Bilal

美國新靈魂樂歌手Bilal原名Bial Sayeed Oliver，1979年8月21日出生于美國費城。他同時還是團體Soulquarians的一員。
2001年，他發(fā)行了個人處子專輯《1st Born Second》，由Soulquarians和Dr. Dre等知名制作人參與制作，專輯獲得好評，不過卻沒有獲得太大的商業(yè)成功。他的假聲演唱和即興演唱是他的特點之一。接下來的幾年里，Bilal不斷為其 他藝人客串，比如Jay-Z的“Fallin'”，The Game的“Cali Sunshine”等，而他的第二張專輯《Love For Sale》原本計劃在Interscope唱片公司發(fā)行，但是隨后唱片公司推遲了發(fā)行時間，到最后將專輯完全冷藏，因為專輯的內(nèi)容根本沒有任何商業(yè)潛力可 挖，最后專輯在網(wǎng)絡泄露。許多歌迷和樂評人士也對這樣一張好專輯被這樣處理感到非常悲哀。接著Bilal繼續(xù)自己的巡回演出，并在2009年改簽入 Plug Research唱片公司。 文/www.u-dig.cn
by Kerry Smith
For Bilal Sayeed Oliver, dreams started falling into place quite rapidly. A self-confessed jazz junkie from Philadelphia, PA, Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began training in jazz and big-band arrangements at the Mannes Music Conservatory in New York. With this formal training, the singer/songwriter learned to sing opera in seven languages. His debut album, 1st Born Second, is a collection of songs entirely by the artist himself, right down to the music, lyrics, and notes. His single "Soul Sista" appears on the Love & Basketball movie soundtrack. In addition, Bilal sang the hook on Common's "The 6th Sense" with neo-soul singer Jill Scott. He also scats and plays keyboards. Bilal has appeared on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Street Soul, and has written and produced for the likes of Erykah Badu. Bilal, the same musician who has called jazz "the original booty shake," is also known for heaping truth in his music. Talks of record contracts came about when Bilal met brothers Fa and Damu Mtume, creators of Moyo Entertainment, in 1995 at a Philly barbershop. After hearing his demo, the Mtumes asked Bilal if he was interested in becoming a recording artist. Eventually Bilal moved to Brooklyn, NY, and began gigging around the city until his tape landed in the hands of Erykah Badu, for whose Mama's Gun album he appeared and produced. Bilal is a member of the Soulquarians collective, along with Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Q-Tip, and D'Angelo.