Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American
R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member of the
DeBarge family musical group
DeBarge. As a solo artist, he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the song "Talk to Me".
Career
He began a musical career of his own with
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
in the mid-1980s. His debut
self-titled album was released in 1986 and featured the hit single "Talk To Me" (#21 US, #7 R&B). The album peaked at #90 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
and released a follow-up single "The Girl Next Door" which charted on the R&B chart.
Two years later, he released a second album with Motown, ''
Kiss Serious'' that included the hit R&B single "Rainy Night" (#18 R&B) plus "I've Been Watching You" (#43 R&B) and the title track (#53 R&B). However, he was imprisoned for
drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
charges not long after and served time in prison for drug trafficking.
After his release in the mid-1990s, DeBarge returned to Motown to continue his musical career under the auspices of
Kedar Massenberg and his
neo-soul pioneering label imprint Kedar Entertainment. His third album ''
Long Time No See'' was released on November 18, 1997, to critical acclaim and was preceded by the single "Iggin' Me" which garnered considerable airplay. The album would spawn three additional singles: "Love Still Good," "No Guarantee" (a collaboration with
Joe) (#18 R&B Airplay) and "Virgin" (#97 R&B). A non-album single "Superman" followed and was featured in the 1998 romantic comedy film ''
Woo'' starring
Jada Pinkett Smith and
Tommy Davidson and was released on the
movie's soundtrack album. "Superman" peaked at #55 on the R&B charts.
His fourth album ''
The Game'' was released on October 26, 1999, and peaked at #41 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
. The lead single "Give You What You Want (Fa Sure)" gave him one of his biggest hits (#71 US, #11 R&B) to date, and had a remix featuring rapper
Trina released. The follow-up single "Listen To Your Man" (reuniting him with R&B singer
Joe) peaked at #41 on the R&B chart and at #33 on the R&B Airplay Chart. A third single (which did not appear on the album), "Playa Hater" was released in 2000.
He later moved to the
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
,
Koch Records, where he released 2003's ''Free'' (which peaked at #43 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart). It featured the single "Home Alone" which garnered some airplay. DeBarge released his first single "Not 2 Gether" on December 17, 2002.
In 2005, DeBarge contributed a song to the ''
Beauty Shop'' movie soundtrack called "Hard Times."
In 2008, Chico DeBarge appeared in the video for Joe's single, "We're Family" off the ''
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins'' soundtrack.
His sixth studio album ''Addiction'' was released in July 2009 under Kedar Entertainment Group (since 1997) and included the single "Oh No" which peaked at #76 on the R&B chart.
On October 2, 2010, DeBarge performed with
Glenn Jones,
Lenny Williams and
Regina Belle
Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles "Baby Come to Me (Regina Belle song), Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle is most notabl ...
at the Performing Arts Center in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
.
In March 2017, he announced he's at work on a new studio album in addition to doing some work on a forthcoming
DeBarge family album due in 2018.
In September 2017, he released his first new single in eight years called "Feel Good" featuring Jim Jones and Capone Noel. Additionally, his 2003 album ''Free'' was remastered and re-released (as ''Free Remastered'') to include 6 additional tracks.
Personal life
In 2003, while touring in the
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...
stage play ''Why Did I Get Married?,'' DeBarge was stabbed by
South Philadelphia Italian mafioso John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto, inside a Philadelphia nightclub, due to an altercation with one of his associates. The stab wound was within inches of his kidney and lungs.
In 2007, DeBarge was arrested for drug possession in California and later went to rehab. In 2009, he admitted to addictions to
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
,
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
and
prescription medication and based his album, aptly titled ''
Addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
'', on his drug usage.
In November 2019, DeBarge was arrested again for drug possession in California.
On April 2, 2020, DeBarge's eldest son, Dontae (born 1984), was murdered in a stabbing incident in the
Van Nuys
Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1 ...
area of
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
at age 35.
In January 2021, DeBarge was charged with drug possession, DUI and false impersonation after pretending to be his brother
James during a traffic stop in Burbank, California.
Discography
Albums
* ''
Chico DeBarge'' (1986)
* ''
Kiss Serious'' (1988)
* ''
Long Time No See'' (1997)
* ''
The Game'' (1999)
* ''
Free'' (2003)
* ''
Addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
'' (2009)
Singles
* 1986: "Talk to Me" (US #21, R&B #7, CAN #40,
UK #88)
* 1987: "The Girl Next Door" (R&B #59, UK #164)
* 1987: "I've Been Watching You" (R&B #43)
* 1987: "Rainy Night" (R&B #18)
* 1988: "Kiss Serious" (R&B #53)
* 1997: "Iggin' Me" (UK #50)
* 1997: "Love Still Good"
* 1998: "No Guarantee" (featuring
Joe)
* 1998: "Virgin" (R&B #97)
* 1999: "Soopaman Lover" (R&B #55)
* 1999: "Give You What You Want (Fa Sure)" (US #71, R&B #11)
* 1999: "Give You What You Want (South Central Remix)" (featuring Trina)
* 2000: "Listen to Your Man" (featuring
Joe) (R&B #41)
* 2000: "Playa Hater"
* 2003: "Home Alone"
* 2009: "Oh No" (R&B #59)
* 2017: "Feel Good" (featuring
Jim Jones & Capone Noel)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debarge, Chico
1966 births
Living people
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
21st-century African-American male singers
21st-century American male singers
American shooting survivors
Motown artists
American tenors
Neo soul singers
Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan
American people convicted of drug offenses
American soul singers
DeBarge family
Singers from Detroit