Lamya Al-Mugheiry (30 October 1963 – 8 January 2009), better known as her

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Lamya, was a Kenyan-born English singer-songwriter and record producer. She rose to fame in the early 1990s as one of the lead singers of R&B group

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

, and later as a backing singer for

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

. In 2002, she released her debut album ''

Learning from Falling ''Learning from Falling'' is the debut studio album by United Kingdom, British singer Lamya. It was released on 30 July 2002 through J Records. The singer worked with Nellee Hooper on most of the album, while Mark Ronson, David Kahne, duo Soulshoc ...

'', which spawned the number 1 Dance chart single "

Empires (Bring Me Men) "Empires (Bring Me Men)" is a song by British singer Lamya, released in 2002. It was the first single taken from her debut album '' Learning from Falling''. It is based on a poem, ''The Coming American'', commemorating the 75th anniversary of th ...

". On 8 January 2009, she died from a sudden heart attack. She was recording on her second album ''Hiding in Plain Sight'', which was scheduled to be released later that year.

Early life

Lamya Hafidh Sultan Al-Mugheiry was born in Mombasa, Kenya to Omani parents. Along with her parents, she lived in several cities around the world including

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and London. She was ultimately raised in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, then entered the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and later in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, United Kingdom. Her mother enrolled her in vocal lessons, training with a voice coach of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. At the age of sixteen, she ran away from home to New York City to pursue her musical career, after watching a

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

interview.

Career

In 1989, she recorded the single " Break 4 Love" with DJ Vaughn Mason, originally by Raze. The single peaked at number 77 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1989. The song also garnered the attention of

's lead musician Jazzie B who asked her to join the group.Lamya > Biography
''Billboard''. Retrieved 29 March 2017 In 1990, Lamya performed lead vocals on the songs "Love Come Through" and "In the Heat of the Night", which appeared on Soul II Soul's second album '' Vol. II: 1990 - A New Decade''. Following the release of the album, she toured with the group throughout the year. One of their concerts at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

was recorded live, titled '' A New Decade: Live from Brixton Academy'', and released in September 1990. Despite leaving the group at the end of 1990, she still maintained a close relationship with the members. In 1993, she teamed up with

and performed background vocals on the song "Love Voodoo" for their second self-titled album ''

''. Lamya also joined them for their two-year '' Wedding Album'' tour, and related television appearances, including ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

''. During each concert, she was given centre stage to finish her solo on the song " Come Undone". In 1994, Lamya contributed background vocals for Charlotte Kelly's single "Queen of Hearts", which was produced by friend and her former group Soul II Soul member Jazzie B. In 1995, she contributed background vocals for Soul II Soul's album ''Volume V: Believe''. She also sang background vocals "White Lines", "I Wanna Take You Higher", and "Drive By" for Duran Duran's album ''

Thank You "Thank you" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of gr ...

''. Throughout the years, she also performed with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

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. The ...

, and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. In 2001, Lamya contributed background vocals on fellow Soul II Soul colleague Kym Mazelle's song "I Wanna Go Dancing (Dance With Me)". In July 2002, Lamya released her debut album, ''

'', which reached number 16 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart. She produced and composed the songs, using poems she had written since the age of eleven. It included the singles "

" and "Black Mona Lisa". In its review of the album, ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' described her as "the Kenyan

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

". In 2003, she toured with

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...

, as the opening act. She was among the many singers scheduled to perform at

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

's South African

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

awareness concert before it was cancelled due to problems over broadcast rights and sponsorship.

Death

Lamya was scheduled to release her second album, ''Hiding in Plain Sight'' in 2009, but died of a sudden and unexpected heart attack on 8 January 2009, while in Oman. She was 45 years old.

Vocal style

Lamya was a classically trained

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

who had a five-octave vocal range with ability to reach the

whistle register The whistle register (also called the flute register or flageolet register) is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register. This register has a specific physiological production that is differe ...

Personal life

She was briefly in a relationship with

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

musician

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamya 1963 births 2009 deaths 21st-century British women singers 21st-century Black British women singers British contemporary R&B singers English dance musicians English rock musicians English sopranos Kenyan people of Omani descent Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom Neo soul singers Musicians from Sheffield Singers from London Trip hop musicians English women in electronic music British people of Omani descent Soul II Soul members