Floetry were an English R&B duo comprising

Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius-Billups, born Marsha Angelique Ambrosius (born 8 August 1977) is an English singer and songwriter. She began her music career in the early 2000s with Floetry, achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success. Following the ...

("the Songstress") and

Natalie Stewart Natalie "the Floacist" Stewart (born 13 February 1979) is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, spoken word artist, poet, and actress. Born in Germany and raised in London, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child, ...

("the Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage. They have worked with many US musicians and artists including: Jill Scott,

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

, and more founders of

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

Career

Beginnings: 1994–2002

Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart first met on the basketball courts in London, England. There they quickly transitioned from rivals to friends, bonding over their love for music and poetry. The first collaboration came when Ambrosius contacted Stewart about adding poetry to the chorus of a song she was working on called 'Fantasize'. Stewart invited Ambrosius onstage to perform the song at her show a few months later. Their connection was felt all throughout the venue, with many people crying during the show. In 1997, the duo began writing music together and constantly performing in the music venues of London. After three years the duo moved to U.S., first living in Atlanta but later moving to Philadelphia where much success was found. Since moving to the U.S. in 2000, they have written for Jill Scott,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...

, Glenn Lewis (Marsha only),

, and

, for whom Marsha penned the hit 2002 single "

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

''Floetic'' and ''Floacism'': 2002–2003

In the year of 2002, Floetry signed with

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

and released their debut album ''

Floetic ''Floetic'' is the debut studio album by the English Contemporary R&B, R&B duo Floetry, released by DreamWorks Records in the United States on 1 October 2002 and on Polydor Records in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2002. Critical reception ...

'', which featured the singles "

", " Say Yes" (released March 2003), and " Getting Late". " Say Yes" stayed on the Hot 100 billboard charts for 20 weeks, peaking at number 24 on 14 June 2003. The album was also released in the United Kingdom with additional tracks, one of which features British singer/songwriter and producer Sebastian Rogers. Their song "Where's The Love" was featured in the best-known 2003 film '' Bringing Down the House''. Reviewers of the album praised Floetry for their skillful writing, soulful sound infused with funk and R&B and representing the English R&B scene that was emerging. Floetry released a live album titled '' Floacism'' in 2003. The two-disc set consisted of a CD and DVD and included the single " Wanna B Where U R" featuring rapper

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

''Flo'Ology'': 2004–2006

The duo began creating their second studio album shortly after the release of Floacism. During summer of 2005, they began touring with the Sugar Water Festival. There they opened for Jill Scott,

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

, and

. Their third and final album '' Flo'Ology'' was released in November 2005. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 200 and number two on the Top R&B chart, and sold over 77,000 copies in its first week.'Road' Returns Chesney To No. 1
Billboard. Retrieved: 4 July 2009. The album included the single "Supastar" featuring

Epilogue: 2007–2014

In 2006, Marsha Ambrosius signed a solo record deal with Aftermath Entertainment. In 2007, she released a mixtape titled ''Neo Soul Is Dead''. After the release of the mixtape, Ambrosius parted ways with Stewart. Stewart later went on to release an extended play titled ''Spoken Soul Volume 1''. In 2007, Amanda Seales replaced Natalie Stewart of the musical duo Floetry on tour with Marsha Ambrosius, and in December of that same year Seales (as Amanda Diva) released her first extended play (EP) Life Experience. In 2008, she was featured on the song "Manwomanboogie" on Q-Tip's album. ''The Renaissance''. On March 3, 2009, Seales released ''Spandex, Rhymes & Soul''. In November 2010, Stewart released her first solo album, ''Floetic Soul'', on the Shanachie Records. In 2011, Ambrosius released her debut solo album, ''

Late Nights & Early Mornings ''Late Nights & Early Mornings'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius. It was released on March 1, 2011, by J Records, following the disbandment of her R&B duo Floetry. The album debuted at number two on the US ...

'', on J Records. In November 2012, Stewart released her second album, ''Floetry Re:Birth''. In March 2014, Stewart released her third album ''Rise of the Phoenix Mermaid''. In July 2014, Ambrosius released her second album '' Friends & Lovers''.

Reunion: 2014–2016

In December 2014, Stewart reunited with Ambrosius during Ambrosius' concert and performed "Floetic" at The Clapham Grand in London. In February 2015, Stewart confirmed that duo would be touring in 2015. On 16 May 2015, Floetry reunited and performed their first show in nine years at Pepsi Funk Festival in College Park, Georgia. Despite announcing they would be recording a new album, Floetry subsequently split after the second leg of their reunion tour in August 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Awards

The

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

of the United States. Floetry have received five Grammy nominations. *Grammy Awards

References

External links

Floetry at Geffen Records websiteFloetry Myspace
* {{Authority control English hip-hop groups English musical duos Contemporary R&B duos British contemporary R&B musical groups Contemporary R&B musical groups from London British soul musical groups Black British musical groups DreamWorks Records artists Geffen Records artists Women hip-hop groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 English girl groups British hip-hop girl groups Hip-hop duos British R&B girl groups Soul girl groups Female musical duos Third British Invasion artists