloor. At the end of the year, the Urban Music Awards, which acknowledge urban music artists around the globe, finally gave Omar his long, overdue praise, bestowing upon him the Best Neo-Soul Act and Outstanding Achievement Awards. A lengthy break from music followed. He got involved with acting, and in 2012, his recording career was acknowledged once more when he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire. The next year, he released The Man on the Shanachie label with guest appearances from Caron Wheeler and Pino Palladino.

R&B balladeer Jaheim Hoagland hails from New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he grew up in the 176 Memorial Parkway Homes public housing project. Misfortune hit early: his father died in 1981, when he was only two years old. Coming from a musical family helped him overcome the tragedy and the many pitfalls of his environment. His grandfather, Victor Hoagland, sang with many top groups, including the Drifters, and their family reunions were big songfests. Singing at family reunions and local talent shows preceded a successful tryout at the Apollo Theater's famously tough talent show. The crooner, whose sound resembled an unlikely hybrid of Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross, won the contest three times when he was 15.

Two years later, Jaheim experienced more tragedy when his mother died, but he kept the faith and became a sensation in New Jersey at talent shows. Four years after his mother's death, he recorded a demo that led to a deal with Divine Mill, a division of Warner Bros. Ghetto Love, his first album, featured an all-star crew that included Next's RL, Blackstreet, and Darren and Cliff Lighty. Driven by the number two R&B/Hip-Hop single "Could It Be," it reached number nine on the Billboard 200 chart. His second album, Still Ghetto, was released in November 2002. Another Top Ten hit, it placed two singles in the Top 40, "Fabulous" and "Anything." Ghetto Classics followed in early 2006 (Valentine's Day, to be exact), and became his first number one album. The Makings of a Man was released in December 2007, as drawn from classic R&B as his previous recordings, with references to Bobby Womack and Atlantic Starr. In late 2009, the single "Ain't Leavin' You" announced the coming of Another Round, which followed in February 2010. It was his fifth consecutive Top Ten R&B album. His sixth album, Appreciation Day, came in September 2013.

Biography
Even before the question is posed, she makes clear the essence of her sound. “I’m a soul singer,” she says, with much pride and little hesitation. That’s who she is, at her core, and no matter the song she sings, her spirit seems to resonate from the speakers along with her voice. That’s the magic that Fantasia brings, every time.
At first listen, Side Effects of You might sound like an album about heartbreak and the process of piecing oneself back together. That’s true, in part, but if you have her tell it, there’s much more there. While the Grammy-winning singer has certainly enjoyed chart-topping, triple-platinum and multi-platform success since winning season three of American Idol, she, like everybody, has made some mistakes, too. Though she has never shied away from being transparent in her music, she wasn’t necessarily thinking about putting her words into song when she picked up a pen and her blank notebook two years ago.
“When I started writing in my book, I had a bittersweet taste in my mouth,” Fantasia says of how she was feeling – professionally, personally, emotionally – after putting in a decade’s worth of hard work. “I’d been doing one-off shows and not really recording, but when my doctor put me on bed rest, I decided to use that time to start writing down some of the things that were on my mind. If I was able to get to the grocery store, people would stop me in my Hoveround chair and tell me what they were going through, so I wrote about that, too.” It was only after she met (and vibed with) London-bred producer, Harmony Samuels, that she realized it might be time to get back in the studio. With her trusted notebook by her side, she would eventually co-write seven of the 13 songs that comprise Side Effects of You. “I’ve always wanted to collaborate with someone the way Michael Jackson did with Quincy Jones,” she says of joining forces with Harmony, who serves as album producer. “As soon as I heard the song, ‘Supernatural Love,’ I knew he was the one.”
Crafting this, her fourth album, was like a dream come true for Fantasia as she made it her mission to tap into the music that has inspired her over the years. “When I was growing up, we listened to so many different types of music in my house,” she remembers. “It started with gospel and then the blues because my grandfather loved B.B. King. Of course I loved listening to my girls Monica, Brandy, TLC and SWV, but I also played Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Bonnie Raitt and Queen. You can listen to any of those artists today because their music still stands and that’s what I wanted to do with this project. I want my music to be timeless.”
Leading the album out of the gate is “Lose to Win,” which she co-wrote alongside Andrea Martin over a sample of The Commodores’ classic, “Nightshift.” “This is my testimony,” Fantasia says of this ode to the power of understanding when to hold, and fold. “Andrea and I really connected and I wanted to deliver this song for her. She allowed me to switch a few things up, but we were both able to put our feelings into the song.” Fantasia followed up with the slow-bounce club banger, “Without Me,” featuring Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott. The song, which she co-wrote with Al Sherrod Lambert, Kyle Stewart and Missy, set the blogosphere and urban radio ablaze in record time. She sings of the moment that the veil is lifted on an unbalanced relationship. Once Kelly and Missy chime in, there’s no avoiding their burning question – “Where’d you be, without me?” “I always love working with Missy and it broke my heart that she wasn’t a part of my last album. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity this time. And Kelly? She killed her verse!”
“End of Me” is a song so moving that it literally sweeps you off your feet. Co-written with Lambert and Amber Streeter, Fantasia sings of the type of love that is absolutely no good, but keeps calling you back, over and over again. Who hasn’t been there? On “Change Your Mind,” co-written with Lambert, Fantasia tips her hat to the late Whitney Houston. When she sings, “Come home to me, baby, I’ll be good to you, darling,” it’s so very reminiscent of Whitney’s 1990 hit, “I’m Your Baby Tonight” and that’s exactly how she wanted it.
Two words come to mind when she talks about “Get It Right” – rock soul. “When I say ‘rock,’ I’m thinking of Tina Turner and when I say ‘soul,’ it’s all about Aretha Franklin,” she says of the high-octane track which she co-wrote with Streeter and Lambert. “With the live instruments, you get a Tina Turner/James Brown feeling and maybe even a little bit of Andre’ 3000’s ‘Hey Ya.’ When we were recording, I ran and grabbed everybody in the studio to sing with me. I love this song!” Then there’s the album’s title track. Produced by Naughty Boy and written by Emeli Sande’, Shahid Khan, Claudia Bryant and Ben Harrison, “Side Effects of You” is as haunting as it is vivid when it comes to the business of releasing someone who has wrecked havoc on you. “This song is the truth,” Fantasia says, “but it’s also kind of tricky because it’s about a man and medication. At first, I’m singing about him like he’s what I needed, but in the end, I flip it like he was actually the drug.” As for choosing this ballad as the title track, she explains that the song’s sentiments also relate to life, in general. “Everybody’s been hurt and the pain can be caused by family, friends and in my case, the industry, too. When I sing this song, I’m telling everybody who has ever done or said anything to hurt me that these are the side effects of you. Yes, this song is the truth!”
Back in 2004, on the night of May 26, a then-19-year-old Fantasia Barrino stepped onto the American Idol stage and won top honors. After wowing television audiences with her vocal talent, the North Carolina native released her debut album, Free Yourself, which featured as its first single, “I Believe,” a song that made her the first artist in Billboard history to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 chart. Her second single, “Truth Is,” would later hold the #1 spot on the charts for 14 weeks. During 2006, she released her New York Times bestselling memoir, Life Is Not a Fairytale, starred as her younger self in the Lifetime movie of the same name and by year’s end, released her second album, entitled, simply, Fantasia, which included the hit single, “When I See U.” What followed were the coveted role of Celie in Broadway’s The Color Purple (for which she won a Theater World Award), a guest spot on The Simpsons and a two-season run of the VH1 reality series, Fantasia For Real. During the summer of 2011, she released her third album, Back to Me, which featured the Grammy-winning single, “Bittersweet.” To date, she’s sold nearly three million records and 1.5 million digital tracks, domestically. Looking toward the near future, she will expand her musical repertoire even further when she joins classical singer, Andrea Bocelli, for his world tour in summer 2013.
Each of her experiences have contributed to who she is as an artist and also, as an inspiration to the next generation of performers whom are listening to each note she hits and watching her ascension. As she continues on her creative journey, she’s still has more learning and growing to do and many more songs to sing. What remains constant is that she loves music, she knows music, and she always sings from her heart, with all of her soul.
So, how does she feel about her latest work now that it’s out in the world, for all to hear?
“I know that every artist says that their albums are like their babies, but Side Effects of You really is my baby,” Fantasia says with a laugh. “Besides the music, this album means so much to me because it represents the amazing creative relationships I made and the thoughts and ideas that were spoken into my life during the recording process. This project came together right in the nick of time.”