We Are King (also stylized as We Are KING), is an American R&B duo based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, consisting of twin sisters Amber and Paris Strother. Originally named King, the group also included their close friend Anita Bias. The Strother sisters are the nieces of the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

-based

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...

man, Percy Strother, and are originally from Minneapolis.

Career

The trio first appeared in 2011, when, on March 1, they independently released their ''The Story'', a three-song EP that captured the attention and garnered support from a number of artists including

Phonte Phonte Lyshod Coleman, known mononymously as Phonte (born December 28, 1978), is an American rapper, singer, and producer. He is currently of the North Carolina hip-hop trio/duo Little Brother (revived in 2019 without producer 9th Wonder) an ...

The Foreign Exchange The Foreign Exchange is an R&B/ electronica/ hip hop duo consisting of the American rapper/singer Phonte and the Dutch record producer Nicolay. Musical career The pair initially made contact via message boards on Okayplayer.com and soon ...

, Questlove,

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

, and eventually

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, who invited the two to open for him at his 21-Night Stand Tour at the Los Angeles Forum. Prince subsequently became the girls' mentor and advisor, providing them with managerial support until 2013. King founded their company King Creative in 2013, releasing their teaser single "In the Meantime" the same year, premiered by '' Billboard'', and followed up with their second single, "Mister Chameleon" in 2014. On February 5, 2016, the trio released their debut studio album, ''We Are King'', to critical acclaim. The album was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the

59th Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

, making King the first independent band to be nominated in that category. ''We Are King'' was also included on mid-year and year-end lists by ''Rolling Stone'', ''Time'', ''Billboard'', ''NPR'', ''Spin'', ''Newsday'' and ''Pitchfork'' among others.

Discography

;Studio albums ;EPs *''The Story'' (2011) ;Singles *"In the Meantime" (2013) *"Mister Chameleon" (2014) *"The Greatest" (2015) Covers * Fela Kuti "Go Slow" (2014) *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

" (2021)

Collaborations

Features *

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

& We Are KING &

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (; né Moriarty; born 2 August 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His music incorporates a combination of jazz with elements from many other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reha ...

- "Human Heart" *

Nicolas Godin Nicolas Godin (born 25 December 1969) is a French musician best known for being half of the music duo Air. Early life Godin was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture ...

featuring We Are KING - “Another Side" *

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...

featuring We Are KING - “Move Love" *

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

featuring We Are KING - "Song For Selim" *

featuring Paris and Amber Strother - “All the Kisses" *

Sam Sparro Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

featuring We Are KING - “Outside the Blue" * Devin Morrisson featuring We Are KING - "The Call (407)" *

Alex Isley Alexandra Isley is an American singer-songwriter and producer. She released her debut EP ''The Love/Art Memoirs'' in 2012. Isley has worked with artists including Scarface, Terrace Martin, Masego, 9th Wonder, Tank and the Bangas, and Lucky Daye ...

featuring Paris Strother - “So Here it Goes" Songwriting, Musician, Vocal and Production Credits *

- “ Coloratura", "Human Heart" *

Leon Bridges Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges (born July 13, 1989) is an American soul singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2015 song " Coming Home", which received regular airplay and was also a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify. Brid ...

- “Motorbike", 'Details", "Steam", "Sho Nuff", "Don't Worry" *

Corrine Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

- “Green Aphrodisiac", "Tell Me", "Horse Print Dress", "Been to the Moon" *

Moses Sumney Moses Sumney is a Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aromanticism'', was released ...

- "Quarrel" *

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

- “Thank You" * Bilal - “Right at the Core" * Robert Glasper Experiment - “Move Love" * Jill Scott - “So Gone" *

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

- “Chapter 6" * Nick Hakim - "Qadir" * Baby Rose - "Show You", "Sold Out", "Pressure" *

Eric Roberson Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represen ...

- "Just Imagine" *

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first re ...

- "Lay Me Down"

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King (RandB Group) 2011 establishments in California African-American girl groups American contemporary R&B musical groups Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups from Los Angeles American musical trios Vocal trios Musical groups from Minnesota Musical groups from the Twin Cities