Kanesha Nichole Brookes (born October 5, 1984), better known by her stage name Brooke Valentine, is an American singer, actress, and model. Her single "

Girlfight ''Girlfight'' is a 2000 American sports drama film written and directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Michelle Rodriguez in both of their film debuts. It follows Diana Guzman, a troubled teenager from Brooklyn who decides to channel her aggressio ...

" peaked on U.S. music charts in 2005, paving the way for her debut album ''

Chain Letter A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinite ...

'' released via Subliminal Entertainment imprint on

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

and went on to sell more than 290,000 units worldwide. After a first attempt at a comeback, Brooke officially returned to the spotlight in 2012 with two singles "Forever" and the Adult R&B Top 40 hit "Don't Wanna Be In Love".

Biography

1984–2004: Early life and career beginnings

Valentine was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

She started her musical career as a member of the female group Best Kept Secret. To pursue a solo career, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with producer and Subliminal Entertainment CEO Deja the Great and signed to

2004–2006: ''Chain Letter''

Brooke Valentine made her debut with the hit single, "

", which featured

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...

and

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...

, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on the R&B chart. It succeeded internationally, peaking in the Top 50 in Australia and Ireland, and Top 40 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She then released her debut album ''

'' in 2005 which debuted at #16 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and #3 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated Jan ...

charts. A follow-up single " Long as You Come Home" peaked at #71 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart, while a third (the ballad "Covergirl") was released digitally but not sent to radio. Later that year, collaborated with rappers

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

and

Yo Yo ''Yo Yo'', original title ''Yoyo'', is a 1965 French comedy film directed by and starring Pierre Étaix. The story follows the son of a millionaire from the 1920s to the 1960s. After losing his fortune in the stock-exchange crash, he teams up with ...

on the single "Boogie Oogie Oogie" for the ''

Roll Bounce ''Roll Bounce'' is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written by Norman Vance Jr. and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film stars hip hop artist Bow Wow as the leader of a roller skating crew in 1970s Chicago. The film also stars Nick Cannon, Me ...

'' soundtrack.

2006–2009: ''Physical Education''

In 2006, Valentine set work on her second studio album, ''Physical Education''. She released the set's lead single " D-Girl" featuring

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). S ...

that year, peaking at #92 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart. A follow-up single " Pimped Out" featuring

Dem Franchize Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...

was released but failed to catch on. Eventually, the ''Physical Education'' project was put on hold due to

’ merger with Capitol Records in 2008. Subliminal Entertainment CEO Deja the Great then acquired the masters and the contract rights from Virgin Records, and material from the project was released independently on the ''Physical Education Mixtape'' in 2009. She later said in an interview that the project was a "paper album" with Virgin, as it was a forced effort due to her being on the label's timeline for a new release and being set up with all the "hot" producers at the time. In addition to not turning in the complete album to the label, Valentine was also dealing with the death of her cousin during the "D-Girl" single release, all of which added to the album not being initially released.

2010–2013: ''Forever / Love Letters EP''

In a 2010 interview, Valentine said that she took a break and has been writing music for other artists, and was now working on new material. That year, she also gave birth to her first child, a son named London. In 2012, she did an interview with

Essence Magazine ''Essence'' is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jon ...

discussing raising her son's cerebral palsy diagnosis. She also penned an open letter to him with

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

, calling him her "tiny hero." Adding to her stage name the alias B. Valentine, she released a music video for the song "Insanity" in January 2012, shot entirely on an Apple iPad and directed by Subliminal CEO Deja the Great. She announced a new album titled ''Forever'' set for release later in the year, led by a new single "Forever" which premiered on February 14, 2012. "Rub It In" (a collaboration with

Tyrese Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He released his self-titled debut album in 1998, which featured the single " Sweet Lady", peaking at number twelve on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second ...

) was announced as the set's second single and released as a digital single, but the album was later pushed back in lieu of a new project. In 2013, she released a new EP titled ''Love Letters'' which garnered a positive response. A single from the set, "Don't Wanna Be In Love" was released and peaked at #29 on the Billboard Adult R&B chart, marking her first chart appearance in six years.

2014–present: New projects and ''Love & Hip-Hop''

In 2014, she filmed scenes for the L.A.-spin off cast of VH1's hit reality series ''

Love & Hip Hop ''Love & Hip Hop'' is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record produc ...

'', but ultimately did not make the cut. Since then, she's been working on her second studio album. In 2016, she released a series of new digital singles, with "Grow Up" on April 29, "#CRAIG" (produced by Yonni) on July 2, and "Games" on October 5. In June 2017, it was confirmed she will appear on the new season of VH1's popular series '' Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood'' alongside newcomers

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

and Chanel West Coast. She was promoted to a series regular on season five.

Discography

* ''

'' (2005) * ''Physical Education – Mixtape'' (2009) * ''Love Letters – EP'' (2013)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine, Brooke 1984 births Living people Actresses from Houston Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses African-American crunk musicians African-American female models American female models African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American dance musicians American film actresses American contemporary R&B singers American television actresses Female models from California Musicians from Houston Musicians from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Texas Female models from Texas 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women